Mr William Morris HUGHES (1862 - 1952)**

Date of Birth: 25/09/1862 Place of Birth: Pimlico, London, England Date of Death: 27/11/1952 Place of Death: Lindfield, New South Wales, Australia

Parliamentary Service

Position Start End Period Notes Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly 17 Jul 1894 11 Jun 1901 6yr(s) 10mth(s) 26day(s) Member for Sydney-Lang 17 Jul 1894 3 Jul 1895 11mth(s) 17day(s) 16th (1894 - 1895) Member for Sydney-Lang 24 Jul 1895 8 Jul 1898 2yr(s) 11mth(s) 15day(s) 17th (1895 - 1898) Member for Sydney-Lang 27 Jul 1898 11 Jun 1901 2yr(s) 10mth(s) 16day(s) 18th (1898 - 1901) Case of Mr A.J.C Single Committee No.9 19 Sep 1895 10 Oct 1895 22days 17th (1895 - 1898) Pitt Town Settlement Committee No.30 6 Oct 1896 12 Nov 1896 1mth 7days 17th (1895 - 1898) Chairman Claim of Mr Theophilus Stephens – Crown Law Department Committee No.34 20 Oct 1896 11 Nov 1896 23days 17th (1895 - 1898) Elections and Qualifications Committee No. 6 22 Jun 1898 8 Jul 1898 17days 17th (1895 - 1898) Borough of Lithgow Validating Bill Committee No.21 1 Dec 1898 8 Dec 1898 8days 18th (1898 - 1901) Estate of the late S.M Swift of Petersham Committee No.23 13 Dec 1898 22 Dec 1898 10days 18th (1898 - 1901) Chairman Estate of the late S.M Swift of Petersham Committee No.3 1 Aug 1899 21 Dec 1899 4mths 21days 18th (1898 - 1901) Terrace Street Closing Bill Committee No.8 9 Aug 1899 15 Aug 1899 7days 18th (1898 - 1901) Claim of Mr Theophilus Stephens- Crown Law Department Committee No. 20 21 Nov 1899 30 Nov 1899 10days 18th (1898 - 1901) Action of Mr.Chisholm, Police Magistrate at Wollongong, in the case of Morgan v. Clift Committee No. 22 21 Nov 1899 30 Nov 1899 10days 18th (1898 - 1901) Claim by Messrs Maddison and Ewing Contractors Committee No.15 2 Aug 1900 27 Sep 1900 1mth 26days 18th (1898 - 1901) Case of Quartermaster Sergeant Troy Committee No.21 6 Sep 1900 29 Nov 1900 2mths 24days 18th (1898 - 1901) Church of England Property Trust, Diocese of Goulburn Committee No.24 5 Oct 1900 5 Dec 1900 2mths 1day 18th (1898 - 1901)

Political Party Activity

Australian Labor Party (ALP); federal leader 1915 - 1916; left over conscription 1916; Nationalist; United Australia Party; Liberal Party

Qualifications, occupations and interests

Labourer and shopkeeper. Educated at Llandudo, Wales and St Stephens Church of England school, Westminster where he was a pupil/teacher and teacher. Arrived in Queensland in 1884; bushworker; drover, seaman etc. Journeyed to Sydney c.1886. Became a kitchen man, oven-maker, and odd job man; Became a shopkeeper at Balmain. While in Parliament read for the Bar and was admitted in 1903. As a young man was a Member of Sydney School of the Arts Debating Society.; member of single tax league 1890 - 1892, Socialist League 1892 - 1898, Political organiser, Young Trades Council 1893; Waterside Workers Federation 1902 - 1916. Completed 50 years of continuous parliamentary service in 1944.

Honours Received

Kings Counsel in 1909

Membership of other Parliaments & Offices Held

Member of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. Member of the House of Representatives for West Sydney 1901 - 1917; for Bendigo 1917 - 1922; for North Sydney 1922 - 1949; and for Bradfield 1949 - 1952. Prime Minister of Australia 1915 - 1923.

Personal

Son of William Hughes, carpenter and joiner, and Jane Morris. Married (1) Elizabeth Cutts in 1886 and had issue, 3 daughters and 3 sons. Married (2) Mary Ethel Campbell and had issue, 1 daughter. Church of England.

Additional Information

Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 9 L. F. Fitzhardinge, 'William Morris Hughes: a political biography. I, That Fiery Particle 1862 - 1914', 1964 W. J. Hudson, 'Billy Hughes in Paris: the birth of Australian diplomacy', 1978 Donald Horne, 'In Search of Billy Hughes', 1979 Malcolm Booker, 'The great professional: a study of W. M. Hughes', 1980 Donald Horne, 'Billy Hughes', 2000 National Archives of Australia, 'Australia's Prime Ministers' Website http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/ National Archives of Australia Fact Sheet 73: William Morris Hughes Prime Minister of Australia 1915-23' http://www.naa.gov.au/fsheets/FS73.html Personal papers in the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales: William Morris Hughes - telegram, 1916 (MLDOC 1014)

Last modified 07/01/2009 09:06:33   :   Update this page