He was educated at Haddon Hall Academy, and articled to a Liverpool softgoods firm which traded with Africa and America.
He married Eliza Kenworthy, the daughter of the United States consul in Sydney, on 4 March 1858, with whom he raised eleven children, ten of whom survived him.
[5] When the Berry government came to power in 1879, Lorimer was dropped from the Trust but rejoined as a representative for Melbourne merchants and traders.
He was appointed KCMG when he attended the Colonial Conference in London in 1887 with Alfred Deakin and Graham Berry.
[2] Lorimer Street in Port Melbourne which runs along the south side of the Yarra River wharves is named after him.