Timothy HUGHES MBE, MM

HUGHES, Timothy

Service Number: SX1570
Enlisted: 4 December 1939
Last Rank: Corporal
Last Unit: 2nd/10th Infantry Battalion
Born: Point Pearce, South Australia, 28 April 1919
Home Town: Point Pearce, South Australia
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Farmer
Died: Coronary Occlusion, Ardrossan, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia, 1 April 1976, aged 56 years
Cemetery: Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia
Memorials: Point Pearce Memorial and Flagpoles to Narungga Men and Women, Point Pearce Roll of Honour
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World War 2 Service

4 Dec 1939: Involvement Corporal, SX1570, 2nd/10th Infantry Battalion
4 Dec 1939: Involvement Corporal, SX1570, 2nd/10th Infantry Battalion
4 Dec 1939: Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Corporal, SX1570
4 Dec 1939: Enlisted Adelaide, SA
4 Dec 1939: Enlisted Adelaide, South Australia
5 Sep 1945: Discharged
5 Sep 1945: Discharged
Date unknown: Honoured Military Medal

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Biography contributed

Completed by St Ignatius College, Adelaide

Corporal Timothy Hughes MM, MBE, was born on April 28th, 1919, in the Aboriginal community of Point Pearce, on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. He was the son of Walter Hughes and Gladys Elphick MBE. Corporal Hughes was of both Narangga and Kaurna descent. Timothy Hughes grew up in the rural community of Point Pearce and was educated to the fifth-grade level before he left school to work on his father’s farm as a sheepshearer.

At the time of his enlistment, on December 4th, 1939, Timothy Hughes was an unemployed labourer in Stenhouse Bay, near the Yorke Peninsula. Being raised in a tight-knit country community shaped Timothy and led him to develop strong virtues that he would display during his service in WW2. As an Indigenous Australian in the 1920s and 30s, Timothy Hughes was subject to systematic discrimination through the Aborigines Act 1905, which affected his education and employment opportunities, so he was unemployed at his time of enlistment.

Timothy Hughes enlisted for the Australian Imperial Force on the 4th of December 1939. He was posted to the 2/10th Infantry Battalion and received basic training at Woodside Barracks. On May 5th, 1940, Private Hughes and his Battalion embarked for Scotland on His Majesty’s Troopship x 4, arriving on June 18th. Thereafter, Private Hughes served in England at RAF Base Middle Wallop, where he received infantry training in preparation for an invasion of England. Subsequently, his battalion was responsible for defending the base. On the 17th of November 1940, the 2/10th Infantry Battalion embarked the Strathaird and set sail for Egypt. The unit arrived in Port Tewfik in Egypt on the 31st of December 1940. The unit war diary describes the Battalion establishing a staging camp at Ikingi Maryut, before practicing drill.  The Egyptian conditions were far different to those that the unit had trained for in England; it was dry and hot, and sandstorms and heatwaves occurred frequently. Nevertheless, the Battalion continued to train in anticipation of conflict.

On April 7th, 1941, the Battalion departed Ikingi Maryut and set sail for the Libyan coastal city of Tobruk. The Unit War Diary describes the conditions as being very rough, with many soldiers seasick. Upon arrival in Tobruk, the unit was greeted with an Italian air raid and a heavy dust storm. Besieged, the 2/10th Battalion repelled multiple attacks by the Germans and Italians and earned themselves the nickname the ‘Rats of Tobruk’. Figure 3 displays barefoot Australian soldiers sitting in the harsh heat of Tobruk. The Battalion held out in Tobruk until August 1941, when they embarked the ‘New Amsterdam’, en route to Palestine.

Following Japan’s entry into the war in December, the Battalion was desperately needed in the Pacific, however, the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, diverted them to India, in the worried belief that Japan was going to invade the ‘jewel of the British Empire’. At this time, Private Hughes fell ill and was evacuated to the 9th Australian General Hospital in Australia. He was quick to recover and rejoined his unit within a month, on May 22nd. On the 5th of August 1942, Timothy Hughes embarked from Brisbane for Papua New Guinea, where he would encounter the Japanese. On August 12th the Battalion arrived in Milne Bay, where they set up camp and accustomed themselves to the harsh humidity of the New Guinea jungle, an experience completely different from Tobruk. Soon after the Battalion landed in New Guinea, the Japanese Army invaded Milne Bay in an attempt to capture the Australian-built airfields, resulting in the Battle of Milne Bay. Lasting from August to September of 1942, the Battle of Milne Bay resulted in the first Japanese defeat of the war. It was fierce and costly; the Battalion of roughly 800 men suffered 410 casualties. (Queensland War Memorial Register, 2015). On October 6th, the Battalion was flown to the coastal village of Wanigela, where they established defensive positions along beaches. The Battalion’s time in Wanigela involved harsh fighting against the Japanese, who made multiple attempts to capture the village. The Battalion successfully defended the village, and the fighting reminisced the Tobruk siege in 1941.

Following their success in Wanigela, the Battalion was transferred to Buna in December, where they confronted unprecedented Japanese resistance in the Battle of Buna-Gona. On the 24th of December 1942, the Battalion was stationed in the jungle of Buna, when they received orders to attack the Japanese-built Buna Airfield. The Battalion advanced on the airfield in the early hours of the morning, but were met with stiff Japanese resistance. The unit war diary describes the advance as ‘slow with heavy casualties. In the early hours of the 26th of December, Private Hughes’ platoon came under heavy machine gun fire from both sides of the airfield. They were pinned down and couldn’t advance. Something had to be done. Private Hughes volunteered to climb atop a dispersal bay and return fire to the enemy. It was distinctly possible that, in doing so, Private Hughes could be shot and killed, thus this action reflects his strong virtue of service. As stated in his Military Medal citation: “Private Hughes volunteered to climb on top of the Dispersal Bay under concentrated fire from three directions. From this position he engaged two of the enemy posts with grenades. Private Hughes returned for a T.S.M.G (Thompson Sub-Machine Gun) and from his position on the Dispersal Bay gave covering fire while his platoon moved into cover.” For this act of gallantry and bravery, Private Hughes was awarded the Military Medal: an act performed by a man who wasn’t even recognised as a person by his own country.

Following his actions at Buna, Timothy was transferred to Sanananda in early January of 1943. He fought there until January 19th, when he was shot in the left arm. He was evacuated to the 14th Australian field hospital in Australia and recovered whilst his Battalion returned to Australia for rest and reorganisation purposes. Shortly after returning to his unit, Private Hughes received his Military Medal and was again sent to hospital, this time for a case of pharyngitis. He recovered quickly, and returned to his Battalion, before he was evacuated again due to malaria. He re-joined his unit once more and was promoted to the rank of Corporal, before being sent to hospital for a fourth time with malaria.

Due to poor health, Corporal Hughes was forced to discharge from the Army. However, he was quick to re-join, enlisting for the 31st Employment Company in August 1943. Corporal Hughes’ time with the 31st Employment Company was interrupted with four more trips to hospital. However, he never lost determination and kept coming back. After being shot in the arm, and evacuated to hospital eight times, Corporal Hughes still couldn’t be stopped from playing a role in the war effort.

In September 1945, Corporal Hughes discharged from the Army due to his medical situation and returned to his labouring job in his hometown of Point Pearce. In a 1947 interview with ‘Smith’s Weekly’, Timothy describes his Indigenous heritage being overlooked by his ‘White Cobblers’ (Smith’s Weekly, August 1947, Page 18) whilst he was serving in the Army, however, as soon as the war was over, he was again faced with prejudice and treated as an outcast. This was the sad and blunt reality of Timothy Hughes’ life. He was a man who had fought bravely for his country; he had taken a bullet and 8 trips to hospital, and continued to fight, yet he couldn’t even lodge a vote. Timothy applied for and was granted an exemption from the Aborigines Act 1934-39, however, he resented the privilege that he had over his people.

In the 1950’s Timothy established a farm named ‘Bhoodkayana’ which was the traditional Aboriginal name for his hometown. He was a highly regarded member of his community, and he enjoyed educating the Indigenous youth, and hosting Sunday services from his home. He also worked with his fellow ex-servicemen to set up soldier settlements on the Yorke Peninsula. In 1966, following the passing of the Aboriginal Lands Trust Act, Timothy was appointed the first Chairman of the Aboriginal Lands Trust, and was a devout advocate for the rights of Indigenous Australians. In 1970, Timothy was appointed M.B.E for his services to the Aboriginal Lands Trust, and he continued to serve until 1973, when he retired due to poor health.

In 1976, at the age of 56, Timothy passed away from a coronary occlusion. He was buried at the Centennial Park cemetery.

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Biography

Tim Hughes was a Narangga Kaurna Aboriginal man from Point Pearce, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. He enlisted in December 1939, posted to the 2/10th Infantry Battalion. He served throughout the duration of WW2 including Defence of England, Siege of Tobruk and the Pacific Campaign. He was awarded the Military Medal for bravery fighting the Japanese at Buna Airstrip, New Guinea on 26/12/1942. Shortly afterwards he was wounded at Sanananda.

Citation: SX1570 – Private Timothy HUGHES – 2/10 Australian Infantry Battalion, is approved for the award of the Military Medal for conspicuous gallantry and bravery during Buna Aerodrome action.

At 0700 hours 26 December 1942 No. 9 Platoon, A Company 2/10 Battalion reached its objective in the centre of Buna Strip and came under heavy enemy machine gun fire from both sides of the strip and from machine gun posts south and east of Dispersal Bay. The Platoon was definitely pinned down. To allow the Platoon to dig in, Private Hughes volunteered to climb on top of the Dispersal Bay under concentrated fire from three directions. From this position he engaged two of the enemy posts with grenades. Private Hughes returned for a Thompson sub-machine gun and from his position on the Dispersal Bay gave covering fire while his Platoon moved into cover. During the period his Platoon was consolidating he made three separate sorties with grenades and Thompson sub-machine gun. Private Hughes showed remarkable bravery, exceptional coolness and initiative. His total disregard for his own safety set a fine example throughout the Platoon and also throughout the Company.

In June 1970 Tim Hughes was awarded a Member of the British Empire (Civil) for service as Chairman of the SA Aboriginal Lands Trust.

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