Dr Kenneth Tamworth Hughes was born in Sydney, the youngest of three children, to William (a dental surgeon) and Ellen Hughes. He grew up in the Neutral Bay area, receiving his early education at St Peter’s Preparatory School and later St Aloysius’ College, North Sydney. After completing his secondary education at St Ignatius’ College, Riverview, he enrolled in medicine at Sydney University from where he graduated in 1933.

According to the 1932 Senior Year Book, Ken Hughes was noted to have the “reputation of a gentleman” and to be a “fertile batsman” – playing cricket with both University and inter-hospital teams.

Ken worked his junior and senior resident years at Sydney Hospital, then spent a further year as a junior resident in pathology before leaving for England late in 1935 to train as a physician. He obtained his MRCP in 1937. Returning to Australia in 1938, Ken took up a post as a medical registrar at the Newcastle Hospital, a position he held until 1941. In December 1940, Ken married Frieda Esmeé Wallace, initially settling in Neutral Bay but later moving to Pymble with their two young children.

With the outbreak of war in 1939, Ken, who as an undergraduate held the rank of lieutenant in the Sydney University Regiment, attempted to enlist in the army. He was refused initially on medical grounds because of a renal problem. However, his enthusiasm to be part of the forces eventually saw him re-apply successfully from South Australia in 1941. He served initially in Australia and later in Bougainville, attaining the rank of major before he was demobilised at the end of the War.

Ken attained his MRACP in 1946 and soon after accepted an appointment to the honorary staff of Sydney Hospital. He continued that association actively until 1957. During 1954, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll made her first visit to Australia and Ken Hughes was accorded the honour of being appointed Physician to the Queen for the duration of her stay in Sydney. In 1971, he was elevated to FRACP. From 1957, Ken mainly practised in private general medicine from 135 Macquarie St, Sydney, until he reluctantly retired in 1974 because of progressive hearing loss.

In the early 1950’s he purchased a grazing property, “Coowong”, at Canyonleigh in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. There, he developed a passion for breeding shorthorn cattle, culminating in his winning the award for the Grand Champion Beef Shorthorn Bull at the Sydney Royal Easter Show in 1979. He moved permanently to Coowong in 1980, as he became more involved with running the property. In 1990, Frieda Hughes died and left an irreparable gap in Ken’s life.

Dr Kenneth T Hughes was the quintessential educated gentleman. Never seen in public without a collar and tie, his courtesy and formal-yet-warm, quiet manner made him a well liked and respected personality on the Southern Highlands; equally he was a notable familiar of regular attendees at surrounding cattle sales.

Apart from his family and agricultural pursuits, Ken’s other main interest was reading. His passion for books was a major feature of his life from his undergraduate days and he continued to read books – in Latin for variety – until very late in his life. (Ken’s defining quotation in the 1932 Senior Year Book – taken from Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” and spoken by Prospero – was “My library was dukedom enough”.) He was one who enjoyed a discussion on a catholic range of subjects but had a particular leaning to current affairs and politics.

For the last years of his life, he was forced by ill health to leave his beloved “Coowong” and live with his daughter and her family in Canberra. At his death, aged 92, he was survived by his two children, Christopher and Philippa, 7 grand children and 6 great grand children.