Born in Devon in 1848, Comins went to New Zealand as a teenager to study farming. He arrived in Auckland Harbour on board the passenger ship in December 1862 and on his return did six months of surgical training at St Thomas' Hospital in London. He read for his licentiate in theology at Hatfield Hall, Durham and was ordained in 1873, going on to spend three years serving as a curate in Grantham.
