 Hughes attended school in Crail and was apprenticed to a cooper for a short time - he then entered the merchant service and became a master, including whaling in the Arctic for several years.After hearing of opportunities for trade in Asia, Hughes purchased a brig, "Hero", in Calcutta and traded opium in the Indian Ocean and seas of China, having to contend with pirates.Hughes emigrated to South Australia in 1840, started business with Bunce & Thomson and took up land.