Fraser was born on 21 August 1832 in Big Brook (now known as Lorne), a small rural township in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada.

[2][4] In 1855, Fraser moved to Melbourne and opened a store on Elizabeth Street, where he engaged in horse trading and imported produce from Sydney.

In the mid-1860s, Fraser established the Squatting Investment Company with Thomas Craig, William Forrest, and George Simmie.

[4] Fraser later acquired further properties in the Riverina of New South Wales and the Western District of Victoria, becoming a leader of the wealthy wool-growing class known as the Squattocracy.

In 1886, he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council, the traditional preserve of the squatters, representing South Yarra Province, and remained a member until 1901.

When elected he was a supporter of prime minister Edmund Barton's Protectionist Party, but he was not favourable to Barton's more liberal successor, Alfred Deakin, and sat as an independent conservative until 1909, when he joined Deakin's new Commonwealth Liberal Party, although belonging to its conservative wing.

[4] Fraser died of bronchitis on 30 July 1919, aged 86, in Melbourne, and was buried at Brighton General Cemetery.