Sir Davis Hughes was an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n politician and bureaucrat

Bureaucracy

A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...

.

Early life

Hughes was born in Launceston

Launceston, Tasmania

Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...

, Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

 and was educated at Launceston High School and the University of Tasmania

University of Tasmania

The University of Tasmania is a medium-sized public Australian university based in Tasmania, Australia. Officially founded on 1 January 1890, it was the fourth university to be established in nineteenth-century Australia...

, although he did not graduate. He married Joan Johnson in 1940 and they had issue one son and two daughters. He was a school teacher in Tasmania from 1927 until 1935 and at The Armidale School

The Armidale School

The Armidale School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, located in Armidale, on the New England Tablelands of northern New South Wales, Australia...

 from 1947 until 1950. He served in the Royal Australian Air Force

Royal Australian Air Force

The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...

 from 1939 until 1945 as a squadron leader.

Political career

Hughes was elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly

New South Wales Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...

 for Armidale

Electoral district of Armidale

Armidale was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, originally created in 1894, partly replacing New England, and named after and including Armidale. In 1920, with the introduction of proportional representation, it was absorbed into Northern...

 from 1950 to 1953 and 1956 to 1973 for the Country Party

National Party of Australia

The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...

.
He briefly led the party in 1958 but was forced to resign in 1959 after it was found he did not
have the university degree which he claimed.

With the election of the Askin

Robert Askin

Sir Robert William Askin GCMG, was an Australian politician and the 32nd Premier of New South Wales from 1965 to 1975, the first representing the Liberal Party of Australia. He was born in 1907 as Robin William Askin, but always disliked his first name and changed it by deed poll in 1971...

 government in 1965, Hughes became Minister for Public Works, with responsibility among other things for the completion of the Sydney Opera House

Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...

. He eventually brought about Jørn Utzon's resignation. Hughes refused to accept Utzon

Jørn Utzon

Jørn Oberg Utzon, , AC was a Danish architect, most notable for designing the Sydney Opera House in Australia. When it was declared a World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007, Utzon became only the second person to have received such recognition for one of his works during his lifetime...

's approach to managing the Opera House project and, specifically, to give permission for the construction of plywood prototypes for its interiors. He cut off Utzon's funding so Utzon could not even pay his own staff. Utzon was forced to resign, and Hughes immediately accepted. The Opera House was subsequently completed according to designs that were not consistent with Utzon's original vision.

Hughes died at Erina

Erina, New South Wales

Erina is a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located between Gosford and the Pacific Ocean at Terrigal. It is part of the City of Gosford local government area....

.