Henry Kent Hughes usually referred to as "H. Kent Hughes", was a pastoralist and politician who sat in the South Australian House of Assembly

South Australian House of Assembly

The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :...

 from 1868 to 1875 representing the seats of Victoria and Port Adelaide.

He was born in England and married. They travelled to South Australia on the barque "Raleigh", arriving at Port Adelaide on 15 January 1851.

Around 1854 he formed a business association with the future Premier, Captain Hart, in the company Hart & Hughes with offices in Waymouth Street, Adelaide

Waymouth Street, Adelaide

Waymouth Street is an east-west street running between West Terrace and King William Street in the centre of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. The street is named after Henry Waymouth, a founding director of the South Australian Company...

. They built Port Adelaide's first flour mill, run by Hart and Company, of which he was a silent partner.

He purchased extensive properties on the River Murray, including one near Wellington

Wellington, South Australia

Wellington is the small town in South Australia on the Murray River just upstream of where it empties into Lake Alexandrina. Its postcode is 5259. Wellington is in the Rural City of Murray Bridge...

 where he ran sheep in conjunction with his brother Edmund Hughes, S.M., which was quite successful, largely because of careful breeding and the attention they paid to prevention of diseases.

Politics

In 1868 he put himself forward as M.P. for the Assembly

South Australian House of Assembly

The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :...

 District of Victoria, and was elected on May 7 with John Riddoch as a colleague. He remained in Parliament for three years, and went out at the dissolution in 1870, when he contested the seat of Port Adelaide and was elected with W. Quin on April 5, 1870. He was Treasurer of the 1868 Strangways

Henry Strangways

Henry Bull Templar Strangways was an Australian politician and Premier of South Australia.Strangways was the eldest son of Henry Bull Strangways of Shapwick, Somerset, England. He visited South Australia as a boy. Returning to England he entered at the Middle Temple in November 1851 and was called...

 ministry and the Ayers

Henry Ayers

Sir Henry Ayers GCMG was Premier of South Australia five times between 1863 and 1873, but is perhaps best remembered for having Uluru/Ayers Rock named for him.- Overview :...

 ministry of 1872. He left parliament at the dissolution of 1875, then was elected to the Legislative Council

South Australian Legislative Council

The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly...

 in 1877, but was forced in 1878gn on account of ill-health. He returned to England in an attempt to regain his health but died at Kew

Kew

Kew is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in South West London. Kew is best known for being the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens, now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace...

 in 1880. Among his bequests were £250 to the Orphans' Home and £300 for St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide

St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide

St Peter's Cathedral is an Anglican Cathedral in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is the seat of the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Adelaide...

.

Other interests

His chief public service was to act as Treasurer for the Orphan's Home. His wife, Jane nee Hilditch, who survived him, dying on 4 June 1890, was a founder of the Orphan Home for Girls. His home in Adelaide was "Avenel"

They had no children.