Hargraves' mother (Elizabeth Nee Whitcombe) and father (John Edward Hargraves) sent Hargraves to Brighton Grammar School in England. When he was 14, he travelled over water to Sydney, Australia. He arrived in Sydney in 1832. He worked on a property at Bathurst, collecting tortoise shells. Before Hargraves became famous, he left his wife (Elizabeth Hargraves) and bought his own piece of land on Manning River. He took over a shop near his property. 