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George Charles Hawker
Prominent pastoralist and politician after arriving in Adelaide in 1840.
George Charles Hawker was the son of a Royal Navy admiral and held a master of arts degree from Trinity College, Cambridge.
He set up as a prominent pastoralist and politician after arriving in Adelaide in 1840.
Hawker’s father had been granted land in New South Wales through pastoralist John Macarthur and bought sections in New Zealand and South Australia. He was also active in securing an Anglican bishop for the South Australia colony.
Below: George Hawker, right, and on the front steps of his Medindie mansion, The Briars, and (inset) his homestead at the Bungaroo station in the South Autralia's mid north, running 100,000 sheep at the time the image was taken in 1880.
At Bungaree, Hawker planted a fine garden and orchard.
Hawker Homes
At Bungaree, north of Clare, Hawker planted a fine garden and orchard. He also created a spacious garden at The Briars home, 15 Briar Avenue, in the Adelaide suburb of Medindie that he bought in 1856 and enlarged into a 30-room mansion.
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The Briars was acquired by the Salvation Army and opened as the McBride Maternity Hospital on January 28, 1914.
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The Briars provided maternity and care services, notably for single mothers and adoptions, operating on the site for roughly 80 years until transitioning and closing down specific maternity operations in the 1970s.​​
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George Hawker was prominent in the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society and, in the 1850s and 1860s, won prizes, exhibiting with other well-known amateur gardeners, such as Thomas Elder and Robert Barr Smith.
Below: 'The Briars' at Medindie a historic 30-room mansion at 15 Briar Avenue, built in 1856 by George C. Hawker
Lucy Webb, newspaper correspondent, tells some interesting stories about early Bungaree, including a shipwreck:
Clare History - The Hawkers of Bungaree, by Lucy Webb
On 16 December 1845 Hawker had married Bessie Seymour; of their fifteen children, six sons and six daughters survived.
Hawker died at his home The Briars, Medindie, on 21 May 1895 and was buried at North Road cemetery.
Before his death he had been informed that he would receive a knighthood in the birthday honours; his widow's appeal for a posthumous award was approved by the Queen in September 1895.
Hawker left an estate worth £305,800; his collection of paintings and statues was left first to his wife and then to the Art Gallery of South Australia.
Establishing Bungaree
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George Hawker arrived in Adelaide on the Lysander with his brother Charles in 1840.
Another brother James had come out with South Australia’s second governor George Gawler in 1838 and worked on surveys.
George Hawker went north with explorer Edward Eyre and, impressed by the country, obtained money from this father to buy 2,000 Macarthur merino ewes from Thomas Iceley near Bathurst and overlanded them to the Barossa Valley.
When Aboriginal people stole the sheep, Hawker retaliated forcefully but made peace on his own terms.
When the Hawker brothers bought their Barossa run near Anlaby at Nuriootpa, George moved north and found good water in 1841 at Bungaree on the Hutt River near the future Clare.
By 1848, the brothers had leased 500,000 acres there. James sold his share to George and took up Moorundi on the Murray River.
Charles settled on the Anama section and George later bought 130,000 acres of Bungaree when the run was auctioned by the government.
In 1854, George brought John Noble from England as his overseer. As shepherds were replaced by wire fences, Noble took charge of the merino stud.
George Hawker had already bought Rambouillet rams from France but, on Noble's advice, turned to Wanganella rams that made Bungaree famous for its hardy and large-framed sheep, capable of walking long distances to water. Noble served the family well for nearly 60 years
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Bungaree Station with sheep in 1906. This closely resembles a photograph which hangs as an original framed print in the Bungaree woolshed, and was used for an Australian banknote
George Hawker, Politician
Hawker’s political journey began with an initial setback when anti-squatter sentiment led to his defeat for the seat of Stanley in the South Australian Legislative Council in 1851.
In 1851, Hawker failed to win the Stanley seat in the South Australian Legislative Council but represented the "Victoria" district 1858-65 in the House of Assembly.
Hawker achieved significant parliamentary authority early in his career, serving as the Speaker of the House of Assembly and Chairman of Committees from 1860 to 1864 (and occasionally cited as serving until 1865). He was highly regarded for his firm control of the chamber and comprehensive understanding of constitutional law.
He was speaker and chairman of committees 1860-64, despite a temperance pledge imperfectly observed. Following his first stint as Speaker, he took a decade-long hiatus from local politics to live with his family in Germany before returning to the chamber in 1875. With his family, Hawker went to Germany for a cure. Apart from a briefly visiting the colony in 1868, he lived at Heidelberg (Germany) until 1874.
Back in South Australian politics, he represented the "Victoria" district 1875-84 and North Adelaide 1884-95.
He was treasurer under premier Arthur Blyth for 11 days in 1875, chief secretary under James Boucaut in March-June 1876 and commissioner of public works under Boucaut 1877-78 and under William Morgan 1878-81.
Hawker became a staple of various South Australian ministries, holding three of the colony's most crucial political portfolios: [1, 2, 3]
Hawker’s special interests were pastoral affairs and railways.
When Morgan retired, Hawker was asked to form a ministry (as Premier) but refused; for this and similar actions he was accused of “pusillanimity” (timidity) and he later shocked his colleagues by voting with the “labour" party.
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Today, his political legacy is preserved by a marble bust displayed in Parliament House, Adelaide, and he remains the namesake of the rural town of Hawker located in the Flinders Ranges.
Read more:
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Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Charles_Hawker
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Adelaide A-Z: https://adelaideaz.com/articles/george-hawker-takes-lead-roles-in-south-australian-politics-after-merino-success-at-bungaree
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Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 4 , 1972:
https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hawker-george-charles-3734 -
Obituaries Australia: https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/hawker-george-charles-3734
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National Library of Australia - Trove:
THE HON. G. C. HAWKER SPEAKER OF LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. -
Diary of George Hawker at State Library S.A. Date1840-1853
https://digital.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/nodes/view/7639 (by page) -
Hawkers of Bungaree by Lucy Webb : Clare History - Shipwreck, Police, Duke of Manchester, St. Michael's Bungaree.
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Hawker Family - SA History Hub:
https://sahistoryhub.history.sa.gov.au/subjects/hawker-family/