Biographical entry: Hughes, Anthony V. (1939 - )

Born
1939

Details

Tony Hughes was born in England in 1939 and read law at Oxford University. Hughes and his wife arrived in the Protectorate when he was appointed an Administrative Officer in August 1961. He later remarried, to Kuria, daughter of Willie Paia (q.v.). He worked in the Solomon Islands district administration and the Lands Department (1961-1969), specialising in land tenure, land administration and town planning, particularly low-cost housing. He was land settlement officer in several projects, including Fiu-Kelakwai and Registrar of Titles, and was Commissioner of Land at various times. In 1966, he was Clerk to the Legislative Council (q.v.). Between 1970 and 1973, he was Development Secretary in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands and returned to the Solomon Islands in 1973 to prepare the local government Plan of Operations, 1974-1977. In 1974, he set up the new Central Planning Office, which prepared the new Development Plan. In 1976, he became Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, and was the first Governor of the Central Bank. He published a number of articles on land tenure, low cost housing and economic development, and wrote a widely lauded play 'Stranger at Borokua' about contemporary social problems in the Solomon Islands. It was written in 1966 for live performance and also made into a radio broadcast play. With Francis Bugotu (q.v.), Hughes wrote another play called 'This Man', which highlighted the effects of introduced culture on Melanesians. In 1970, a film unit from the Australian company Pilgrim Films produced a fifteen-minute film based on the play, financed by the Australian Board of Missions, and Rev. J. N. Bagnall travelled with the film unit. Hughes is now retired and lives in Gizo. (NS 31 Aug. 1961, 19 Dec. 1966, 21 Jan. 1967, 21 May 1967; Larmour 1979b, Notes on Contributors; http://anglicanhistory.org/oceania/this_man1969.pdf [accessed 5 Aug. 2011])

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Published resources

Journals

  • British Solomon Islands Protectorate (ed.), British Solomon Islands Protectorate News Sheet (NS), 1955-1975. Details