He had returned to Australia by the 1870s where he worked for Beath, Schiess & Co. and Barthold & Co., later establishing his own small business in North Melbourne as a tailor and dyer.

[2] He played a major role in the revitalisation of the Pressers' Union in the 1890s, serving terms as its president and secretary as well as delegate to the Melbourne Trades Hall Council from 1892 to 1902.

He was president of the Trades Hall Council from 1897 to 1898 and a strong advocate for wage boards, helping establish them across 60 industries.

[1] Barker was an unsuccessful candidate for the seat of North Melbourne at the 1897 Victorian general election, losing to William Watt.

[1] In 1916 he visited England with the Empire Parliamentary Association and toured the Western Front, where he "had experience of firing a shell at the Germans".

[2] They initially lived in Richmond and later moved to St Kilda East, where he was "surrounded by his extensive collection of books, curios and pictures".