Mr Hughes and wife Annie. Mr Hughes was also known as Barney to some.
William Edward Hughes was in Esperance in 1896 and among various occupations ran a general store. His wife, Annie also ran the store. They had one son. William Hughes arrived in Esperance from Kyneton in Victoria. Mr Hughes did home grocery deliveries in a horse and cart. The horse, a small skewbald mare who pulled the heavy spring cart was called “‘Maggie”.
Newspaper advertisement in the Esperance Times 25th December 1897
William Hughes was a member of local government and served on the Municipality and Esperance Roads Boards for many years, commencing in 1898.
Mr Hughes had 160 acres of freehold land at Cape Le Grand and would drive a buckboard around the beach, or over very heavy roads, over twenty miles each way. The journey along the beach to Cape Le Grand would take him past cattle and possibly stockman William (Bill) Hannett, who lived near stockyard creek.
The land at Cape Le Grand according to Mr Hughes “was good orchard country and he had compiled with the conditions in regard to the 160 acres and sowed root crops and mixed oats and wheat”. When asked what is chaff worth in Esperance? Mr Hughes stated that “chaff was selling by the bag lots at 7 shillings and 3 pence per cwt”.
At one stage William Hughes had a twelve month lease on the town jetty.
Read Interview with William Hughes
Royal Commission Report 1916
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