He was his party's Senate leader from 1931 to 1935 and served as Vice-President of the Executive Council in the Scullin government from 1931 to 1932.

His father was a labourer originally from Somerset, England, while his mother was from County Clare, Ireland.

He left school at a young age and worked a variety of jobs, including as a roustabout, timber-getter and handyman.

By the late 1880s he had settled in Broken Hill, New South Wales, where he joined the Amalgamated Shearers' Union in 1887.

He was Assistant Minister for Works and Railways from 22 October 1929 to 3 March 1931 and then Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate until 6 January 1932.

He was given a state funeral, the procession travelling through the city, pausing at Trades Hall, and continuing to the Melbourne General Cemetery.