50 Facts About Harry Holland

Henry Edmund Holland was an Australian-born newspaper owner, politician and unionist who relocated to New Zealand.

Harry Holland was the second leader of the New Zealand Labour Party.

Harry Holland was born at Ginninderra, now in the northern suburbs of Canberra.

Harry Holland did not receive an extensive education, but developed an enthusiasm for reading.

In 1890 Harry Holland found himself unemployed, putting the family in a poor financial position.

Harry Holland left the Salvation Army at this point, believing that its response to poverty was inadequate.

In 1901, Harry Holland stood as a candidate for the Australian Senate and the state seat of Sydney-Lang.

Harry Holland was standing for the Socialist Labor Party, having rejected the Labor Party as too moderate.

Harry Holland had acquired a reputation of arrogance and egotism, and was convinced beyond all doubt that his views were correct.

In 1909, Harry Holland was convicted of sedition, having advocated violent revolution against capitalism during the miners' strike at Broken Hill.

Harry Holland received little sympathy from the socialist movement, which considered his actions during the strike to be provocation and posturing.

Harry Holland's depression combined with chronic overwork led to his health breaking down by 1911.

In 1912, after his release from jail, Harry Holland soon found himself in trouble with the law again.

Rather than pay a fine, Harry Holland left Australia and travelled to New Zealand, accepting an invitation from the Waihi branch of the New Zealand Socialist Party.

Harry Holland was encouraged by the strike, believing that it was the beginning of "class war" against capitalism.

The New Zealand socialists, for the most part, saw socialism as a means to an end, and distrusted Harry Holland's view that socialism was a goal in and of itself.

Many New Zealand socialists resented Harry Holland's arrogance, seeing him as a self-opinionated outsider meddling in a precarious situation that he did not fully understand.

Harry Holland said, 'I didn't say what they say I said, but if I said it I would justify it.

Harry Holland was initially selected as the SDP candidate to stand for Mayor of Wellington at the 1914 election, but was unable to contest the mayoralty as he was engaged in the sedition case, so John Glover stood in his place.

At the 1914 election Harry Holland stood for the SDP in the Wellington North electorate, finishing third.

Harry Holland was unsuccessful but polled much higher than any of the other candidates on the labour ticket.

Harry 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.

Harry 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.

Harry 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.

Harry Holland's campaign stood on the grounds of opposing conscription, inflation and wartime 'special privilege'.

Harry Holland stood in the resulting Grey by-election to replace him.

Harry 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 to be selected.

Harry Holland accepted with the knowledge that he was to resign the seat when Webb was released.

Harry Holland 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.

Harry Holland dismissed this, saying that his victory, unlike Webb's, had been for pure socialism rather than mere reform.

Harry Holland spoke in support of the Bolshevik revolution and a failed German socialist revolution as well as denouncing the secret diplomacy that formulated the treaties following the war.

Shortly before the 1919 election, the first contested by the Labour party as a united bloc, Harry Holland contested for the leadership of the Labour party.

The caucus voted and the result was a draw, though after a draw by lot, Harry Holland won the parliamentary leadership of the party, becoming Labour's next leader.

Harry 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.

Harry Holland built up a core following among his caucus consisting of Michael Joseph Savage, Peter Fraser, Bob Semple and later Walter Nash.

However, the talks collapsed after Wilford demanded on holding on to office for a full term before holding an election under the new system, Harry Holland thinking he would use this time to attempt to discredit Labour.

However, Harry Holland became Leader of the Opposition on 16 June 1926, as a result of the Eden by-election.

Harry 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.

Harry Holland published a book, Red Roses on the Highway, in 1924.

Harry Holland concentrated his writings and speeches more on foreign affairs.

Harry Holland was particularly critical of the government's treatment of the people of Western Samoa.

Harry Holland's 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.

Harry Holland disagreed with United on financial policy to combat the depression and its effects.

Harry 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.

At first, Harry 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, Harry Holland began to question whether his theories were capable of solving the crisis.

Harry Holland became instead increasingly interested in credit theory as a possible solution.

In 1933, Harry Holland unexpectedly died of a heart attack, attending the funeral of the Maori King Te Rata Mahuta in Huntly.

Harry Holland was given a state funeral, and hailed by his friends as a "compassionate champion of the common people".

Harry Holland was survived by five sons and two daughters.

Harry Holland was an avid reader in his adult life due to his short time of schooling in his youth.