Son of a Congregational minister who served for many years in towns south of Adelaide, Charles Reynolds Hodge was born in Geelong and moved to South Australia at the age of four.
He was employed in commerce until he took the position of Registrar's Clerk at the Adelaide University. In 1892 he was appointed Registrar, and in 1899 he published a Guide to the University of Adelaide.
He took an active part in the affairs of the Literary Societies' Union and was a member of its Executive Committee. He was a frequent contributor of short stories to the Society's Yearbooks, and contributed to the Evening Journal as 'U-no'. He also wrote a number of books about Encounter Bay, including the popular Encounter Bay: The Miniature Naples of Australia (1932), as Chas R. Hodge.