Matthew Holmes (15 September 1817 – 27 September 1901) was a New Zealand politician and runholder. He was a member of the

New Zealand Legislative Council The New Zealand Legislative Council was the upper house of the General Assembly of New Zealand between 1853 and 1951. An earlier arrangement of legislative councils for the colony and provinces existed from 1841 when New Zealand became a co ...

for 35 years (1866–1901). Holmes was from Ireland and made his money in Victoria from farming, exporting wool, and supplying the gold fields. The family lived in Scotland for some years but Holmes moved to New Zealand. His family followed him years later and they lived for most of their time in

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

, but retired to

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

Early life

Born in

Strabane Strabane ( ; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,172 at the 2011 Census. It lies on the east bank of the River Foyle. It is roughly midway from Omagh, Derry and Letterkenny. The River Foyle marks ...

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...

, Ireland on 15 September 1817, Holmes received his education in his home town. After school, he was trained in commerce at McFarland's woollen mill in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

Life in Australia

Holmes moved to Australia in 1837 and his first business venture was a stationery shop in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

's Collins Street with William Kerr. The partnership was dissolved at the end of 1841; his business partner would later found '' The Argus''. Holmes took over the running of the stationery shop by himself. In 1843, he was declared insolvent by the courts and the stock was auctioned. It was not until 1845 that he was discharged. For some time, he had a dairy farm called "Glencairn" in the

Barrabool Hills The Barrabool Hills are a small region in south-Western Victoria, on the western outskirts of Geelong. The National Trust of Australia describes the hills as being a "distinctive upland ridge located to the west of Geelong, on the south side of t ...

outside of

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

. On 26 May 1841 at

Port Phillip Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...

, he married Anne McLean, the daughter of Allan McLean of Strathallan near

Echuca Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative centre and largest s ...

. After being burned out in the

Black Thursday bushfires The Black Thursday bushfires were a devastating series of fires that swept the state of Victoria, Australia, on 6 February 1851, burning up , or about a quarter of the state's area. Twelve people died, along with one million sheep, thousands o ...

on 6 February 1851 and their youngest child dying from the effects, he relocated to Geelong and built up a profitable wool exporting company operating under the style of Holmes, White & Co. He also supplied the gold diggings during the

Victorian gold rush The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony, and an influx of population growth and financial capita ...

. The store of Holmes, White & Co in Melbourne's William Street does not exist any longer, but their premises at 114 Lydiard Street North in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

still stand and are listed on the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. H ...

Life in Scotland

Holmes and his family moved to Scotland in 1854 as there was better medical care available for his wife's poor health. He purchased a large estate in

Lasswade Lasswade is a village and civil parish in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River North Esk, nine miles (14.5 kilometres) south of Edinburgh city centre, contiguous with Bonnyrigg and between Dalkeith to the east and Loanhead to the west. Melville C ...

near

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, and became involved in a group which became the New Zealand and Australia Land Company.

Life in New Zealand

In 1859, he returned to New Zealand on the ''Pirate'' as the company's general manager, but also spent time in Victoria to look after business interests there. In 1862, he travelled to England as one of the commissioners for the

1862 International Exhibition The International Exhibition of 1862, or Great London Exposition, was a world's fair. It was held from 1 May to 1 November 1862, beside the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, London, England, on a site that now houses ...

. In 1864, he sold his estate in Scotland and moved his family back to New Zealand. At first, they were living at

Andersons Bay Andersons Bay (sometimes spelt in the grammatically correct former form Anderson's Bay, and often known locally simply as "Andy Bay") is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located in the southeast of the city's urban area, sout ...

Otago Peninsula The Otago Peninsula ( mi, Muaūpoko) is a long, hilly indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. Volcanic in origin, it forms one wall of the eroded valley that now forms Otago Harbour. The peninsula lies sou ...

. They then lived partly at Andersons Bay and partly at Awamoa, near

Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railway ...

in North

. He was the owner of large sheep runs both at Awamoa and at Castlerock near Lumsden in

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Reg ...

. His station at Castlerock was overrun by rabbits in the 1870s, but Holmes managed to get on top of the problem; his son Stuart later gave presentations on how they went about this. Holmes was well known for importing quality stock for breeding, including

Clydesdale horse The Clydesdale is a Scottish breed of draught horse. It is named for its area of origin, the Clydesdale or valley of the River Clyde, much of which is within the county of Lanarkshire. The origins of the breed lie in the eighteenth century, ...

s and

Cheviot sheep The Cheviot is a breed of white-faced sheep which gets its name from a range of hills in north Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. It is still common in this area of the United Kingdom, but also in northwest Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the ...

. Holmes was one of the original directors of the

Mosgiel Woollen Mill The Mosgiel Woollen Mill is situated in Mosgiel, Dunedin, New Zealand, and was opened in 1871. The Mosgiel Woollen Mill was the second woollen mill to open in New Zealand. The mill was integral to the town and a significant employer from when it ...

and on retirement from active business, he sold his trading interests to Dalgety, Rattray & Co. In their later years, the Holmes lived in Hawkestone House,

Political career

Holmes represented the Oteramika electorate in the

Southland Provincial Council The Southland Province was a province of New Zealand from March 1861, when it split from Otago Province, until 1870, when it rejoined Otago. History Following the passage of the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 by the British Parliament, New ...

from 7 November 1864 to 6 July 1867. He represented the Oreti electorate in Southland on the

Otago Provincial Council The Otago Province was a province of New Zealand until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. The capital of the province was Dunedin. Southland Province split from Otago in 1861, but became part of the province again in 1870. Area an ...

, after Otago and Southland had reunited, from 31 March 1871 to 22 May 1873. Holmes was a member of the

from 19 June 1866 until 1901, when he died.

Family and death

His wife was a half-sister to the brothers

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

and Allan McLean. The Holmes had six children, including the barrister Allan Holmes. Their third daughter

Katherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and Catherina, other variations are feminine Given name, names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria ...

was an artist whose work has been collected by the

Hocken Library Hocken Collections (, formerly the Hocken Library) is a research library, historical archive, and art gallery based in Dunedin, New Zealand. Its library collection, which is of national significance, is administered by the University of Otago. T ...

and the

Alexander Turnbull Library The National Library of New Zealand ( mi, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) is New Zealand's legal deposit library charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (''Nat ...

. Their youngest daughter Annie Julia was also an artist, known for her watercolour painting. Another daughter was Isabella, a founder of

Dunedin Public Art Gallery The Dunedin Public Art Gallery holds the main public art collection of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located in The Octagon in the heart of the city, it is close to the city's public library, Dunedin Town Hall, and other facilities such as t ...

. Isabella married George McLean, who served as a member of parliament in the 1860s and 1870s, and became a member of the Legislative Council in 1881. A daughter of Isabella and George McLean married

Thomas Wilford Sir Thomas Mason Wilford (20 June 1870 – 22 June 1939) was a New Zealand politician. He held the seats of Wellington Suburbs then Hutt continuously for thirty years, from 1899 to 1929. Wilford was leader of the New Zealand Liberal Party, and ...

. The eldest daughter of the Holmes, Elizabeth, married in Melbourne in 1860. His wife died in 1897, and Holmes died on 27 September 1901 aged 84. He was buried at

Karori Cemetery Karori Cemetery is New Zealand's second largest cemetery, located in the Wellington suburb of Karori. History Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery. In 1909, it received New Zealand's first cremato ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Matthew 1817 births 1901 deaths Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council People from Oamaru 19th-century New Zealand politicians Members of the Otago Provincial Council 19th-century New Zealand farmers Members of the Southland Provincial Council Burials at Karori Cemetery People from Strabane Politicians from County Tyrone