 He was one of the original investors in the South Australian Mining Association, which developed the lucrative Burra copper mines between 1845 and 1865, and a director (disqualified in 1860 through absence greater than 6 months but subsequently re-elected)

He was associated with the Congregational Church in Freeman Street (now part of Gawler Place), funded the building of the chapel in Ebenezer Place (off Rundle Street east).He then helped organise the building of the Hindmarsh Square Congregational Church, which later became an office and orchestral studio for ABC Radio.He was closely associated with J. L. Young and his Adelaide Educational Institution, which for many years used rooms at the Ebenezer Place and Freeman Street chapels.