Port Hughes was named after pastoralist and mine owner, Sir Walter Watson Hughes, whose 1872 gift of 20,000 pounds led to the founding of the University of Adelaide.
Surveyed in 1863 with the intention that Port Hughes would become a point of export for ore from the region's mines, the early promise never materialised and most of the shipping went to nearby Wallaroo. Port Hughes was restricted to coastal shipping and as a port for the Adelaide Steamship Company's Gulf Trip from 1900 to 1955.
The Dunes Port Hughes is a residential and resort development with a Greg Norman designed golf course. While designed with the environment in mind there is some controversy over the water requirements of such a large development and golf course.
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