H. A. Conant wrote newspaper-published short stories, novellas, and poetry. Son of Pelling Hugh Gough Piggot and Annie Maria Longden Orr, his father emigrated to Victoria, Australia from Hampshire, England, before Hugh’s birth. Francis Piggott Stainsby Conant, Pelling’s father and Hugh’s grandfather, was a Member of Parliament for Reading. He was also appointed the title of Lieutenant Governor of The Isle of Man in 1860 which he held until his death. These positions suggest a lineage of privilege and power for Hugh. Pelling, Hugh’s father, lived on The Isle of Man for some time before he emigrated to Australia. He applied to be a Solicitor for the Supreme Court of the colony of New South Wales under the name Pelling H. G. Piggot-Stainsby Conant. Hugh was born on 9 May 1871 in Bendigo, Victoria. Conant married Alice Agnes Hungerford, and they had four children. He died on 6 February 1945 in Turramurra, New South Wales. Conant was buried in a Catholic monumental at Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium.
H. A. Conant published from 1895 until 1903. His works often featured political themes, such as in the short story 'A Page from Peg-Leg Creek', where the main character reflects on their time in the Australian Bush and their scandalous partnership with a Chinese man. Other works include the poem 'The Thieving God', where Conant satirically reflects on financial debt.
He had associations with Mayor Peter Aloysius Polin, father of P. E. Polin, who managed the Freeman's Journal Newspaper. Conant notably attended his funeral in 1922 to represent the Freeman’s Journal with W. G. Scarvell. The Freeman’s Journal was a non-official Catholic newspaper focused on reporting church news from a generally liberal perspective. H. A. Conant was heavily involved in the journal when, in 1916, it was announced in the Bulletin that he, “after 19 years a sub-editor for the Catholic press, has subsided into the editorial chair of its holy and aged contemporary, Sydney’s Freeman’s Journal. He was a Bulletin contributor in the bohemian days of Sydney, can pen a good yarn when in the humour and occasionally brews verse.”
Conant was awarded two Papal Honours. He received the Cross of St Leo honour on 12 December 1920, and the Knight of Saint Sylvester award on 26 May 1929.
This biography was researched and written by Stephanie Goltz.
Sources:
“All 1861 Isle of Man Census results for Piggott.” Ancestry. Accessed 30 October 2024. https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/8766/?name=_Piggott&f-F00032DB=20&f-F000303A=39&f-F0003039=4419.
“H. A. Conant.” Bulletin, 2 March, 1916. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-676738319/view?sectionId=nla.obj-693713587.
“Hugh Alexander Piggot Stainsby Conant.” Ancestry. Accessed 30 October 2023. https://www.ancestry.com.au/genealogy/records/hugh-alexander-piggot-stainsby-conant-24-6cyd5p?srsltid=.
Johnson, John Martin. “Hugh Alexander Piggot Stainsby Conant.” Geni. 15 September 2023. https://www.geni.com/people/Hugh-Piggot-Stainsby-Conant/6000000198250050291.
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“Obituary. Late Mr. P. A. Polin.” Sydney Morning Herald, 4 September, 1922. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/16022846.
Rayment, Leigh. “The House of Commons Constituencies Beginning with ‘R’.” Internet Archive Wayback Machine. 9 September 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20141009222304/http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Rcommons1.htm.
Record for Hugh Alexander Conant (d. 1945), Catholic Monumental Y6, Grave 0012, Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium. Accessed via search on Northern Cemeteries, https://nmclm.com.au/find-a-loved-one/?site_id=6037.
Tyrell, Pauline. “List of Awards and Honours.” The Hungerford & Associated Families Society Inc. 18 May 2018. https://www.hafs.org.au/list-awards-honours/2018/05/19/.
Winterbottom, Derek. “Economic History, 1830-1996.” In A New History of the Isle of Man: The Modern Period, 1830-1899, edited by John Belchem, vol. 5, 207-78. Liverpool University Press. 2000. https://uniset.ca/microstates2/im_New_History_of_the_Isle_of_Man.pdf.
