He was the first Australian graduate to become a member of the Royal College of Physicians of London.

[1] Springthorpe came to Sydney in the Colony of New South Wales when a young child.

He started his schooling then and completed it in Melbourne in the Colony of Victoria.

He also completed undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Melbourne.

He then did advanced study in the United Kingdom before returning to work in the Colony of Victoria as a medical doctor.