Hutchison was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, received a primary education and was eventually apprenticed as a compositor on the Daily Free Press and attended the mechanics' institute.

In 1888, Hutchison and McPherson were sacked for taking part in a strike over their paper's opposition to union labor.

[1] In December 1897, John McPherson, who had been elected as the United Labor Party member for the seat of East Adelaide in the South Australian House of Assembly, died and Hutchison won the subsequent by-election on 22 January 1898.

In his opposition to a bill authorising the take-over and electrification of some of Adelaide's horse tram lines, he made remarks about Charles Tucker, a supporter of the bill, which led Tucker to sue for libel, bankrupting Hutchison in April 1902.

He died suddenly in Melbourne from "inflammation of the kidneys and gall bladder", survived by his wife and six children.