His mother, Mary Anne (née Barkell), was born in 1837 at St Austell, Cornwall. He was educated at Bendigo, then worked as a miner, first at Bendigo, where he became a member of the Bendigo Miners' Association in 1886; and later at Broken Hill, New South Wales, where he was involved in the strike of 1892.
His mother, Mary Anne (née Barkell), was born in 1837 at St Austell, Cornwall. He was educated at Bendigo and then worked as a miner; initially at Bendigo, where he joined the Bendigo Miners' Association in 1886; later at Broken Hill, New South Wales, during the strike of 1892.