Charles Allan Seymour Hawker (16 May 1894 – 25 October 1938) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

for

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

from 1929 until his accidental death in 1938, representing the Nationalist Party (1929–1931) and its successor the

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four Elections in Australia, federal elections in that time, usually governing Coalition (Australia), in coalition ...

(1931–1938). He was Minister for Repatriation and Minister for Markets (later Commerce) in the

Lyons Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

government from 1931 to 1932.

Early life and war service

Hawker was born at

Bungaree Bungaree, or Boongaree ( – 24 November 1830), was an Indigenous Australian man from the Broken Bay region north of Sydney, who was known as an explorer, entertainer, and Aboriginal community leader.Barani (2013)Significant Aboriginal People ...

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. Hawker was educated at

Geelong Grammar School Geelong Grammar School is a private Anglican co-educational boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located in Corio on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay. Establ ...

, and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, earning Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in 1919 and 1922, respectively. While studying at Cambridge, he enlisted for service in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

on 11 August 1914, and was commissioned as a temporary lieutenant in the 6th (Service) Battalion of the

Somerset Light Infantry The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Som ...

on 1 August 1915. He saw action on the Western Front in the

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

salient, and was injured on 11 August and again in the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used Chemical weapons in World War I, ...

on 25 September, resulting in the loss of his eye. Despite his injuries, Hawker returned to the front with the rank of captain in May 1917. Hawker was severely wounded again on 4 October 1917 in the Battle of Broodseinde, and was paralysed from the waist down. However, after a series of operations and rehabilitation, he was able to walk with two sticks, although his legs remained in surgical irons for the rest of his life. Hawker returned to South Australia in 1920, resumed his studies and became involved in family agricultural holdings. He became increasingly interested in trade as well as in political movements. Hawker joined the state council of the Returned Sailors' and Soldiers' Imperial League of Australia in 1921 and served as its vice-president. He was president of the Liberal Federation from 1927 to 1930, and was the South Australian member of the Commonwealth Board of Trade from 1928.

Political career

In 1929 was elected as a member of the

, representing the electorate of

for the

. He was appointed Minister for Markets and Minister for Repatriation in first ministry of Prime Minister

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Australia, from 1932 until his death in 1939. He held office as the inaugural leader of the United Australia Par ...

and was the youngest member of the ministry. On 12 April 1932 he was replaced as Minister for Repatriation by Charles Marr and the Markets portfolio was renamed Commerce. On 23 September 1932, he resigned from the ministry in protest at its refusal to reduce parliamentary salaries in response to the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, having crossed the floor to vote as a minority in a controversial day in Parliament, and did not serve as a minister again, although he continued to represent the people of Wakefield as their elected representative. Hawker travelled extensively, researching issues of trade and farming, and he published his research in pamphlets and treatises and gave lectures on issues of agriculture and pastoral work. He was an enthusiastic book collector and added to a library of volumes inherited from his father.

Death and legacy

Hawker died in the ''Kyeema'' airplane disaster at

Mount Dandenong, Victoria Mount Dandenong, sometimes styled as Mt. Dandenong, is a township and suburb of the Greater Melbourne area in Victoria, Australia, east of the Melbourne central business district (CBD), located within the local government area of the Shire o ...

in 1938. A memorial was established at St Michael's Anglican Church at Bungaree, South Australia. The Australian Electoral Division of Hawker and the

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

suburb of

Hawker, Australian Capital Territory Hawker () (Postcodes in Australia, postcode: 2614) is a suburb of the Belconnen district of Canberra, located within the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The suburb of Hawker is named after Charles Hawker (1894–1938), Member of the A ...

are named in his honour, and the Charles Allan Seymour Hawker Scholarship was established by his sister Kathleen Lilias Needham in 1991 to fund Australian university education. His cousin,

David Hawker David Peter Maxwell Hawker (born 1 May 1949) is a former Australian politician who served as a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from May 1983 to July 2010, representing the Division of Wannon, Victoria, previously re ...

, was

Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives The Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives is the Chairperson, presiding officer of the Australian House of Representatives, the lower house of the Parliament of Australia. The counterpart in the upper house is the President of th ...

from 2004 to 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawker, Charles 1894 births 1938 deaths Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Wakefield Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Cabinet of Australia Australian people of English descent Australian pastoralists People educated at Geelong Grammar School United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Australia Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War I Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Australia Accidental deaths in Victoria (state) Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1938 Somerset Light Infantry officers Australian book and manuscript collectors Military personnel from South Australia Australian MPs 1929–1931 Australian MPs 1931–1934 Australian MPs 1934–1937 Australian MPs 1937–1940