For nearly a decade, the 58-year-old Australian has been the Dunedin Library services manager.
However, he recently resigned because family ties are luring him back home.
Mr Hawke said he had been working at the State Library of Queensland in Brisbane before moving to Dunedin in 2002.
At the time, his children were young and he was ready for a change.
"The State Library was a research library. I wanted to have more contact with local communities and the Dunedin Public Library offered that."
Mr Hawke's family was now grown up and had "trickled" back to Australia, where his large extended family still lived. There was now a strong desire to return to Australia to be near them, he said.
Mr Hawke brought a considerable amount of development and change to Dunedin's libraries, including full service Sunday opening, establishing the South Lib Consortium, providing free broadband internet access, celebrating the library's centenary and rebranding the facility.
"For a lot of people, the library conjures up an image of a hushed, musty place, with rows of books.
"Anyone who's been to the library recently knows it is buzzing with people and technology - very much different from the stereotype.
"A lot has been achieved in the past decade, but these achievements relate to a whole lot of people at council and the library. It's been a team effort."
Mr Hawke has lined up a new job as chief executive officer of the Goulburn Valley Regional Library in Shepparton, Central Victoria.
"I'm nowhere near ready to retire yet."
Mr Hawke said he had "very mixed feelings" about leaving Dunedin.
"I will take with me lots of fond memories of this city and its libraries.
"It's a beautiful city, with friendly people who are passionate about culture and literature.
"But I'm looking forward to new challenges."
His last day at the Dunedin Library will be August 19.
