Smith was born in Consett in County Durham and educated at the Wesleyan Church School in Newcastle upon Tyne.

A strong prohibitionist, Smith was elected to the Sydenham Licensing Committee in 1891, which was determined to refuse all licences in the borough.

Several members including Smith were removed from this position by order of the Supreme Court for "incurable bias".

[4] Smith purchased Riverlaw from Hugh Murray-Aynsley in 1905, a substantial property and homestead on the Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River at the bottom of Rāpaki Track.

[5] On 6 September 1984, the house was registered with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (since renamed to Heritage New Zealand) as a Category II heritage place, with registration number 3728;[6] Riverlaw was regarded as one of the finest colonial homes in Christchurch.