Bob Hughes: Proud Launceston single dad clings to hope

A battling Tasmanian dad has endured a hellish year: The death of two beloved siblings, nerve damage to his neck and a car crash that’s left him trapped inside his inaccessible home. His story >>

Prospect man Bob Hughes with sons Jkobi and Legana. Picture: Contributed

A proud single father of two and Aboriginal man from Launceston’s outer suburbs is clinging to hope – hope he can drive his 12-year-old boy to footy training again, hope he can return to Cape Barren Island to go mutton birding one last time.

Prospect man Bob Hughes, 59, a former heritage protection officer with Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, has endured a horror run that’s left him broken physically but not mentally.

Speaking from his small kitchen, sitting on the mobility device he needs to move what small distances he can, Mr Hughes said things went from difficult to crushing on February 17 this year, when he was involved in a serious car crash near Bell Bay.

Prospect single father Bob Hughes, 59. Picture: Alex Treacy

He rear-ended a vehicle stopped for roadworks past a bend. Mr Hughes said his chest hit the steering wheel, bending the wheel and breaking his sternum. The car, a ‘94 Toyota Corolla, was not equipped with airbags.

More importantly, the loss of his car took away one of his last lifelines to the outside world. A previous hip replacement and nerve damage to his neck has left him highly immobile.

Prospect’s hilly terrain and the steps leading to his house means he sees little of the outside world these.

The aftermath of Prospect man Bob Hughes' car crash at Bell Bay on February 17, 2023. Picture: Supplied

Mr Hughes could live with being mostly housebound. What he can’t live with is the inability to go on adventures with his “little man,” 12-year-old Jkobi, a Prospect High student and rising junior footballer with the North Launceston Bombers.

“I can’t do stuff with my little man. I can’t take him to footy training and games. We do everything together. No car, I can’t do nothing,” Mr Hughes said.

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“We can’t go to Hobart on the weekend to spend time with his older brother (Legana, 23). We can’t do shopping on our own, that’s what we like doing.”

Aside from his two boys, the thought propelling Mr Hughes forward, despite the roadblocks in his way, is getting back to his beloved Cape Barren Island, where he has spent much of his life.

Prospect single father Bob Hughes, 59. Picture: Alex Treacy

“You do what you want to do (out there). It’s a life worth living,” he said.

“You get up in the morning and your backyard’s the ocean, with the clearest water in the world. The community brings up the kids.

The living room of Prospect man Bob Hughes, 59. Picture: Alex Treacy

“I want to go mutton birding one last time. Even though my hands are buggered (from the nerve damage in his neck), I’ll sit and pluck all day.”

His Cape Barren friend Luana Towney said Mr Hughes was a “proud Aboriginal man” who had endured a “really bad run,” which also included the twin losses of his brother David Sainty and sister Sharon Hughes last August.

Ms Towney has created an online fundraiser seeking to raise $5000 to buy Mr Hughes a new car.

“He can’t kick the ball with Jkobi, but at least he could drive him places,” Ms Towney said.