Waterhouse was aged 15 when his family migrated in 1839, initially to
Hobart. Four years later he moved to
Adelaide and set up business as a
merchant. Waterhouse was first elected to parliament in the
electoral district of East Torrens in the colony of South Australia in August 1851. He resigned 3 years later, was elected again in 1857 but resigned again soon after. Waterhouse supported economic development of the colony through
free trade and was elected to the
South Australian Legislative Council again in 1860, where he advocated uniform tariffs for Australia. He was chief secretary in the
First Reynolds Ministry from May 1860 to February 1861. After Reynolds ended his term as Premier in 1861, Waterhouse formed a government with the intention of finalising a motion in relation to Justice
Benjamin Boothby, a judge in the
Supreme Court of South Australia who was causing difficulties by objecting to the legitimacy of the Appeals Court under the new Constitution. Waterhouse resigned his ministry after this task was completed, but was persuaded to reform another government, which lasted until July 1863 before collapsing in the face of accusations of financial irregularities and alleged misappropriation of funds. ==New Zealand ==