Tim Hughes | |
|---|---|
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Tim_Hughes_MBE_MM.jpg) Tim Hughes at enlistment in 1939 | |
| Born | 28 April 1919 Point Pearce Aboriginal Station, South Australia, Australia |
| Died | 1 April 1976 (aged 56) Ardrossan, South Australia, Australia |
| Buried | |
| Service | Army |
| Years of service | 1939–1945 |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Service number | SX1570 |
| Unit | 2/10th Battalion |
| Battles | |
| Awards | |
| Memorials | Tim Hughes Stadium at the Repat Health Precinct, Daw Park, South Australia |
| Spouse(s) |
Eileen O'Donoghue
(m. 1945–1970) |
| Other work | Soldier-settler (1953–1970) Chair of the South Australian Aboriginal Lands Trust (1966–1973) |
Timothy Hughes MBE MM (28 April 1919 – 1 April 1976) was a decorated Australian Aboriginal soldier who served with the 2/10th Battalion during World War II, a successful soldier-settler, and later served as the inaugural chair of the South Australian Aboriginal Lands Trust from 1966 to 1973.
Born on a government-run Aboriginal station on the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia, Hughes completed the fifth grade at school then worked in agriculture until he enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force in December 1939 for service in World War II. Serving as an infantry soldier with the 2/10th Battalion, Hughes was on defensive duties in the United Kingdom from June to November 1940, then in the Middle East, including serving as part of the garrison of the Libyan port of Tobruk while it was besieged by the Axis forces from April to August 1941. After being withdrawn to garrison Aleppo in Syria, the battalion returned to Australia in March 1942.
After undergoing jungle training, the 2/10th Battalion was sent to fight the Japanese in New Guinea, and Hughes served with his unit during the Battle of Milne Bay in August and the Battle of Buna-Gona in December. It was during the latter battle that Hughes displayed conspicuous gallantry and bravery, coolness, initiative and disregard for his own safety, which was described as "remarkable" and a fine example to his platoon and company. For his actions he was awarded the Military Medal and was also promoted to the rank of corporal. He was wounded during the fighting for Sanananda in January 1943, but returned to his unit within a month. In March, the 2/10th returned to Australia. Hughes suffered from recurrent bouts of malaria and never returned to his unit. He was transferred to successive labour units in South Australia, but did not return to the fighting and was discharged at the end of the war.
Hughes married Eileen O'Donoghue, the older sister of Lowitja O'Donoghue – who was later a well-known public administrator and Indigenous rights advocate, before he was discharged, and the couple had two children. They initially share farmed on the Aboriginal station Hughes was born on, but in 1953 he was successful in obtaining a soldier-settler block at Conmurra in the south east of South Australia. Hughes had modest success as a farmer, but eventually his health failed and his marriage broke down. In the meantime he was appointed the inaugural chair of the South Australian Aboriginal Lands Trust, for which he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire. Hughes died of a heart condition in 1976, aged 56.