Getting back on subject. Billy Hughes had a humble beginning.

In October 1884 he embarked for Queensland as an assisted migrant on the Duke of Westminster, reaching Brisbane on 8 December. For two years he led a roving life, taking various jobs and acquiring knowledge of the outback, as well as material for reminiscences that grew more colourful with time. Finally, as a galley-hand on a coastal boat, he arrived at Sydney. After a period of acute poverty he found a steady job as assistant to an oven-maker and domestic stability in a boarding-house near Moore Park. He married his landlady's daughter, Elizabeth Cutts, and in 1890 moved to Balmain where he opened a small mixed shop, took on odd jobs and mended umbrellas.

Cheers,