The famous Henty brothers, James and Edward, were his great-uncles. As a youth Ernest Henty worked as a clerk for James Henty & Co., spending some years with the firm in Fiji. In 1883 he moved to Melbourne, working as a journalist for the World and then the Melbourne Daily Telegraph.
The famous Henty brothers, James and Edward, were Ernest Henty's great-uncles.  Ernest worked for his family business, James Henty & Co., in Fiji before moving to Melbourne in 1883 where he began a career as a journalist with the World and then the Melbourne Daily Telegraph.