Matthew Holmes (politician)

Early life

Born in Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland in 1817, Holmes received his education in his home town. After school, he was training in commerce at McFarland's woollen mill in Londonderry.

Life in Australia

Holmes moved to Australia in 1837 and his first business venture was a stationary shop in Melbourne'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 stationary shop by himself and 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 outside of Geelong.

On 26 May 1841 at Port Phillip, he married Anne McLean, the daughter of Allan McLean of Strathallan near Echuca. After being burned out in the Black Thursday bushfires 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 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 still stand and are listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

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 near Edinburgh, 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. In 1864, he sold his estate in Scotland and moved his family back to New Zealand. At first, they were living at Andersons Bay on Otago Peninsula. They then lived partly at Andersons Bay and partly at Awamoa, near Oamaru in North Otago. He was the owner of large sheep runs both at Awamoa and at Castlerock near Lumsden in Southland. 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 horses and Cheviot sheep. Holmes was one of the original directors of the Mosgiel Woollen Mill and on retirement from active business, he sold his trading interests to Dalgety, Rattray & Co. In their later years, the Holmes lived in Wellington.

Political career

Holmes represented the Oteramika electorate in the Southland Provincial Council from 7 November 1864 to 6 July 1867. He represented the Oreti electorate in Southland on the Otago Provincial Council, after Otago and Southland had reunited, from 31 March 1871 to 22 May 1873.

Holmes was a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council from 19 June 1866 until 1901, when he died.

Family and death

His wife was related to the brothers John and Allan McLean. The Holmes had six children, including the barrister Allan Holmes. A daughter was Isabella, a founder of Dunedin Public Art Gallery. 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. 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.