He attended King's College London, and then in 1876 moved to South Australia to work as an assistant to Henry Coathupe Mais, the colony's engineer-in-chief.
After taking an extended trip to Europe in 1880 and 1881, he moved to Western Australia, where he had been awarded a contract for a portion of the Eastern Railway (running from Guildford to Chidlow).
[2] In 1884, after completing his railway contract, Wright remained in Western Australia and opened an office in Perth, becoming the colony's only architect in private practice.
There were no organised political parties in the Legislative Council at the time of Wright's election, but during his campaign he identified himself as a liberal, and promised to work to lower taxation and to end restrictions on business hours.
[5] Wright served a single six-year term in the Legislative Council, retiring at the 1908 election and being succeeded by Arthur Jenkins.