[2] Along with his three brothers—Gerry, Ernest James ("Tern"), and Bob—he was a member of the Carisbrook cricket club in Dunedin for many years from the early 1870s.
[3] Remembered as a "fine all-round player",[4] Austin made his cricketing debut for Otago playing against the touring England side in 1877.
[3] The following year, he was a member of the Otago XXII that played out a draw against the visiting Australian team at the Caledonian Ground.
[7] Austin was a member of the Dunedin Rugby Football Club, and played five matches as a forward for the Otago provincial team from 1879 to 1883.
[8][9] On 15 November 1893, Austin married Clara Bertha Westwood at St Mark's Church, in the Auckland suburb of Remuera.