Harry Holland
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Henry Edmund Holland (10 June 1868 – 8 October 1933) was an Australian-born newspaper owner, politician and unionist who relocated to New Zealand. He was the second leader of the
New Zealand Labour Party The New Zealand Labour Party ( mi, Rōpū Reipa o Aotearoa), or simply Labour (), is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descr ...
.


Early life

Holland was born at
Ginninderra Ginninderra is the name of the former agricultural lands surrendered to urban development on the western and north-western fringes of Canberra, the capital of Australia. Ginninderra corresponds with the watershed of Ginninderra Creek, which is ...
, now in the northern suburbs of
Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
. Initially, he worked on his parents' farm, but later was apprenticed as a compositor for the ''Queanbeyan Times'' in nearby
Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in the south-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the ...
. Holland did not receive an extensive education, but developed an enthusiasm for reading. He also became highly religious, joining the
Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
. In 1887, Holland left Queanbeyan to work in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. Shortly afterwards, on 6 October 1888, he married Annie McLachlan, whom he had met at a Salvation Army meeting. The two were to have five sons and three daughters. In 1890, however, Holland found himself unemployed, putting the family in a poor financial position. Holland left the Salvation Army at this point, believing that its response to poverty was inadequate. He remained, however, quite strongly religious. Gradually, his political views became attuned to
socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
, although this was probably more an emotional decision than a theoretical one — Holland was deeply dedicated to the elimination of poverty, but had little use for complicated economic models. Despite leaving the Salvation Army, he retained (according to his biographer) a 'sect mentality'; a sense of personal mission, scorn of moderation, impatience with piecemeal reform and a sense of undeviating righteousness.


Political activity in Australia

Holland joined the
Australian Socialist League The Socialist Labor Party was a socialist political party of Australia that existed from 1901 to the 1970s. Originally formed as the Australian Socialist League in 1887, it had members such as George Black, New South Wales Premier William Hol ...
in 1892. Later, he and a friend began to publish a socialist journal — in 1896, he was convicted of libelling the superintendent of the New South Wales Labour Bureau, and served three months in prison. Upon his release, the journal was moved to
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
for a time, but eventually returned to Sydney. In 1901, Holland stood as a candidate for the
Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...
and the state seat of Sydney-Lang. He was standing for the
Socialist Labor Party The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924 ...
, having rejected the Labor Party as too moderate. He did not make any significant impression. Later, in 1907, he stood in the New South Wales state election, but was caught up in strong infighting between socialist groups. Holland had acquired a reputation of arrogance and egotism, and was convinced beyond all doubt that his views were correct. In 1909, Holland was convicted of sedition, having advocated violent revolution against capitalism during the miners' strike at
Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...
. He was jailed for two years. He received little sympathy from the socialist movement, which considered his actions during the strike to be provocation and posturing. This embittered Holland considerably, and he suffered from serious depression. His depression combined with chronic overwork led to his health breaking down by 1911. In 1912, after his release from jail, Holland soon found himself in trouble with the law again. This time, it resulted from his refusal to register his son for compulsory military training. Rather than pay a fine, Holland left Australia and travelled to New Zealand, accepting an invitation from the
Waihi Waihi is a town in Hauraki District in the North Island of New Zealand, especially notable for its history as a gold mine town. The town is at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula, close to the western end of the Bay of Plenty. The nearby res ...
branch of the
New Zealand Socialist Party The New Zealand Socialist Party was founded in 1901, promoting the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The group, despite being relatively moderate when compared with many other socialists, met with little tangible success, but it neverthe ...
. He was paid £2 a week plus travelling expenses for three months of lecturing and organising. His arrival would normally have been controversial, due to his felonious past, but was overshadowed by industrial action in Waihi.


Political activity in New Zealand


Waihi

At the time of Holland's arrival, Waihi was descending into chaos. A bitter miners' strike, the most significant industrial action that New Zealand had yet seen, was underway, and the conservative government of
William Massey William Ferguson Massey (26 March 1856 – 10 May 1925), commonly known as Bill Massey, was a politician who served as the 19th prime minister of New Zealand from May 1912 to May 1925. He was the founding leader of the Reform Party, New Zea ...
was responding with strong measures. The strike eventually led to the death of a miner in a shoot-out with police. Holland was encouraged by the strike, believing that it was the beginning of "class war" against capitalism. This view was not shared, however, by the New Zealand Socialist Party, which, when the strike broke out, had actually asked Holland not to come to Waihi. The New Zealand socialists, for the most part, saw socialism as a means to an end, and distrusted Holland's view that socialism was a goal in and of itself. Many New Zealand socialists resented Holland's arrogance, seeing him as a self-opinionated outsider meddling in a precarious situation that he did not fully understand. Afterwards, Holland co-authored the prolific ''The Tragic Story of the Waihi Strike'' pamphlet with a fellow Australian agitator,
Robert Samuel Ross Robert Samuel Ross (5 January 1873 – 24 September 1931) was an Australian socialist journalist, trade unionist, and agitator best known as the editor of a series of political magazines associated with the Australian labour movement in the 1890s ...
.


Moderation

Gradually, however, Holland's militancy decreased. In 1913, following the failure of the strike, he attended the second unity conference as a delegate. His co-authorship with Ross of the pamphlet on the strike gained him a certain amount of prestige, as did his editorship of the Federation of Labour's newspaper, the
Maoriland Worker The ''Maoriland Worker'', later called ''The Standard'', was a leading New Zealand labour journal of the early 20th century. It was launched in 1910 by the Shearers' Union and was initially published monthly (Frank Langstone was involved). The ne ...
1913–18. In 1913, a candidate of the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
(or SDP, which the Socialist Party had merged into) was elected to Parliament with backing from the mainstream
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
, and Holland was happy — at one stage, he would have condemned co-operation with any non-socialist organisation. Holland himself, however, still ran into difficulties with the law. In the 1913 waterfront dispute, he was charged with sedition, and was sentenced to one year in jail for using seditious language coming close to advocating for violence against the government. His friends Reverend Richard Hobday and
Walter Nash Sir Walter Nash (12 February 1882 – 4 June 1968) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 27th prime minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960. He is noted for his long period of political service, havin ...
visited Holland in prison and witnessed signs of
mistreatment Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...
. Years later Nash described his visit: "They made me stay outside the door, they would not let me inside his cell. They would not let him have a razor so he was all bristly with ugly growth out of his face … I had a talk with him, with somebody standing by me to listen to what I said. He said, 'I didn't say what they say I said, but if I said it I would justify it.'" This time, however, he was widely seen by the public as a martyr, and gained considerable support. At the Holland stood for the SDP in the electorate, finishing third. In
1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...
he stood as an SDP candidate for the
Wellington City Council Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the country's capital city Wellington, and ''de facto'' second-largest city (if the commonly considered parts of Wellington, the Upper Hutt, Porirua, Lower Hutt and ...
. He was unsuccessful but polled much higher than any of the other candidates on the labour ticket.


Parliamentary career

With the gradual unification of the labour movement in New Zealand, the (second) Labour Party was founded in 1916. Holland was one of the founding members, although his opinions about the direction of the party were not identical to some of the party's other leaders. Holland believed that the Labour Party would lay the foundations for socialism, while the more moderate members of the party simply wanted to improve the wages and conditions of workers. He stood again for the now unified Labour Party for the city council in 1917 where, though still unsuccessful, his vote share rose over 10%. Holland began contemplating leaving New Zealand and returning to
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
though was persuaded to stay when he was selected as a candidate for the 1918 Wellington North by-election. His campaign stood on the grounds of opposing
conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
, inflation and wartime 'special privilege'. His campaign organiser
Peter Fraser Peter Fraser (; 28 August 1884 – 12 December 1950) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 24th prime minister of New Zealand from 27 March 1940 until 13 December 1949. Considered a major figure in the history of the New Zealand Lab ...
encouraged Holland to directly challenge Prime Minister
William Massey William Ferguson Massey (26 March 1856 – 10 May 1925), commonly known as Bill Massey, was a politician who served as the 19th prime minister of New Zealand from May 1912 to May 1925. He was the founding leader of the Reform Party, New Zea ...
and Minister of Defence James Allen over the treatment of conscientious objectors in Europe which resulted in replies from both. As a result, Holland became a household name in Wellington. Although he narrowly missed out on election, Holland reveled in the personal attacks made on him which was exactly the type of recognition he craved. In 1918,
Paddy Webb Patrick Charles Webb (30 November 1884 – 23 March 1950) was a New Zealand trade unionist and politician. Early life Webb was born in Rutherglen, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria. His father, George Webb, was a miner, and P ...
, a Labour MP, was jailed for refusing military service. Holland stood in the resulting Grey by-election to replace him. Holland was chosen based on his strong performance four months earlier in the Wellington North by-election and was a surprise to most given he was not from the West Coast, with many expecting
Mark Fagan Mark Anthony Fagan (17 November 1873 – 31 December 1947) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party and a union secretary. He was Speaker of the Legislative Council from 1939 until his death. Biography Early life Fagan was born at G ...
to be selected. Holland accepted with the knowledge that he was to resign the seat when Webb was released. Many
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
supporters who had previously voted for Webb, thought Holland too extremist and withdrew their support leading to a reduced turnout. He was narrowly elected and delighted with his victory, but other members of the party were less enthusiastic as Holland's majority was far lower than Webb's had been. Holland dismissed this, saying that his victory, unlike Webb's, had been for pure socialism rather than mere reform. Holland represented the electorate 1918–19, and then the Buller electorate from 1919 until he died. Initially, in Parliament Holland was not a particularly strong performer. His aggressive oratory, while suitable for speeches, tended to oversimplify issues, and Holland was frequently criticised in Parliamentary debates as an impractical ideologue. Holland's opponents successfully characterised him as applying simplistic doctrines to complicated issues, and of failing to look at a problem from all sides. Holland spoke in support of the
Bolshevik revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolsheviks, Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was ...
and a failed German socialist revolution as well as denouncing the secret diplomacy that formulated the treaties following the war. Newspapers were highly critical of Holland and his stance, labelling him as both pro-German and pro-Bolshevik. This put him at odds with his colleagues who were more doubtful of the revolutions overseas.


Party leader

Shortly before the 1919 election, the first contested by the Labour party as a united bloc, Holland contested for the leadership of the Labour party. Previous Labour leader
Alfred Hindmarsh Alfred Humphrey Hindmarsh (18 April 1860 – 13 November 1918) was a New Zealand politician, lawyer and unionist. He died in the 1918 influenza epidemic. He served as the first leader of the modern New Zealand Labour Party. Early life Hindmars ...
had died in the influenza epidemic in late 1918 leaving the position open. His only opponent was previous party president
James McCombs James (Jimmy) McCombs (9 December 1873 – 2 August 1933) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Lyttelton. Biography Early life and career McCombs was born in Treanmore, Mohill, County Leitrim, Ireland, the elder child of George McCombs, ...
, who had more parliamentary experience than Holland. The caucus voted and the result was a draw, though after a draw by lot, Holland won the parliamentary leadership of the party, becoming Labour's next leader. Most historians see his victory as being due to his public profile rather than to his policies, which many in the Labour Party considered too extreme. Holland came to personally personify the Labour Party in a way that his predecessors did not due to his superb oratory on public platforms where he could draw large crowds. He built up a core following among his caucus consisting of
Michael Joseph Savage Michael Joseph Savage (23 March 1872 – 27 March 1940) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of New Zealand, heading the First Labour Government from 1935 until his death in 1940. Savage was born in the Colony ...
,
Peter Fraser Peter Fraser (; 28 August 1884 – 12 December 1950) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 24th prime minister of New Zealand from 27 March 1940 until 13 December 1949. Considered a major figure in the history of the New Zealand Lab ...
,
Bob Semple Robert Semple (21 October 1873 – 31 January 1955) was a union leader and later Minister of Public Works for the first Labour Government of New Zealand. He is also known for creating the Bob Semple tank. Early life He was born in Sofala, New ...
and later
Walter Nash Sir Walter Nash (12 February 1882 – 4 June 1968) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 27th prime minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960. He is noted for his long period of political service, havin ...
. All were to become not only loyal lieutenants to Holland during his tenure, but the most influential members of the First Labour Government following Holland's death. In 1922 there were movements towards a proposed alliance between the Labour and Liberal parties, similar to the
Lib-Lab Pact The Liberal–Labour movement refers to the practice of local Liberal associations accepting and supporting candidates who were financially maintained by trade unions. These candidates stood for the British Parliament with the aim of representing ...
in the UK. This was in order to avoid vote splitting, particularly in marginal semi-urban electorates. Holland and the party executive began negotiations with Liberal leader
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 ...
about conducting a joint campaign and if successful, forming a coalition government which would set up a proportionally represented electoral system. However, the talks collapsed after Wilford demanded on holding on to office for a full term before holding an election under the new system, Holland thinking he would use this time to attempt to discredit Labour.


Leader of the Opposition

In 1925 Labour suffered a setback, losing 5 seats despite gaining 3.5% more of the vote. However, Holland became
Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
on 16 June 1926, as a result of the Eden by-election. Labour had now surpassed the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
as the second largest party in Parliament. Following the 1928 election the results showed a hung parliament. Labour held the balance of power and chose to give reluctant support to the United Party (a renamed Liberal Party) rather than continue to let Reform govern. As a result of this Holland lost the status of Leader of the Opposition to ousted Prime Minister
Gordon Coates Joseph Gordon Coates (3 February 1878 – 27 May 1943) served as the 21st prime minister of New Zealand from 1925 to 1928. He was the third successive Reform prime minister since 1912. Born in rural Northland, Coates grew up on a cattle run ...
. Holland attributed the loss to the failure of all trade unionists to support Labour, although had Labour won in 1928 it may well have been denied its long tenure of office which followed after 1935. Some unions were critical of the decision to give support to United. Holland rationalized it as "a preference of bad to worse." By the 1930s Holland had a decreasing influence on policy details, with most being instead written by the party general secretary, Nash, who would only consult with Holland when writing manifestos. The main reason for this was Holland's personal financial situation which led to much of his attention being spent on writing articles and pamphlets to supplement his parliamentary salary. By 1929 he was in debt and had no life or fire insurance. Eventually he received financial aid from the party head office who provided 1/3 of a salary for an assistant to help Holland with his correspondence (he received 679 letters from January to March 1930 alone) with Holland paying the rest. He also published a book, ''Red Roses on the Highway'', in 1924. He also concentrated his writings and speeches more on foreign affairs. Holland was particularly critical of the government's treatment of the people of
Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); a ...
. His colleagues attempted to dissuade him from putting an item on Samoa in an election manifesto, thinking it would not be helpful politically by saying that Samoa was not British. Holland protested, "But it's right!"
John A. Lee John Alfred Alexander Lee (31 October 1891 – 13 June 1982) was a New Zealand politician and writer. He is one of the more prominent avowed socialism in New Zealand, socialists in New Zealand's political history. Lee was elected as a me ...
thought that Holland had a "Samoan complex" and told him so. Labour's support for United lasted until 1931 until the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
took hold. Holland disagreed with United on financial policy to combat the depression and its effects. Holland decided to withdraw support from the government and moved for a vote of no confidence, intending to trigger an election where he thought many disenchanted voters would switch to Labour. Much to his surprise, the Reform party voted with United and the two entered into a coalition denying Holland his chance to seize the initiative. An election was held at the years end and Labour improved well, but still fell short of winning Government. As the Depression worsened, Holland began to doubt some of his convictions. At first, Holland had believed that the Depression marked the beginning of the end for capitalism, but as the economic problems continued, and many workers were cast into poverty, Holland began to question whether his theories were capable of solving the crisis. He became instead increasingly interested in credit theory as a possible solution. Suffering from depression, exhaustion, and ill health, Holland began to withdraw from the activities of leadership. Talk of a possible challenge to his leadership appeared, but there was not yet any willingness for an open confrontation.


Death

In 1933, Holland unexpectedly died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
, attending the funeral of the Maori King Te Rata Mahuta in
Huntly Huntly ( gd, Srath Bhalgaidh or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlemen ...
. He was given a
state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...
, and hailed by his friends as a "compassionate champion of the common people". Holland had died in debt. At the time the position of Leader of the Opposition did not have a higher salary to cover the extra costs that the office demanded. Holland's son freely served as his secretary and also received help from friends to avoid being forced out of parliament on financial grounds. Holland had been receiving less money than a general labourer and the Prime Minister George Forbes approved a paid full-time secretary and a £600 grant to Holland's widow. He was survived by five sons and two daughters. Holland's successor, the more moderate
Michael Joseph Savage Michael Joseph Savage (23 March 1872 – 27 March 1940) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of New Zealand, heading the First Labour Government from 1935 until his death in 1940. Savage was born in the Colony ...
, went on to lead the Labour Party to victory in the 1935 election. He has a memorial in the Bolton Street Cemetery in Wellington, near to that of
Richard Seddon Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the List of prime ministers of New Zealand, 15th Prime Minister of New Zealand, premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. ...
, unveiled in 1937 by Savage with the inscription "" Holland was an avid reader in his adult life due to his short time of schooling in his youth. In the South Island mining town of
Seddonville Seddonville is a lightly populated locality on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is most famous for the historical role it played in New Zealand's coal mining industry. Geography Seddonville is in the isolated north of the Wes ...
, within Holland's Buller electorate, the H. E. Holland Public Library was named in his honour in 1929 after he spearheaded the campaign to rebuild it after it was destroyed by flooding.


See also

* Electoral history of Harry Holland * Shadow Cabinet of Harry Holland


References


Sources

* * * * * * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Harry People from Queanbeyan New Zealand Labour Party MPs Australian emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand Salvationists New Zealand Labour Party leaders New Zealand left-wing activists Social Democratic Party (New Zealand) politicians 1868 births 1933 deaths Burials at Bolton Street Cemetery Leaders of the Opposition (New Zealand) Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates New Zealand politicians convicted of crimes Unsuccessful candidates in the 1914 New Zealand general election New Zealand anti–World War I activists