By 1928 he had joined the Nationalist Party. He served a period as a minister. In 1937 he retired from the House, becoming Tasmania"s Agent-General in London, a position he held until 1950.
He was knighted in 1941, and died in Launceston.
In 1925 he was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly seat of Bass, initially as a member of Walter Lee"s "Liberal" grouping.