The residents of Port Hughes petitioned for a jetty in 1876 arguing that their bay provided deeper anchorages than the adjacent Moonta Bay where a jetty of 400 metres gave a depth of only 2.1 metres at low water, whereas at Port Hughes a much shorter jetty of only 152 metres would give a depth of 3.9 metres and 213 metres the depth of 6.4 metres at low water. Despite these persuasive arguments no jetty was built at this time.

In 1907 the residents again urged the South Australian government to build a jetty at Port Hughes. At last in December 1911 construction began, and the new jetty was opened in May 1913 with a length of 430 metres. While Port Hughes never eventuated as the major port in the region as the residents had hoped, there was still the need for a harbor master and he required an office. This small transportable weatherboard building was installed in 1916 to serve that function. The harbor master was responsible for the safe working of the harbor.

Port Hughes jetty has served the recreational fishermen well since the harbour's commercial life ceased in the late 1950s. Now the local boaties are looking for a marina and boat ramp to be built.