 He was educated at a national school in Sydney and then Scotch College, Melbourne 1861–67, where he was a champion light-weight boxer.As an agent for his father, he arrived in Fiji on 10 March 1871 and was aboard the second voyage of the brig "Carl" in the Solomon Islands 1871–72 which was involved in blackbirding.The captain of the "Carl", Joseph Armstrong, was later sentenced to death for his involvement in the massacre of islanders during the earlier 1871 voyage of the "Carl".