He was born in Uttoxeter in the West Midlands region of England, the son of Birmingham magistrate Thomas Clement Sneyd-Kynnersley and his wife, Eliza.

[2] He retired from the navy due to ill health and settled in New Zealand at Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere in the early 1860s.

[6][7] At the same time as becoming warden for Wangapeka, Kynnersley (alongside Arthur Collins) was appointed to the Executive of the Nelson Provincial Council by the province's Superintendent, John Perry Robinson.

[10] Simultaneously, a vacancy occurred in the Westland North parliamentary electorate through Timothy Gallagher's resignation and on 1 June 1860, Kynnersley advertised his candidacy.

[12] Kynnersley was unopposed in the resulting 2 July by-election[13] and represented the electorate until the dissolution of the 4th Parliament on 30 December, when he retired.