[2] In 1887, Hobbs joined the volunteer artillery in Perth as a gunner, was commissioned in 1889, and rose to the command of the 1st (Western Australian) Field Battery in 1903.

He was thus thoroughly equipped when war broke out and, on 8 August 1914 was selected by Major General William Bridges to command the 1st Australian Divisional Artillery.

It did not take a leading part in the capture of Mont St Quentin, but Monash, in his The Australian Victories in France, stated that he was "concerned ... that the fine performance of the Fifth Division should not be underrated.

The circumstances under which general Hobbs was called upon to intervene in the battle, at very short notice, imposed upon him, personally, difficulties of no mean order".

One of his tasks it may be mentioned was the crossing of the Somme in the face of strong opposition, and when Hobbs sent a message to the men of his war-worn division on its beginning a rest period on 8 September, he was able to say that they had "earned imperishable fame for their gallantry and valour".

Hobbs was a short and slight man, whose civilian life was that of a successful citizen who had a full realisation of his responsibilities to the society of which he was a member.

Monash said of Hobbs that he "succeeded fully as the Commander of a Division by his sound common sense and his sane attitude towards every problem that confronted him".

[7][8][9] The memorial is made of Donnybrook stone with a bronze bust of Hobbs on top, and placed against a background of Canary Island Palms[10] on the Perth Esplanade.

[10] The memorial was moved in 2014 from the Perth Esplanade to the Supreme Court Gardens as part of works to create Elizabeth Quay.