No. 25 -- 20 Jan. 1932

George sent a copy of this newspaper, The Argus, to Noel with this letter so that
Noel could read about the heat wave and bush fires.
(1932, January 20). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1956), p. 7.
Retrieved August 27, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page487326

Mr. N.A. Hughes,
C/o Y.M.C.A. College,
5315 Drexel Avenue,
CHICAGO. Ill. U.S.A.

My dear Noel,

Your letter of the 29th November came to hand while we were at the community camp at Manyung. We are greatly encouraged by the continued good news your letters contain concerning your ability to support yourself so admirably. I wrote you a short letter from the camp which I hope caught the mail which left here about ten days ago.

We had a wonderfully good time at the community camp. In all 34 people were present at this camp, although some of them stayed for a comparatively short period. The majority were there throughout the entire time. The weather was all that we could desire. In fact I do not recall any December-January period for many years when we have had such settled and admirable weather. We only had one cold day in the fortnight we were at Manyung, and the days were not oppressively hot, although on one or two occasions the temperatures reached 95 deg. or 97 deg.

We had a good programme, plenty of sea bathing, excellent food and a company of folk who were out to enjoy themselves. All this combined to make the holiday all that we could desire.

Keith, unfortunately for him, could not come to camp as he was hanging on to his job and could not afford to take any risks by asking for time off. His job is still holding and it looks as if he may have an additional couple of months work. Ruth also was greatly disappointed that she could not come to the camp. They were short handed at the hospital and she had no chance of any holiday. The kiddies had a thoroughly good time as you can well imagine and were frequently in the water three times a day.

You will be surprised at the way they are both growing. Edith is shooting up very rapidly and Joyce is developing into quite a young woman, at least in her own estimation.

There was also a fine lot of honorary work done at the camp, especially in the removal of the 1,000 gallon tank to a new site and its re-erection alongside of the lavatories. Already money has been subscribed towards increasing the lavatory accommodation and providing hot showers. This we expect to put in so as to be ready for the next camping period. The new bunk house has been excellently designed and is most comfortable. Another bunk house is in course of erection. No doubt Kath will be telling you something about the camp in her letters, so that there will be no necessity to cover the same ground.

The Boys' Department camps have gone splendidly and all reports indicate that one of the finest camping periods has been experienced. The programme has been good and the weather has made camping a real delight to the boys.

The Y.M.C.A. Scout Troop also held a camp over the Christmas holidays, so that from first to last we have had 7 different camping periods in the senior and junior departments. There were 60 at the senior camp for Christmas and the New Year, and Mr. Burge was highly delighted with the whole programme.

I was very interested in the picture of International House which you forwarded in your letter. It looks to be a splendid structure and should fill a useful function among the students of Chicago. It is evidently in the same lines of the International House in New York. If you have any other information concerning it I should like to receive it so that I may make a paragraph for Manhood. What is its cost? etc. etc.

HOTTEST FOR 24 YEARS (1932, January 20).
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.: 1848-1956), p. 7.
Retrieved August 27, 2012, from
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4413707

I hope your anticipation to be free of debt by the end of 1931 was realised. It is great to have a clear run ahead without any incubus hanging round your neck. My advice to you is to save every penny you can as there is no doubt that America is going to have increasing difficulties and you will be well advised to have a little banking account in case anything unforeseen should happen and you should lose some of the jobs you at present hold. One is inclined to think that the present affluent conditions are sure to remain, but you know as well as I do that that is an illusion and one should provide for unforeseen circumstances.

I was very interested in hearing of your dinner party on Thanksgiving Day. If you should see Ray Williamson, please give him my regards.

By now you will have begun to realise what a Chicago winter is like. I note what you say about your need of a heavy overcoat, but I am wondering whether you would not be well advised to wear heavier underclothing rather than to purchase a heavier coat. I think the same amount of warmth could be secured in that way, rather than in the other.

Quite a number of people told us that you had sent Christmas cards to them, and I am very glad that you did so.

Thank you for the information concerning the phonograph records. I will check up our records with the list you have provided.

It was very nice of John Cook to send on a small amount to you and to suggest his desire to pay your college expenses. I hope you wrote him telling him that that was not at all necessary, although you appreciated the good will and thoughtfulness of his action.

BUSH FIRES WORSE. (1932, January 20).
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.: 1848-1956), p. 7.
Retrieved August 17, 2012, from
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4413702

Under separate cover I am sending a copy of today's "Argus" which gives particulars of the heat wave, bush fires, etc., which I thought you would be interested in reading. It was a corker of a day yesterday, with temperature of 108.9, the highest it has been for 24 years.

I have not much in the direction of Association news, as the programme has not yet commenced, apart form some of the gym. classes. We do not anticipate there will be anything much organised during January. We are concentrating upon picnics, river excursions, etc. among the young men. As you know, the Boys' Department will not commence its programme until late February or early March.

We are to have a picnic on Feb. 1st (A.N.A. Day) to Manyung and hope to have a good turn out of Association members.

We closed the year with a deficit of approximately £2700. This was £300 better than we expected so that we feel a little encouraged although the deficit is bad enough in all conscience. It means that we have increased our Bank liabilities by £5000 during the last two years, a position which gives us a great deal of concern.

Mr. Crosby is in Tasmania at present. His father is sinking. We expect any day to hear of news of his death. As you know, Mr. Crosby's father is in his 93rd year, so that his death is to be expected.

Jim. Straton is over from Adelaide, but I have not seen him yet. Conditions in the Adelaide Association are very bad and I should not be surprised if Jim Straton resigns. You will have received the January issue of Manhood, in its reduced form. We were glad to have it in its present condition, although we hate the idea of so many reductions in its pages.

Rex. returned last Saturday, after being away for nearly a fortnight. I understand he leaves again today or tomorrow and is likely to be away for a week to ten days.

We are to have the Senior camp reunion tonight and hope there will be a good turn out of the men.

Mr. Hines is keeping well. Miss Bourchier is away this week, but will be returning  next week. Reg. Gray has not been successful in securing a job, but I understand that Jim Gray is not having too good a time in his little music store at Box Hill. We are likely to employ Harold Greenwood as pianist for the gymnasium classes, but that has not yet been definitely decided.

All the folk at home are well, I am happy to say. Mother is looking particularly well, and is much refreshed in body and mind as the result of the holiday. The kiddies will be writing to you again shortly.

We would like to know fuller particulars concerning your work at the Kenwood Church.

How did you get on with your first term's work? Give us details of the subjects you are taking and of the results of your term examinations.

We all unite in warmest love, and hope that you will have a thoroughly happy time in 1932.
Yours affectionately,
Dad

Who was George WWB Hughes?

Geo. W.W.B. Hughes in an undated photo. Location unknown.

Now that we are almost 10 letters into this project, it seems like a good time to give some biographical information on the author: Geo. WWB Hughes, also known as George Wall Wall Bagot Hughes.

As an overview, I'll quote directly from Noel Hughes, who wrote this about his father:

"George W.W.B. Hughes was one of the outstanding leaders during the early 1900's in both New Zealand and Australia. He was a Christian Gentleman who believed there was good in everyone. He was close to his church but preferred to work through a lay organization for the common and individual good. He was a friend to everyone he met, never uttering a harsh word in criticism.

"He availed himself of every opportunity to reach and serve people, occupying church pulpits on Sunday when asked, leading community singing, serving on committees and with all groups concerned for the public welfare. ...

"He became known throughout the world as one of the leading men in the Young Men's Christian Association, the lay organization to which he had devoted his life."

In the early 1980s, when Noel put together his family history, he didn't have the advantage of the Internet for research. So, I've borrowed liberally from his research, and added some of my own.

The Early Years in Adelaide

1878 -- George is born in Adelaide, South Australia, to Mary Ellen Hextell and George Wall Wall Bagot.

1880 -- George's mother marries Samuel Christopher Hughes, and George starts using the surname Hughes.

1882 -- George has a little sister, Edith Eleanor Hughes.

Sturt Street School in Adelaide,
where George attended school
in the 1880s. (Courtesy of
About Time: South Australia's
History Festival via Flickr)

George is educated at Sturt Street School, which was constructed in 1883 and is one of the oldest primary schools in South Australia still operating today.

He continues his education at Angas College, described as "an interdenominational missionary training school" in a Wikipedia article about Australian Lutheran College, which operates at the site today.


Angas College was the first Bible college in Australia and was established in Adelaide in the 1890s by Presbyterian minister, Rev W Lockhart Morton, according to the Ministry Blue and SA Memory websites.

George is a sportsman, participating in activities including swimming, cross-country running, football, lacrosse and tennis.

His first occupations are in the printing trade with the "Advertiser" office (presumably the newspaper The Advertiser in Adelaide) and publishers Vardon & Pritchard in Adelaide.

It may be at Vardon & Pritchard that George formed his connection with the Young Men's Christian Association, as Joseph Vardon also had a connection with the YMCA, serving as its president in Adelaide from 1904-08, according to his biography.

Settling into a Career and Family Life

1903-1906 -- Now 25 years old, George begins his career in the YMCA, working as the Assistant Secretary of Our Boys Institute, Adelaide. According to Wikipedia, it was a junior branch of the YMCA with programming for boys ages 13-18.

1904 -- George, at age 26, marries Harriet Adelaide May McLaughlin, referred to as "May", at the Flinders Street Presbyterian Church in Adelaide.

Throughout his life, Geo. W.W.B. Hughes lives in:
(A) Adelaide, South Australia, (B) Dunedin, New Zealand
(C) Wellington, New Zealand, and (D) Melbourne, Victoria

1905 -- George and May's first son, Keith, is born.

1907-08 -- George works as the Physical Director at the YMCA in Adelaide.

1907 -- George studies at the University of Adelaide. According to the University Calendar for that year (found online on Google Books) he is listed as a non-graduating student, which I'm guessing means that he wasn't in a degree program.

1907 -- George and May's first daughter, Ester, is born. She dies that same year.

The New Zealand Years -- the Family Grows

Clipping from the Evening Post (Wellington)
25 Oct. 1913 found via Papers Past.

1909 -- The family moves to Dunedin, New Zealand, living at 368 High Street, and later on Russel Street and then on York Place.

1909-17 -- George works as the General Secretary for the YMCA in Dunedin, New Zealand.

1909 -- George and May have another son, Noel.

1912 -- George and May have another daughter, Ruth.

1917 -- George and May have another daughter, Joyce.

The Great War

Geo. W.W.B. Hughes (front row, far right)
is pictured outside the Shakespeare Hut
in London c. 1918. The Shakespeare Hut,
15 Gower Street, was the headquarters of the
New Zealand YMCA
in London during World War I.
(See this old newspaper clipping.)

1917-19 -- George, at age 38, travels to London, England, and takes a position as Supervising Secretary for the New Zealand YMCA Army Work during World War I. During this time he travels British, Canadian, New Zealand and American war fronts, even coming under shell fire.

1918 -- George is awarded the honor "Member of the British Empire" by King George V of England for his service to the New Zealand troops in England and France.

Clipping from the Fielding Star
(Manawatu-Wanganui)
24 May 1919 found via Papers Past.

According to Wikipedia, the honor was created in 1917 because King George V "wished to honour the many thousands of people who had served in numerous non-combatant capacities during the First World War. Originally, the Order included only one division; however, in 1918, soon after its foundation, it was formally divided into Military and Civil Divisions."

In a Supplement to the London Gazette, 7 JUNE 1918, page 6730, found online here, George is listed under "To be Members of the said Most Excellent Order:"

Return to New Zealand -- the Family Grows More

1919 -- George returns to New Zealand following his work in Europe, and the family moves to Wellington, residing at Lyall Bay.

1919 -- George travels New Zealand, giving lectures and presentations about the YMCA's work in Europe to support the troops.

1919-24 -- George works as the National Secretary for the New Zealand YMCA, Wellington.

1920 -- George and May have another daughter, Edith May.

On to Melbourne

A clipping found online from
The Argus (Melbourne)
10 Nov 1924, page 7.

1924 -- George, now 46, and his family move to Melbourne, Australia, living temporarily at Toorak, and Burke Road, Camberwell, before finally taking up residence at 33 Currajong Road, Hawthorn.

1924-40 -- George works as General Secretary of the Melbourne YMCA.

1938 -- George is the first speaker to the youth of Australia on the first "Carols by Candlelight" broadcast on national radio. According to Wikipedia, "The first ever such event was held in Alexandra Gardens the following Christmas, 1938, and was attended by around 10,000 people." Carols by Candlelight remains a popular Christmas tradition today in Australia.

1940 -- George dies of a heart attack at age 62.

In the family history there is an undated obituary clipping from an unknown newspaper. Under the headline "His Work Endures", it attributes Mr. Leslie Jenner, president of the Melbourne YMCA, as saying about George:

"Mr Jenner says that he never knew him to say one unkind word. That is something worth living for, enhancing the value of all his wide influence on the lives of boys and youths among whom he worked in Melbourne. ...

"'There are 2000 members of the Y.M.C.A. who will sadly miss his friendship, but there are a great many more than that, who have come under his inspiring influence, and who will forever be grateful for his friendship. That is his finest memorial.'"

With the wealth of information available on the Internet, I know there is more out there to be found about George's life, especially with his work related to World War I. Expect future posts.

Geo. W.W.B. Hughes (back row, second from left) outside
the New Zealand headquarters in London, c 1918.