Malet farmed in Otago and Canterbury for four years before he was appointed by the
Superintendent of
Canterbury Province,
William Rolleston, as clerk at the Warden's Court in
Hokitika. He was later a clerk to the resident magistrate in Christchurch. He became a registrar at the
Supreme Court in Christchurch in 1876. He then studied law and was
admitted to the bar in 1881; he practised for the next six years. Malet was involved in educational matters. From 1872 to 1874, he was registrar of the
University of New Zealand. From 1873 to 1876, he was secretary for the Board of Governors of
Canterbury College. From 1895 to 1897, he was on the Board of Governors of the
Canterbury Agricultural College. In 1888/89, he visited England. He was managing director of the
Lyttelton Times from 1891 to 1893; at the time, the newspaper was already based in Christchurch. He became a director of the
Bank of New Zealand in 1898 by government appointment, and was chairman of the board of directors 1902 to 1906. In 1901, he became a director of the Christchurch Meat Company, and from February 1902 to 1911, he chaired the board of directors of that company. He also held directorships with the
New Zealand Shipping Company and the Permanent Investment and Loan Company. ==Family and death==