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Davis Hughes

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Australian politician
The HonourableSir Davis Hughes
Minister for Public Works
In office
13 May 1965 – 17 January 1973
PremierRobert Askin
Preceded byNorm Ryan
Succeeded byLeon Punch
ConstituencyArmidale
Personal details
BornWilliam Davis Hughes
(1910-11-24)24 November 1910
Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
Died16 March 2003(2003-03-16) (aged 92)
Erina, New South Wales, Australia
Political partyCountry Party
SpouseJoan Johnson (1940–2003; his death)

Sir William Davis Hughes (24 November 1910 – 16 March 2003) was an Australian politician. He was notable for his involvement in the controversial resignation of architect Jørn Utzon from the Sydney Opera House project in 1966.

Early life

Hughes was born in Launceston, Tasmania and was educated at Launceston High School and the University of Tasmania, although he did not graduate. He married Joan Johnson in 1940 and they had one son and two daughters. He was a school teacher in Tasmania from 1927 until 1935, at Caulfield Grammar in Melbourne, from 1936 until he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), and at The Armidale School from 1947 until 1950. He served in the RAAF from 1939 until 1945, achieving the rank of squadron leader.

Political career

Hughes was elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Armidale from 1950 to 1953 and 1956 to 1973 for the Country Party. In May 1958, he was elected leader of the Country Party in place of Michael Bruxner, defeating Charles Cutler by a single vote. He suffered a "gastric illness" in the lead-up to the 1959 state election and was hospitalised for over three weeks during the campaign, during which time Cutler served as acting leader. During the campaign it was also alleged that Hughes had fraudulently claimed to hold a university degree, despite never graduating. His illness and the controversy over his academic qualifications led to his resignation as Country Party leader after the election, with Cutler elected as his replacement. In a subsequent personal explanation to the Legislative Assembly, he stated that he had not deliberately misled parliament but acknowledged that he should have corrected the records to acknowledge that he had not actually graduated from university.

Hughes criticized Sydney Opera House construction management

With the election of the Askin government in 1965, Hughes became Minister for Public Works, with responsibility for, among other things, the completion of the Sydney Opera House. Hughes refused to accept Jørn Utzon's approach to managing the Opera House project and, specifically, the construction of plywood prototypes for its interiors. Hughes refused to pay a fee claim for £51,000, which meant that Utzon could not pay his staff. After a heated discussion about the claim, Utzon sent a letter of withdrawal to Hughes on 28 February 1966, stating: "You have forced me to the leave the job". In his media announcement made only hours after receiving the letter, Hughes stated it was Utzon's 'resignation'.

The Opera House was completed by another architect, Peter Hall, an ex-government architect from Sydney. Taking on the project, Hall deemed Utzon's seating plan as unsafe, and to improve this he made radical changes to the interior design, a decision for which he would be largely criticised. Despite this, the Opera House was completed under his watch and it eventually opened in 1973.

Upon his resignation from parliament in January 1973, Hughes was appointed NSW Agent-General in London.

Later life

Hughes died in Erina, New South Wales on 16 March 2003, aged 92.

Honours

Hughes was knighted in 1975, two years after resigning from parliament.

Notes

  1. "Our History- No 68. Skulduggery in the 1959 State Election". The Armidale Independent. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012.
  2. Pitt, Helen (15 February 2018). "Barnaby Joyce's seat of New England is no stranger to controversy". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Sir Davis Hughes (1910–2003)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  4. "Hughes to lead C.P. in N.S.W." Canberra Times. 7 May 1958.
  5. "Hughes may resign C.P. leadership". Canberra Times. 4 March 1959.
  6. "Hughes Academic Status Becomes Election Illness". Canberra Times. 11 March 1959.
  7. "Cutler to become C.P. leader". Canberra Times. 26 March 1959.
  8. "Failure To Correct Records 'Weakness' Hughes Admits". Canberra Times. 22 April 1959.
  9. P.Drew, 1999. p.350
  10. Hassall, Ben Cheshire with Greg; Ricketts, digital producer Kieran (31 January 2016). "The man who fixed the 'plain illegal' Sydney Opera House". ABC News. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  11. "Sir Davis Hughes". The Telegraph. 28 April 2003. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  12. "Death of the Honourable Sir Davis Hughes". Hansard. Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2007.
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Preceded byDavid Drummond Member for Armidale
1949 – 1953 		Succeeded byJim Cahill
Preceded byJim Cahill Member for Armidale
1956 – 1973 		Succeeded byDavid Leitch
Party political offices
Preceded bySir Michael Bruxner Leader of the New South Wales Country Party
1958 – 1959 		Succeeded bySir Charles Cutler
Preceded byWilliam Chaffey Deputy Leader of the New South Wales Country Party
1968 – 1973 		Succeeded byLeon Punch
Diplomatic posts
Preceded byJock Pagan Agent-General for New South Wales
1973–1977 		Succeeded byPeter Valkenburg
Leaders of the New South Wales National Party (and its predecessors)
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