[2] On leaving college in 1858, he was accepted by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel for service in the Diocese of Labuan and Sarawak.
[2] He was admitted to the diaconate in 1858, and ordained in 1859,[3] working as an SPG missionary, the first amongst the Land Dayaks of Sarawak.
He held incumbencies at Inglewood (1862–68), Malmsbury and Taradale (1868–70), Kyneton (1870–78), Geelong (1878–89) and Brighton, Melbourne, where he served as Vicar of St Andrew's Church (1889–92).
[2] Chalmers was elected to be the Bishop of Goulburn on 9 June 1892 and consecrated and installed on 1 November.
[5] He died in office in Sydney in 1901 and is buried within the precincts of St Saviour's Cathedral, Goulburn.