 He was Minister for Repatriation and Minister for Markets (later Commerce) in the Lyons government from 1931 to 1932.Hawker was born at Bungaree homestead, near Clare, South Australia.He was the second son of Michael Seymour Hawker, manager of the Hawker family stations, and his wife Elizabeth Begg, née McFarlane, and grandson of George Charles Hawker.