 Hay migrated to Sydney in 1838 and took up land in the Murrumbidgee district and became a successful squatter.Hay was a strong opponent of tariffs on trade between New South Wales and Victoria and was elected in April 1856 as the member for Murrumbidgee in the first Legislative Assembly and took up residence in Sydney.In September, he moved a vote of no-confidence in the Cowper ministry, which brought the government down.