He was apprenticed as a midshipman in 1911 and spent four years at sea before joining his parents at Bushley, near Rockhampton.

In 1916 he joined the First Australian Imperial Force, serving with the 15th Battalion in France and Belgium.

Once back in civilian life he held several jobs as a bushworker in the Longreach area before starting work with the Australian Workers' Union in 1925, first as a clerk and eventually as the Secretary of the Western District from 1929 until 1941.

Devries died of a heart attack[2] in Winton while campaigning for the 1957 Queensland state election.

[1] Devries, a member of the Labor Party, won the seat of Gregory at the 1941 Queensland state election.