Born and educated in Albury, Hugh commenced his local government career at the Albury City Council in 1963.
In 1968 Hugh relocated to Queanbeyan to take up a position with the Queanbeyan City Council. Since then, he has lived in Queanbeyan except for a 3-year period when he was the Deputy Shire Clerk at Gundagai.
After being appointed Deputy Town Clerk at Queanbeyan in 1973, Hugh was appointed Town Clerk in 1988 and General Manager in 1994.
Hugh retired from Council in 2004.
At this stage, Hugh accepted a position as Administrator to the Walgett Shire Council, a position he held for 2 years.
In the interim, Hugh has held various community-based positions, including Chairman, Board Member, Secretary and Public Officer.
Hugh is the Secretary/ Public Officer to Respite Care for QBN Inc. and a Board Member of the Queanbeyan Australian Football Club.