William Hughes Field

William Hughes Field
William Hughes Field between 1900 and 1909
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Otaki
In office 6 January 1900 – 20 November 1911
Preceded by	Henry Augustus Field
Succeeded by	John Robertson
In office 10 December 1914 – 1 November 1935
Preceded by	John Robertson
Succeeded by	Leonard Lowry
Personal details
Born	(1861-07-17)17 July 1861 Wanganui, New Zealand
Died	13 December 1944(1944-12-13) (aged 83) Wellington, New Zealand
Political party	Liberal Party
Other political affiliations	Reform Party
Relations	Henry Augustus Field (brother) Tom Field (unknown relationship) William Mathew Hodgkins (father-in-law) Frances Hodgkins (sister-in-law) William Noel Pharazyn (son-in-law)

William Hughes Field (17 July 1861 – 13 December 1944) was a Member of Parliament in New Zealand; first for the Liberal Party, then Independent, and then for the Reform Party. He made a significant contribution to the development of tramping in the Tararua Range.

Field was born in Wanganui in 1861, the fourth son of Henry Claylands Field (1825–1912) and his wife Margaret Symes Purlow. Field was a lawyer practising in Wellington first elected to parliament in the by-election after the death of the sitting member, his elder brother, Henry Augustus Field (1852–1899).Tom Field (1914–1919), MHR (Member of the House of Representatives) for Nelson, was a relative.

Field was a significant figure in the tramping history of the Tararua Range of which he helped to promote the development of its most popular tramping route, known as the Southern Crossing. Within the Tararuas, both Field Peak and Field Hut, the oldest remaining purpose-built tramping hut in New Zealand, are named after him. He was a founding member of the Tararua Tramping Club, one of the first of many tramping clubs in New Zealand.

He was closely associated with improvement to the railway services to his electorate, one train was known as "Field's Express", and the construction of the Tawa Flat tunnel. He also led the campaign for the electrification of the Johnsonville service extended to Paekakariki in 1940 and, 70 years later, to his electorate at Waikanae in February 2011. With Charles Gray of Pukerua Bay he was largely responsible for the Centennial Highway on the narrow coastline south of Paekakariki.