Todhunter was of New Zealand background and educated in England at Aldenham School and King's College, Cambridge.
[1] He joined the Indian Civil Service in 1888 and was assigned to the Madras Presidency.
He was Deputy Commissioner for salt, abkari (excise duties) and customs, and then Secretary of the Board of Revenue.
On his retirement from the ICS he became private secretary to the Maharaja of Mysore, holding the post for sixteen years until the maharaja's death in 1940, when he settled down on his farm in the Kenjari district of Mysore State.
He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Star of India (CSI) in the 1920 New Year Honours[2] and Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India (KCSI) in the 1921 Birthday Honours.