He was born in Rainbow to farmer William Alexander Mitchell and Ivy Johnson.
He attended state schools locally and became a farmer at Heywood; he also served in the military from 1940 to 1941 during World War II.
He was closely involved with woolgrowing organisations, and served on Portland Shire Council from 1952 to 1968, and also from 1974.
A long-standing member of the Country Party, he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council in 1968 for Western Province, serving until his defeat in 1973.
He subsequently ran for the lower house seat of Portland in 1976 and for Western Province again in 1979.