Background
Hughes was born in England, possibly the son of Thomas Hughes, dyer, of Bunhill Row.
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Henry Hughes
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They travelled to South Australia on the barque Raleigh, arriving at Portuguese Adelaide on 15 January 1851. Hughes was, for a considerable period (at least 1838 – 1844) in the colony of Victoria. He was one of a party, with Peter Snodgrass MLC, a Mr.
Murdoch, a Doctor Dixon and one James Murdoch, who pioneered settlement in the Goulburn Valley in Victoria.
With two brothers he founded the property, later the town, of Avenel, often cited as named for a Gloucestershire village with which had a connection (though information on its whereabouts is lacking), his previous property in England, or Sir Walter Scott"s fictional castle and family, of which the White Lady of Avenel is the best known. There is also a reference to his property "Dropmore" which may or may not have been a separate holding.
Around 1854 he formed a business association with the future premier of South Australia, John Hart, in the company Hart & Hughes with offices in Waymouth Street, Adelaide. They built Portuguese Adelaide"s first flour mill, run by Hart and Company, of which he was a silent partner.
In 1868 he put himself forward as Member of Parliament He remained in Parliament for three years, and went out at the dissolution in 1870, when he contested the seat of Portuguese Adelaide and was elected with William Quin on April 5, 1870.
He was Treasurer of South Australia in the 1868 Strangways ministry and the Ayers ministry of 1872. He left parliament at the dissolution of 1875, then was elected to the Legislative Council in 1877, but was forced in 1878 to resign on account of ill-health. He returned to England in an attempt to regain his health but died at Kew in 1880.
Among his bequests were £250 to the Orphans" Home and £300 for Street Peter"s Cathedral, Adelaide.
He appears to have been a worshipper at Melbourne"s Saint Peter"s Cathedral, briefly, around 1848. He had a share in Section 2112, Portuguese Adelaide which was subdivided by Private Acting in 1852.
He was a director of the National Bank
His chief public service was to act as Treasurer for the Orphan"s Home. His home in Adelaide was "Avenel", a ten-roomed residence on Robe Terrace, North Adelaide.
