Having been locally educated, Willis worked at his father's tannery, and in 1884 became a committee member of the South Australian Literary Societies' Union.

[1] Shortly after his defeat in 1910, Willis stood as the Liberal Party candidate for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Upper Hunter, which he won with 51.85% of the vote.

[4][5] When Labor lost the majority in the Assembly in July 1911 it appointed Willis, who, as an Opposition member, had offered himself to avoid a dissolution, as Speaker.

Having embraced Robert Lowe's ideals, Willis became a more active Speaker, claiming authority to remove members, censor their speeches and questions, and exclude journalists from the press gallery.

At the time of his death, Willis was one of the last surviving members of the First Parliament, with only William Higgs, Sir George Pearce, Billy Hughes and King O'Malley outliving him.