He was educated at Whinham College, and worked as a farm hand in the mallee country between Bute and Port Broughton.
In 1888 he joined staff of The Advertiser, and eight years later started working for the Western Australian Government as a stock inspector.
[2] In 1900 he enlisted with the (Western Australian) Bushmen's Corps for the Boer war,[3] which he survived without injury, and returned to Adelaide and journalism — with The Register — writing sporting columns under the pseudonyms 'High Mark', 'Hat Trick', 'Townacre', and 'Canmore'.
[4] He missed out on the selection however, and enlisted as a private soldier in September 1914, fought at Gallipoli and in Egypt, where he was promoted to the rank of captain.
In his younger days he was a member of the Modern Pickwick Club and was the "life and soul" of many an evening at the "Prince Alfred" and "Sturt" hotels, having a family connection with both.