WILLIAM HAWKER was born on 15 February 1818 in Castlemorton, Worcester, England, the fourth child—of 9 children—of John Hawker and Sarah (neè Berrow). Other children were Samuel, Elizabeth, John, William, Mary Ann, Thomas, Hannah, Henry and James. William married twice; he first married Harriet Hodges in Castlemorton, England 2nd June 1842. They had two children, William (Jnr) 1844 and Henry 1846. William was charged and found guilty of stealing a sheep in 1846 and was sentenced to 10 years. He was transported to Australia in 1847 on the ship ‘Adelaide’ as a convict, leaving his family behind in England. He was one of the last convicts to arrive at Moreton Bay. In those days it was assumed by the family that they would never be seen again. His wife Harriet was documented in the 1851 census—with her children— as living with her parents in Castlemorton. On the 3rd of June 1850, according to The Moreton Bay Courier (newspaper) William—along with others—was granted his ‘ticket of leave’. He purchased one of the first available blocks of land in Warwick (after Patrick Leslie ‘explorer’), where he worked as a carpenter. Eight years later, William married his second wife Lydia Cox in Warwick Qld Australia in September 1858, and they had six children – Alice, Samuel, Harriet, William, John Frederick, and Charles William. William died in 1874 near Warwick Qld. As reported by the Warwick Angus (newspaper), he left his home to water his horse under the Victoria Bridge where he fell and hit his head on a stone and never regained consciousness. He was reported to be a long-term resident of Warwick and was known as a ‘harmless honest man’. He was laid to rest in the Warwick General Cemetery. Other family members resting in the Warwick cemetery:

• Son, William (Jnr) – in the same section as his father
• Son, Samuel Cox Hawker, and his wife Annie Alice Hawker (neè Gollan) rest in the Church of England Section of the Cemetery.
• Father-in-law, Samuel Cox (Lydia’s father)

Other family members resting places

• Lydia – William’s (second) wife, lived to be 94 years of age and after living with her daughter for some years was laid to rest in the Inverell Cemetery NSW.
• Henry – William & Harriet’s son, eventually immigrated to Australia with his family and is resting in the Toowong Cemetery in Brisbane

Information shared by William’s great great grand-daughters Janeen Maguire and Allison Rodgers (Jan 2024).

Newspaper Articles & Family Photos