Born at Mount Blowhard, Victoria, to Scottish-born parents Robert Baird, a farmer, and Agnes McKerrow, he attended Learmonth State School and University College in Ballarat.
After working on his father's farm he served in South Africa from 1901 to 1902 as a trooper with the Victorian Mounted Rifles.
Having joined the citizen militia, he became a captain in 1913 and served in the Australian Imperial Force from 1915 to 1916 in Egypt and Gallipoli as a major, where he was wounded and sent home.
In November 1911 he had been elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Ballarat West, representing the Liberal Party.
[1] Baird's niece (by marriage) was Ruth Crow AM, a member of the Communist Party and political activist.