Charles Hawker

The Honourable Charles Hawker
Member of the Australian Parliament for Wakefield
In office 12 October 1929 – 25 October 1938
Preceded by	Maurice Collins
Succeeded by	Sydney McHugh
Personal details
Born	16 May 1894(1894-05-16) Clare, South Australia
Died	25 October 1938(1938-10-25) (aged 44) Mount Dandenong, Victoria
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Nationalist (1929–31) UAP (1931–38)
Alma mater	Cambridge University
Occupation	Soldier

Charles Allan Seymour Hawker (16 May 1894 – 25 October 1938) was an Australian politician.

Hawker was born near Clare, South Australia and educated at Geelong Grammar School, Hawker and Trinity College, Cambridge, earning Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in 1919 and 1922 respectively. While at Cambridge he enlisted in the British Army to serve in World War I. Fighting in the Battle of Passchendaele, Hawker was injured and left severely handicapped.^[1][2]

Hawker returned to Australia in 1920 and in 1929 was elected as a member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the electorate of Wakefield for the United Australia Party. He was appointed Minister for Markets and Minister for Repatriation in first ministry of Prime Minister Joseph Lyons 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 and did not serve as a minister again.^[2]

Hawker died in a plane crash near Mount Dandenong, Victoria in 1938.^[3] The Australian Electoral Division of Hawker and the Canberra suburb of Hawker, Australian Capital Territory 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.^[4] His relative David Hawker is a former Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives.

References

1. ^ "The Charles Hawker Story". The Charles Allan Seymour Hawker Scholarship. http://www.hawkerscholarship.org/charleshawker.html. Retrieved 12 January 2008. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Van Dissel, Dirk (1983). "Hawker, Charles Allan Seymour (1894–1938)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: Australian National University. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090234b.htm. Retrieved 12 January 2008. 
3. ^ "The crash of Kyeema" (PDF). Civil Aviation Safety Authority. 2006. http://www.casa.gov.au/fsa/1998/nov/kyeema.pdf. Retrieved 12 January 2008. 
4. ^ "History of the Charles Allan Seymour Hawker Scholarship Trust Fund". Charles Allan Seymour Hawker Scholarship. http://www.hawkerscholarship.org. Retrieved 12 January 2008. 

Political offices
Preceded by Parker Moloney	Minister for Markets Minister for Commerce 1932	Succeeded by Joseph Lyons
Preceded by John McNeill	Minister for Repatriation 1932	Succeeded by Charles Marr
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Maurice Collins	Member for Wakefield 1929–38	Succeeded by Sydney McHugh

Persondata
Name	Hawker, Charles
Alternative names
Short description	Australian politician
Date of birth	16 May 1894
Place of birth	Clare, South Australia
Date of death	25 October 1938
Place of death	Mount Dandenong, Victoria