He was educated at The King's School, Parramatta and was initially employed as a clerk in the Colonial Secretary's office.
Nonetheless, he was put in charge of the official expedition to find Leichhardt in 1852.
After 1841 Hely managed his deceased father's estates in the Brisbane Water district including Wyoming Cottage.
He inherited a fifth share of the estate when he turned 21 and borrowed heavily against it, to finance a trip to England in 1858.
[1] In 1856 Hely was elected as one of the three members for Northumberland and Hunter in the first New South Wales Legislative Assembly under responsible government.