He was born in Rotherhithe in London to shipowner William Howard Smith and Agnes Rosa, née Allen.
The family arrived in Australia in 1857, and Smith attended Melbourne Church of England Grammar School before entering his father's firm and becoming a shipping manager.
In 1890 he served as president of the Victorian Employers' Union and the Australasian steamship Owners' Federation.
In 1901 he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council as a member for South Yarra, but he resigned in 1903 to run for the Senate without success.
[1] His younger brother, Bruce Smith, was a long-serving member of the House of Representatives.