Davis Hughes
{{Short description|Australian politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| birth_date = {{birth date|1910|11|24|df=y}}
| birth_place = Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
| constituency = Armidale
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2003|3|16|1910|11|24}}
| death_place = Erina, New South Wales, Australia
| office = Minister for Public Works
| predecessor = Norm Ryan
| successor = Leon Punch
| premier = Robert Askin
| party = Country Party
| spouse = Joan Johnson (1940–2003; his death)
| termstart = 13 May 1965
| termend = 17 January 1973
| birth_name = William Davis Hughes
| honorific_prefix = The Honourable
| name = Sir Davis Hughes
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=October 2014}}
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.{{cite web
|title=Our History- No 68. Skulduggery in the 1959 State Election
|publisher=The Armidale Independent
|url=http://www.armidaleindependent.com.au/wordpress/?p=3055
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327132844/http://www.armidaleindependent.com.au/wordpress/?p=3055
|archivedate=27 March 2012
}} 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),{{cite news|last1=Pitt|first1=Helen|title=Barnaby Joyce's seat of New England is no stranger to controversy|url=http://www.smh.com.au/comment/barnaby-joyce-history-repeats-with-leadership-scandals-from-new-englanders-20180214-h0w3ri.html|accessdate=2018-02-16|work=Sydney Morning Herald|date=2018-02-15}} and at The Armidale School from 1947 until 1950. He served in the RAAF from 1939 until 1945, achieving the rank of squadron leader.{{cite NSW Parliament |title=Sir Davis Hughes (1910–2003) |id=1713 |former=Yes |accessdate=13 May 2019}}
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.{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/91249680|title=Hughes to lead C.P. in N.S.W.|newspaper=Canberra Times|date=7 May 1958}} 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.{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/103093427|title=Hughes may resign C.P. leadership|newspaper=Canberra Times|date=4 March 1959}} During the campaign it was also alleged that Hughes had fraudulently claimed to hold a university degree, despite never graduating.{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/103093921|title=Hughes Academic Status Becomes Election Illness|newspaper=Canberra Times|date=11 March 1959}} 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.{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/128811641|title=Cutler to become C.P. leader|newspaper=Canberra Times|date=26 March 1959}} 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.{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/128813768|title=Failure To Correct Records 'Weakness' Hughes Admits|newspaper=Canberra Times|date=22 April 1959}}
File:06 Sydney Opera House, Australia.jpg
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".P.Drew, 1999. p.350 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.{{Cite web|last=Hassall|first=Ben Cheshire with Greg|last2=Ricketts|first2=digital producer Kieran|date=2016-01-31|title=The man who fixed the 'plain illegal' Sydney Opera House|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-31/peter-hall-architect-who-fixed-opera-house-after-utzon-departed/7127160|access-date=2020-08-23|website=ABC News|language=en-AU}} 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.{{cite news|title=Sir Davis Hughes|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1428529/Sir-Davis-Hughes.html|accessdate=2013-10-17|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=28 April 2003}}
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.{{cite web
|title=Death of the Honourable Sir Davis Hughes
|work=Hansard
|publisher=Parliament of New South Wales
|url=http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA20030430030
|accessdate=2007-05-01
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929125609/http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA20030430030
|archivedate=29 September 2007
}}
Notes
{{Reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|au-nsw-la}}
{{succession box | title=Member for Armidale | before=David Drummond | after=Jim Cahill | years=1949{{spaced ndash}}1953}}
{{succession box | title=Member for Armidale | before=Jim Cahill | after=David Leitch | years=1956{{spaced ndash}}1973}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before= Sir Michael Bruxner }}
{{s-ttl|title=Leader of the New South Wales Country Party|years=1958{{spaced ndash}}1959}}
{{s-aft|after= Sir Charles Cutler }}
{{s-bef|before= William Chaffey }}
{{s-ttl|title=Deputy Leader of the New South Wales Country Party|years=1968{{spaced ndash}}1973}}
{{s-aft|after= Leon Punch }}
{{s-dip}}
{{s-bef|before= Jock Pagan }}
{{s-ttl|title=Agent-General for New South Wales|years=1973–1977}}
{{s-aft|after= Peter Valkenburg}}
{{s-end}}
{{Leaders of the National Party in NSW}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Davis}}
Category:Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Category:Australian Knights Bachelor
Category:National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales
Category:20th-century Australian politicians
Category:Agents-General for New South Wales
Category:Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II