 The son of the Reverend James Aspinall, Butler Cole Aspinall was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, in 1830, educated for the law, and was called to the Bar in 1853.He engaged in newspaper work, contributing to the "Morning Chronicle" and other London papers.In 1854, he came to Melbourne as a law reporter for "The Argus", and also contributed to the "Morning Herald", "Age", and "Melbourne Punch".