 Norman William Jolly was born on 5 August 1882 in Mintaro, South Australia, the son of storekeeper Henry Dickson Jolly and Annie (née Lathlean).He attended Prince Alfred College and the University of Adelaide, graduating with a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc).In 1904, Jolly was the first South Australian to be chosen for a Rhodes Scholarship, attending Balliol College, Oxford.