He was brought up from boyhood in the service of the Midland Railway Company until he attained a responsible position on the management.
Conservative by nature, Speight preferred to invest in quality infrastructure in order to reduce operational and maintenance costs.
However, that policy was in opposition the expansionist push by Victorian political leaders including Thomas Bent and John Woods, and it was alleged that Speight had over–extended the State.
[2] In 1898, he relocated to Western Australia, where he became managing director of Jarrahdale Jarrah Forests and Railways Company.
At the 1901 state election, Speight won the seat of North Perth as an independent candidate,[3] but died five months later, on 19 September 1901, survived by eight children.