[2] Hawkins applied to join the Royal Australian Air Force during the first months of World War II, and was accepted by the service in late June 1940.

In early 1951 Hawkins piloted a Dakota transport aircraft which guided a flight by 20 Supermarine Spitfire fighters from the UK to Southern Rhodesia.

[2][9] He repeated this role in September 1953, when his Dakota guided the SRAF's first de Havilland Vampire jet fighters from the UK to Southern Rhodesia.

[10] Hawkins was sent to the UK in 1953 to attend the Royal Air Force Staff College; by this time he held the rank of Major.

[11] Once Hawkins graduated from the staff college he became the air adviser at the Southern Rhodesian diplomatic mission in London, Rhodesia House.

Hawkins was personally opposed to Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) on 11 November 1965, but remained in his role.

[15] UDI also sparked the Rhodesian Bush War, an armed insurgency by black nationalists against Rhodesia's white minority government.

[18] In September 1966 Hawkins and the Minister for Law and Order Desmond Lardner-Burke made radio broadcasts that warned militants against making attacks against Rhodesia during a Commonwealth conference that was being held in London.

[5] Due to United Nations sanctions imposed in response to Rhodesia's illegal declaration of independence, Rhodesian citizens were banned from travelling internationally.

[8][4] Australian Federal opposition leader Gough Whitlam criticised the government for issuing the passport, arguing this had violated the United Nations sanctions against Rhodesia.

[22] This was one of only three official diplomatic posts Rhodesia was able to maintain due to the impact of the United Nations sanctions imposed in response to its illegal declaration of independence, though there were also a number of unofficial Rhodesian representative offices in various countries.

[23] South Africa was a key partner for Rhodesia, and the country initially refused to apply the United Nations sanctions.

Historian Matthew Jordan has observed that "the Smith regime was using Australia's generosity [in issuing passports to citizens] to evade sanctions".

[28] Between September and December 1979 Hawkins formed part of the Rhodesian delegation in London during the negotiations which led to Lancaster House Agreement.

This agreement ended the Rhodesian Bush War and directly led to Rhodesia's transition to majority rule and independence as Zimbabwe.

[29] He served as the foreign affairs adviser to the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia, Bishop Abel Muzorewa, during the negotiations.