 He was appointed lecturer in mathematics and natural philosophy at Ormond College in 1886, and in 1889 resigned to become headmaster of South Melbourne College.In his hands it became the leading private school in Victoria, and its pupils more than held their own in competition with those from the public schools.During a period of eight years, of 28 first-class honours gained by all the schools of Victoria in physics and chemistry, 14 were obtained by pupils from South Melbourne College.