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 Jørn Oberg Utzon, , Hon. FAIA (; 9 April 191829 November 2008) was a Danish architect. He was most notable for designing the Sydney Opera House in Australia, completed in 1973. When it was declared a World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007, Utzo ...

from the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

project in 1966.

Early life

Hughes was born in Launceston, Tasmania and was educated at Launceston High School and the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

, 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 Caulfield Grammar School is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, International Baccalaureate, day school, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as ...

in Melbourne, from 1936 until he enlisted in the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF), and at

The Armidale School , motto_translation = Without God, Nothing , location = Armidale, New England Tablelands, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia New ...

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 The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

for

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It ...

from 1950 to 1953 and 1956 to 1973 for the Country Party. He was chosen to lead the party in 1958, but his term of office was brief because he was forced to resign in 1959 after it was revealed that he did not have the university degree which he claimed. 06 Sydney Opera House, Australia

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

. Hughes refused to accept

'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 Erina () is a suburb located in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia between Gosford and the Pacific Ocean at Terrigal. It is part of the local government area. Erina is the commercial hub of the Central Coast. There are man ...

on 16 March 2003, aged 92.

Honours

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

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Davis 1910 births 2003 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Knights Bachelor National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Politicians awarded knighthoods Sydney Opera House 20th-century Australian politicians Agents-General for New South Wales People from Armidale Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Australian Air Force officers