Which New South Wales minister forced the resignation of architect Jørn Utzon?

Davis Hughes, New South Wales minister for public works, forced architect Jørn Utzon out of the Sydney Opera House project. Hughes took responsibility for the project after Robert Askin's government came to power in 1965.

The conflict centred on money, control and design decisions. Hughes objected to Utzon's management approach, including the use of plywood prototypes for the interiors, and withheld payment of a fee claim. Without the funds, Utzon struggled to pay his staff and his Sydney office became increasingly difficult to operate.

On 28 February 1966, after a heated dispute, Utzon sent Hughes a letter saying he was withdrawing from the project. Hughes immediately presented the departure publicly as a resignation. Utzon left Australia and never returned to supervise the building's completion.

Peter Hall subsequently became the principal design architect for the finishing stages, working with David Littlemore and Lionel Todd. Their team completed the interiors and helped bring the Opera House to its official opening in 1973. The episode remains one of the building's most controversial chapters, because Utzon's departure involved both political pressure and genuine technical and financial disputes.