[3] From 1939 to 1946, he was Assistant Secretary to Sir Douglas Copland, who was Commonwealth Prices Commissioner and Special Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister.

In 1950 he was posted to London as Official Secretary and acting Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, remaining there till 1953.

On the plus side, Hewitt had a reputation for having a formidable mind, a grasp of detail, a capacity to make quick decisions and an impatience with red tape.

[6] But the major point in his disfavour was that he was never a part of the group of senior figures who lunched at the Commonwealth Club; they disliked him for setting himself apart from them.

McMahon's Liberal government survived less than two years, being soundly defeated by Gough Whitlam's Labor Party in December 1972.

As Graham Freudenberg wrote in A Certain Grandeur (1977):[12] In Hewitt Connor felt he had found a kindred spirit – both were strong nationalists, both loners, both impatient of the windy orthodoxies of 'established channels'; both saw themselves as tough-minded negotiators, both authoritarian, both more easily able to inspire fear than affection, yet both had great charm in private; both were supremely confident in the ability of their applied intelligence to master any problem.In 1974, Whitlam considered appointing Hewitt as Secretary to the Treasury, replacing Sir Frederick Wheeler, but in the end he opted to maintain the status quo.

[13] In July 1975 he was one of a number of senior public servants summoned to give evidence to the Senate over the Loans Affair; in the event, the government claimed crown immunity from such questioning.

He celebrated his birthday with a party at the Union, University & Schools Club, which was attended by Paul Keating, Ian Sinclair, and Michael Kirby, among others.

[23] Hewitt died from the effects of Lewy body dementia on 28 February 2020, at an aged-care facility in Edgecliff, New South Wales.

[1] Hope Hewitt became a highly respected English lecturer at the Australian National University, and a poet and writer, among other achievements.

Patricia Hewitt long resided in the United Kingdom, where she became a Labour politician and government minister under Tony Blair.