Ogden was born at Durdidwarrah, near Geelong, Victoria and educated at Steiglitz State School until he was 14 and then worked at a variety of jobs in different parts of Australia.

In 1914, Earle returned to power and Ogden became chief secretary and minister for mines and labour until Labor's defeat in April 1916.

[1][2] Ogden was elected state ALP leader in October 1919, when Joseph Lyons resigned in order to stand for federal parliament.

[4] Ogden resigned from the House of Assembly to contest the 1922 election for the Senate and won, holding his seat until his death.

[5] In 1925, he supported the Bruce-Page's government's legislation on navigation and immigration, because he considered that the militant Seamen's Union—which it affected—was harmful to Tasmania, an island state.