Stanley was born in
Edinburgh, Scotland, on 1 January 1839, the son of actor and painter Montague Talbot Stanley and his wife Mary Susan (née Eyre). Stanley studied and practised architecture in Edinburgh, prior to emigrating to Brisbane in 1861–62. There, he joined the Lands Department in 1863 and became the chief clerk of works, under the Colonial Architect
Charles Tiffin. On 27 April 1865, he married Margaret Bennet at
Toowoomba. His younger brother,
Henry Charles Stanley, was also an early immigrant to Queensland, becoming the Chief Engineer of the Queensland railways. His niece,
Gwendolyn Stanley was an artist. ==Career==