Alex Arthur was raised on the Darling Downs, Queensland. During his youth, he spent many years cataloguing and researching Aboriginal artifacts along the Condamine River, near his family's cattle property at Chinchilla on the western Darling Downs. He graduated from University of Queensland (Gatton) as an agricultural adviser and was employed as a beef cattle husbandry officer at the Queensland Department of Primary Industries. In later years, he visited Greece, Santorini and Crete and fell in love with the ancient history of the Mediterranean. He visited many Bronze Age settlements, including Mycenae, Tiryns and Knossos. Nearing retirement age, he commenced studying at University of New England, Armidale. In 2014, he graduated with a BA majoring in archaeology, paleoanthropology and ancient history. He now lectures in ancient history at University of Third Age, Toowoomba and is continuing his research into the Bronze Age Aegean while studying for a Master of History degree.