[1] Pulleine was born in Picton, New Zealand and spent much of his childhood in Fiji.
He studied medicine in Adelaide, Sydney and, later, in Germany and Britain, eventually becoming an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist, setting up as a consultant in Adelaide.
He married Ethel Constance Louise Cunningham Williams in 1899, with whom he had a son and four daughters.
He belonged to 18 learned societies and published numerous articles and scientific papers on medical, zoological, botanical and other topics.
With arachnologist William Joseph Rainbow, he described several species of trapdoor spiders.