Hely-Hutchinson was a barrister of the
Inner Temple, 1877; Private Secretary to Sir
Hercules Robinson, Governor of New South Wales; for Fiji Affairs, 1874; for New South Wales, 1875; Colonial Secretary of Barbadoes, 1877; Chief Secretary to the Government of Malta, 1883; Lieutenant-Governor of
Malta between 1884 and 1889, as
Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Windward Islands between 1889 and 1893 and as
Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Natal and Zululand between 1893 and 1901 and Special Commissioner for
Amatongaland. While in Natal he inaugurated the system of
Responsible Government in Natal, and completed the annexation of the Trans-Pongola Territories, which form an integral part of Zululand. during the height of the
Second Boer War in South Africa, and was the last British governor until the post disappeared when the colony joined the
Union of South Africa in 1910. He also acted as
High Commissioner for Southern Africa in 1909 during the absence of Lord Selborne. Following the end of the Boer war in June 1902, he was among those responsible for introducing the peace settlement in the colony. In November–December 1902 he made a month long tour of the
Malmesbury,
Saldanha Bay,
Piquetberg,
Clanwilliam, and
Ceres districts. The following month, he welcomed the British
Colonial Secretary,
Joseph Chamberlain, during his tour of South Africa. Hely-Hutchinson was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Law (LL.D.) by the
University of Edinburgh and was invested as a Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of St. Michael and St. George. He was invested as a
Privy Counsellor; thus he was styled
The Rt. Hon. ==Family==