Fred William Hughes

Fred William Hughes (12 September 1869 – 18 August 1950) was an Australian businessman, pastoralist and racehorse owner. Beginning as a wool classer, he built up a business empire that included agricultural holdings and the processing of meat, wool and animal byproducts.

Early life Hughes was born on 12 September 1869 in Brisbane, Queensland, the son of Sarah (née McLaren) and Henry Benjamin Hughes. His father was a butcher. After a period as a farmhand he began working for Thomas Geddes & Co., a wool-scouring firm in Sydney. He developed expertise in wool classing and was an assistant wool-valuer by the age of 18, eventually becoming manager of the wool-scouring works.

Business career By 1894, Hughes was associated with the Sydney Wool Scouring Company, which took over the Geddes operations at the Buckland Mills in Waterloo. In 1898 he moved the plant to Botany. He was not able to attend his Melbourne Cup victory due to ill health.