Born in St Pancras, London, Archibald was orphaned at 10 and educated to primary school level in England, then worked as an apprentice piano builder before emigrating first to New Zealand in 1879 and thence to New South Wales and Victoria in 1881 before arriving in South Australia in 1882.

A foundation member of the United Labor Party (the predecessor of the Australian Labor Party), Archibald gained pre-selection for the South Australian House of Assembly Electoral district of Port Adelaide and was comfortably elected at the 1893 election.

[1] Archibald rose to prominence in parliament and gained a reputation as a "hard-working member who always thoroughly mastered his subject".

He also successfully introduced a number of important bills into parliament, including legislation on social issues like the establishment of public libraries, worker's compensation and rent relief.

Archibald also served as President of the South Australian branch of the Labor Party from 1901 to 1902 and Caucus chairman from 1905 to 1908.