BILLY HUGHES

Member of the Privy Council (1916), Order of the Companion of Honour (1941)

Labor
27 October 1915 — 14 November 1916 1 year, 19 days
National labor party
14 November 1916 — 17 February 1917 95 days
Nationalist
17 February 1917 — 9 February 1923 5 years, 358 days

Billy Hughes became Australia’s seventh prime minister after Andrew Fisher, leader of the Australian Labor Party, resigned from office. 

Born

25 September 1862
London, England

Died

28 October 1952
Sydney, New South Wales

Partners

Elizabeth Hughes
Mary Hughes

Party

Nationalist

Photo: Fairfax

Labor
27 October 1915 — 14 November 1916 1 year, 19 days
National labor party
14 November 1916 — 17 February 1917 95 days
Nationalist
17 February 1917 — 9 February 1923 5 years, 358 days

About

Billy Hughes may have been small in stature but, on any measure, he lived a large life. His biographer L.F. Fitzhardinge wrote that ‘almost the whole of Hughes’ life was passed in an atmosphere of controversy.’ Hughes' passions and positions led him to be expelled from three parties and play a leading role in forming three other parties.  

Billy Hughes stands on a stage surrounded by people while giving a speech and his hand is raised.

Photo: Fairfax

Hughes was raised in London and Wales and served a brief stint with the Royal Fusiliers  regiment, as well as working as a student teacher, before opting for a life in Australia. He arrived in 1884 and his early itinerant life in outback Queensland and later in Sydney was extremely harsh, forcing him to take jobs including railway stonebreaker, cook, boundary rider, seaman, umbrella mender and bookseller to make ends meet.

In 1891 Hughes became involved in the formation of Labour Electoral Leagues. Hughes was lukewarm on Federation, but realising its inevitability stood for, and won, the seat of West Sydney in 1901. Hughes was Minister for External Affairs in the Watson Labor ministry in 1904 and Attorney-General and Deputy Leader in the Fisher Labor government.

Hughes was elected prime minister in October 1915 after Fisher resigned. As wartime leader Hughes divided opinion, viewed either as a great patriot and ‘Little Digger’ by returned servicemen, or as an opportunistic warmonger who pushed for conscription.  

At the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919 Hughes famously defied the great powers to ensure that Australia would be independently represented and protected against any future ambitions of Germany and Japan. Hughes served in the first Parliament in 1901 and remained there for a record 51 years and 7 months.  

MILESTONES

360° VIEW

Parliament

The bulk of the legislation passed by the Hughes government was designed to increase its power to conduct the war. There was an emphasis on securing public safety and exercising enhanced  federal powers over defence.

Increased expenditure on defence meant the imposing of the first federal income tax, along with probate and succession duties. The conclusion of the war meant that attention turned to reconstruction, with the passing of legislation to provide for repatriation, war service homes and industry assistance.

The Commonwealth Police Force was established by legislation in 1917 after Hughes was pelted with eggs at a conscription rally and in 1918 the Electoral Act established preferential voting. Hughes’s well known lack of patience combined with his energetic prosecution of the war often led him to disregard the finer details of policy formulation.

As part of this strategy he was not beyond making cunning use of his deafness and the inadequacy of his rudimentary hearing aid. 

Billy Hughes with troops

Photo: News Ltd/Newspix

Show top
results