He completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Western Australia, and in 1921 was president of the student guild.
Graduating in 1922 with first-class honours in English and Latin, he completed a Bachelor of Laws at the University of London and was admitted to the bar in Western Australia in 1924.
During World War II, he served with the Australian Army Legal Corps.
[4] He retired as Chancellor in 1956, succeeded by Sir Alexander Reid, but continued as a member of the Senate until 1966.
He died at Bethesda Hospital, Claremont, on 18 October 1987, and was buried in the Anglican section of Karrakatta Cemetery.