Cole was born in 1808 in Westminster, London, England. His father was William Cole, and Cole had three sisters. Cole sailed to the colony Van Diemen's Land on the barque Vibilia to settle in Hobart. Fellow traveller Mary Best came from a family of cabinet makers and upholsterers and they married in December 1833. They lived for a time in Hobart before moving to Launceston, where they had three children:
Judith Bickerton Cole. On 23 April 1885 she married William Caddy Cox, who had previously been married to Harriet Willis
After seven years in Van Diemen's Land they moved to Portland, Victoria. Five years later they travelled overland, in a covered wagon drawn by oxen, to Adelaide, South Australia, arriving in 1846. In 1848 Cole paid £30 to buy 10 acres of land in Enfield where he built a cottage for his family. His youngest son Alfred died in 1849, aged 9. Cole had a protracted illness and died intestate, aged 53, on 23 June 1861. His wife Mary died at "Lashbrook" near Macclesfield in 1916.
Career
Cole undertook house carpentry and joinery work in Hobart, before moving with his wife to Launceston. After seven years in Van Diemen's Land they moved to Portland, Victoria, where Cole was employed as Superintendent of Public Works from 1841 to 1846. On 15 December 1846 Cole opened his own office as 'Architect & Surveyor' in Adelaide, where he worked for 15 years from 1846–1861. He designed a Wesleyan Methodist Mission House. He let and sold property for a commission. After building his own cottage in 1848 he gained work designing houses and shops for other people. After joining the Independent Order of Rechabites and the Total Abstinence Society, he gained opportunities such as trusteeships and surveyorships of building societies and housing developments. In 1852 he spent most of a year prospecting at Amcrovan Gully, Bendigo. He became a paid court witness in building disputes, and accepted publicly-subscribed fees for overseeing the design and construction of small chapels. In the 1850s his work ranged from two-storey terraced houses to warehouses and shops, with a speciality in small churches and schoolrooms. His architectural work included Temperance Hall, 182-184 Tynte Street, North Adelaide, built in 1858. In 1858 he became City Surveyor of the Adelaide Council. In June 1859 he was a founding member of the Association of Architects, Engineers and Surveyors. He was elected to parliament as member for West Torrens. By the 1860s his buildings included 'villa residences' for minor gentry.
