He appeared in plays at the local Catholic secondary school, Marcellin College.
Upon leaving school, he worked as a booking clerk for Butler Airways.
[2] Hornery started his career in theatre in 1949, and made his professional debut in 1953, when he played Eustace Smell, the town crier and sidekick, in a production of Jack and the Beanstalk, at Sydney's Capitol Theatre.
He was particularly associated with the Melbourne Theatre Company, and with roles ranging from comic to the dramatic, including The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
His film roles included Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and Crackerjack.