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.
Early life
left|thumb|150px|Harry Holland in Newcastle, 1897
Holland was born at Ginninderra, now in the northern suburbs of Canberra. Initially, he worked on his parents' farm, but later was apprenticed as a compositor for the Queanbeyan Times in nearby Queanbeyan. Holland did not receive an extensive education, but developed an enthusiasm for reading. He also became highly religious, joining the Salvation Army.
In 1887, Holland left Queanbeyan to work in Sydney. Shortly afterwards, on 6 October 1888, he married Annie McLachlan, whom he had met at a Salvation Army meeting.
At the Holland stood for the SDP in the electorate, finishing third. In 1915 he stood as an SDP candidate for the Wellington City Council. 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 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, inflation and wartime 'special privilege'. His campaign organiser Peter Fraser encouraged Holland to directly challenge Prime Minister William Massey 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. Holland accepted with the knowledge that he was to resign the seat when Webb was released. Many Liberal Party 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. 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, Peter Fraser, Bob Semple and later Walter Nash. 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 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 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
thumb|Holland in 1922
In 1925 Labour suffered a setback, losing 5 seats despite gaining 3.5% more of the vote. However, Holland became Leader of the Opposition on 16 June 1926, as a result of the Eden by-election. Labour had now surpassed the Liberal Party 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. 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. 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 thought that Holland had a "Samoan complex" and told him so.
Labour's support for United lasted until 1931 until the Great Depression 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
right|thumb|300px|Harry Holland's memorial in [[Wellington]]
In 1933, Holland unexpectedly died of a heart attack, attending the funeral of the Maori King Te Rata Mahuta in Huntly. He was given a state funeral, 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, 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, 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, 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
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