The gap left by the resignations at the weekend of Prime Minister Helen Clark as Labour Party leader and Finance Minister Michael Cullen as deputy leader was clearly obvious when a younger face failed to materialise.
The obvious successor, David Cunliffe, decided not to stand for the leadership, leaving Labour's diminished caucus with no other choice than Mr Goff (55).
Mr Cunliffe (45) takes over the crucial finance spokesman role from Dr Cullen.
Two MPs who lost their electorate seats on Saturday but returned to Parliament on the list, Darren Hughes (Otaki) and Steve Chadwick (Rotorua), have been elected senior and junior whip respectively.
Mrs King is 61, leaving questions open about how long she is prepared to stay on in the role of deputy.
If she decides not to stand at the next election, Labour will have to go through the process again in perhaps 18 months' time.
Mr Goff will not see himself as an interim leader and will fight to stay on for the next election and beyond.
He will be 58 at the next election, the same age as Miss Clark is now.
Prime Minister-elect John Key is 47.
Miss Clark was such a dominant personality within the Labour Party that a succession plan was not put in place.
While Mr Goff earlier this year acknowledged an election loss was likely, most of the Labour team was in denial about the possibility.
While he will be able to hold the new National Cabinet to account in the House during question time and debates around new legislation, Mr Goff is not likely to attract the huge personal following Miss Clark did as leader.
His election to leadership appears to be Labour admitting defeat for a second time and consigning itself to the Opposition benches for the next two terms of Parliament.
There are able performers in the new Labour line-up, apart from Mr Cunliffe, but they will take some time to build up a bloc of support powerful enough to challenge Mr Goff.
Usually, main political parties opt for a North Island-South Island split for their leadership team, although Labour also opts for a male-female split.
Mrs King, MP for Rongotai, Wellington, was born in Murchison, making that the tenuous link to a South Island connection.
After his election, Mr Goff said an effective Opposition was vital to the effective functioning of a democracy.
"Labour will fulfil that role. Our caucus is 43 strong, seven down on our 2005 election result.
"In government, Labour succeeded because it had a united, disciplined and motivated parliamentary and ministerial team.
"The outcome of today's caucus demonstrates that Labour will be a strong, united and determined Opposition."
Labour accepted the verdict of voters that after nine years, the mood was "time for a change".
The party recognised the importance of reconnecting with the electorate and regrouping, using its time in opposition to develop new policy while holding the Government to account.
Phil Goff
Born: June 1953, Auckland.
Electorate: Mt Roskill.
Majority: 5557 (2008).
Family: Married with three children.
Portfolios: 1999-2008: Minister of justice, foreign affairs and trade, Pacific Island affairs, defence, corrections and associate finance.
Education: First class honours in political studies (1979); awarded Butterworth Prize for law and was senior scholar in political studies in 1973 at University of Auckland
