Person

Billy Hughes

1862–1952 · 20th century · Also known as William Morris Hughes

Billy Hughes was prime minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923 and led the country through the First World War. His campaign for conscription, rejected in referendums in 1916 and 1917, split the Labor Party and led him to form the Nationalist Party. At the Paris Peace Conference he secured a mandate over German New Guinea and opposed Japan's racial equality proposal.

Billy Hughes
Image: Fairfax Corporation · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Billy Hughes. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/billy-hughes
MLA
“Billy Hughes.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/billy-hughes. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Billy Hughes.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/billy-hughes.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Billy Hughes’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/billy-hughes (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻