Holder married Julia Maria Stephens in 1877. His wife proved to be a great boon to his career, providing political advice and serving as South Australian President of the influential Women's Christian Temperance Union.
Speculating that it contributed to his poor health, Holder had failed to seek suitable medical attention following an accident involving a mule in 1899.[1]
With considerable experience as a Councillor and Town Clerk, and just five months after his election as mayor of the Corporate Town of Burra,[2] Holder was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly in 1887 as the member for Burra, and soon gained a sound reputation in parliament. As a result, he served as Treasurer of South Australia from 1889–90 in the J. A. Cockburn ministry, and Leader of the Opposition from 1890–92. He again served as Opposition Leader in 1899. He sat on many royal commissions during his parliamentary career in South Australia, and his reasonableness and sincerity made him a very valuable committee man. In June 1891 he carried a vote of want of confidence in the Playford ministry, and took office as Premier and Treasurer. He had only a small majority and it was a time of great financial difficulties due to a severe drought and Holder was forced out as Premier after just four months.
Holder then served as Commissioner of Public Works in Charles Kingston's government from 1893–94, followed by a third stint as Treasurer from 1894 until his re-election as Premier and Treasurer in late 1899. As Premier, his most notable innovation was to introduce one standard time zone throughout South Australia, while he also played a prominent role in the movement towards a federal union, and, as such, was a member of the Australasian Federal Convention that framed the Commonwealth constitution in 1897–98. He opposed to Convention's decision to transfer postal and telegraphic services to the new Commonwealth.[3]
As Premier, Holder considered himself to be the logical choice for a ministerial position in the new federal cabinet, and was offered a cabinet position by William Lyne after Lyne was invited by the Governor-General, Lord Hopetoun to form a government and become the inaugural Prime Minister. Holder initially accepted, and was in Melbourne en route to Sydney to officially accept his ministry when he was convinced by Alfred Deakin to refuse Lyne and instead support Edmund Barton's claim to the premiership. Assured by Richard O'Connor, Barton's righthand man, that he would be invited to join the ministry if he supported Barton, Holder was furious when Barton instead chose Kingston. Nonetheless, Holder resigned as Premier to successfully contest the 1901 federal election for the Free Trade Party and entered the new federal parliament in the single statewide Division of South Australia. Elected Speaker of the House of Representatives, Holder followed traditional Westminster convention and resigned from his party upon his elevation as Speaker, and (again in accordance with traditional convention) was re-elected to parliament unopposed as an independent in the 1903 election in the Division of Wakefield. Labor did not observe the convention in the 1906 election, however, and contested the Division of Wakefield, but Holder was re-elected as an independent candidate. As speaker, he largely eschewed partisan politics, guided by the convention that the Speaker of the Westminster Parliament is strictly nonpartisan.[1]
Death
Knighted in 1902, Holder served as Speaker until his death on 23 July 1909. A 14-hour parliamentary session had started the previous afternoon. At 5 am the House was in committee, but Holder was present, having been called to the chamber to receive the committee's report, and was seated on the front bench, next to the Minister for Home Affairs, George Fuller. During a rowdy exchange, he exclaimed "Dreadful, dreadful!", then slumped sideways in his seat. He was taken to his room, where a cerebral hemorrhage was diagnosed by three members with medical qualifications and a doctor from outside the house. He died at 4:18 pm that same day without having gained consciousness.[4] He was given a state funeral in Adelaide.
Legacy
The Canberra suburb of Holder was named in his honour when gazetted in 1970.
^ abSpeaker of the House of Representatives, second edition: APH 23 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Burra Municipal Elections". Burra Record (SA : 1878 - 1954). S.A. 23 November 1886. p. 2. Retrieved 26 September 2012 – via Trove.
^William Coleman,Their Fiery Cross of Union. A Retelling of the Creation of the Australian Federation, 1889-1914, Connor Court, Queensland, 2021, p.432.
Chewton Atchley, rev. Elizabeth Baigent. "Holder, Sir Frederick William (1850–1909)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/33930. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Parliament of South Australia profile . Accessed 26 May 2005.
frederick, holder, frederick, william, holder, kcmg, 1850, july, 1909, australian, politician, premier, south, australia, from, june, october, 1892, again, from, 1899, 1901, prominent, member, inaugural, parliament, australia, following, federation, 1901, firs. Sir Frederick William Holder KCMG 12 May 1850 23 July 1909 was an Australian politician He was Premier of South Australia from June to October 1892 and again from 1899 to 1901 He was a prominent member of the inaugural Parliament of Australia following Federation in 1901 and was the first Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives The Honourable SirFrederick HolderKCMG19th Premier of South AustraliaIn office 21 June 1892 15 October 1892MonarchVictoriaGovernorEarl of KintorePreceded byThomas Playford IISucceeded byJohn DownerIn office 8 December 1899 15 May 1901MonarchsVictoriaEdward VIIGovernorSir Thomas BuxtonLord TennysonPreceded byVaiben Louis SolomonSucceeded byJohn Jenkins7th Leader of the Opposition SA In office 1890 1892Preceded byThomas Playford IISucceeded byJohn DownerIn office 1899 1899Preceded byVaiben Louis SolomonSucceeded byVaiben Louis SolomonMember of the Australian Parliament for South AustraliaIn office 30 March 1901 16 December 1903Serving with Lee Batchelor Langdon Bonython Paddy Glynn Charles Kingston Alexander Poynton Vaiben Louis SolomonSucceeded byDivision abolishedMember of the Australian Parliament for WakefieldIn office 16 December 1903 23 July 1909Succeeded byRichard Foster1st Speaker of the Australian House of RepresentativesIn office 9 May 1901 23 July 1909Succeeded byCarty SalmonPersonal detailsBorn 1850 05 12 12 May 1850Happy Valley South AustraliaDied23 July 1909 1909 07 23 aged 59 MelbournePolitical partyLiberals second term Free Trade from 1901 Independent by 1903 to 1909 SpouseJulia Maria Stephens Contents 1 Life 2 South Australian politics 3 Federal politics 3 1 Death 4 Legacy 5 Family 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External linksLife EditHolder was born in Happy Valley South Australia the son of James Morecott Holder and his wife Martha Breakspear Roby He was educated at Pulteney Grammar School and St Peter s College Adelaide before first becoming a teacher schoolmaster and Methodist preacher and later the editor and proprietor of the Burra Record he also wrote for the Adelaide Register Holder married Julia Maria Stephens in 1877 His wife proved to be a great boon to his career providing political advice and serving as South Australian President of the influential Women s Christian Temperance Union Speculating that it contributed to his poor health Holder had failed to seek suitable medical attention following an accident involving a mule in 1899 1 South Australian politics EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed March 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Parliament House portrait of Holder by George A J Webb 1916 With considerable experience as a Councillor and Town Clerk and just five months after his election as mayor of the Corporate Town of Burra 2 Holder was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly in 1887 as the member for Burra and soon gained a sound reputation in parliament As a result he served as Treasurer of South Australia from 1889 90 in the J A Cockburn ministry and Leader of the Opposition from 1890 92 He again served as Opposition Leader in 1899 He sat on many royal commissions during his parliamentary career in South Australia and his reasonableness and sincerity made him a very valuable committee man In June 1891 he carried a vote of want of confidence in the Playford ministry and took office as Premier and Treasurer He had only a small majority and it was a time of great financial difficulties due to a severe drought and Holder was forced out as Premier after just four months Holder then served as Commissioner of Public Works in Charles Kingston s government from 1893 94 followed by a third stint as Treasurer from 1894 until his re election as Premier and Treasurer in late 1899 As Premier his most notable innovation was to introduce one standard time zone throughout South Australia while he also played a prominent role in the movement towards a federal union and as such was a member of the Australasian Federal Convention that framed the Commonwealth constitution in 1897 98 He opposed to Convention s decision to transfer postal and telegraphic services to the new Commonwealth 3 Holder at the 1898 Australasian Federal Convention Holder took over the liberal leadership from Charles Kingston and was again Premier this time from 1899 to 1901 He was succeeded in both roles by John Jenkins The Liberal and Democratic Union would not be formed until the 1906 election Federal politics EditAs Premier Holder considered himself to be the logical choice for a ministerial position in the new federal cabinet and was offered a cabinet position by William Lyne after Lyne was invited by the Governor General Lord Hopetoun to form a government and become the inaugural Prime Minister Holder initially accepted and was in Melbourne en route to Sydney to officially accept his ministry when he was convinced by Alfred Deakin to refuse Lyne and instead support Edmund Barton s claim to the premiership Assured by Richard O Connor Barton s righthand man that he would be invited to join the ministry if he supported Barton Holder was furious when Barton instead chose Kingston Nonetheless Holder resigned as Premier to successfully contest the 1901 federal election for the Free Trade Party and entered the new federal parliament in the single statewide Division of South Australia Elected Speaker of the House of Representatives Holder followed traditional Westminster convention and resigned from his party upon his elevation as Speaker and again in accordance with traditional convention was re elected to parliament unopposed as an independent in the 1903 election in the Division of Wakefield Labor did not observe the convention in the 1906 election however and contested the Division of Wakefield but Holder was re elected as an independent candidate As speaker he largely eschewed partisan politics guided by the convention that the Speaker of the Westminster Parliament is strictly nonpartisan 1 Death Edit Knighted in 1902 Holder served as Speaker until his death on 23 July 1909 A 14 hour parliamentary session had started the previous afternoon At 5 am the House was in committee but Holder was present having been called to the chamber to receive the committee s report and was seated on the front bench next to the Minister for Home Affairs George Fuller During a rowdy exchange he exclaimed Dreadful dreadful then slumped sideways in his seat He was taken to his room where a cerebral hemorrhage was diagnosed by three members with medical qualifications and a doctor from outside the house He died at 4 18 pm that same day without having gained consciousness 4 He was given a state funeral in Adelaide Legacy EditThe Canberra suburb of Holder was named in his honour when gazetted in 1970 Family EditOn 29 March 1877 he married Julia Maria Stephens She was president of the Women s Christian Temperance Union in South Australia and a vice president of the National Council of Women 5 See also EditFirst Holder Ministry Second Holder MinistryNotes Edit a b Speaker of the House of Representatives second edition APH Archived 23 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine Burra Municipal Elections Burra Record SA 1878 1954 S A 23 November 1886 p 2 Retrieved 26 September 2012 via Trove William Coleman Their Fiery Cross of Union A Retelling of the Creation of the Australian Federation 1889 1914 Connor Court Queensland 2021 p 432 Gavin Souter Acts of Parliament 1988 p 115 Atchley 1912 References EditHarry R 1983 Sir Frederick William Holder Australian Dictionary of Biography Volume 9 MUP Melbourne Atchley Chewton 1912 Holder Frederick William In Lee Sidney ed Dictionary of National Biography 2nd supplement London Smith Elder amp Co Chewton Atchley rev Elizabeth Baigent Holder Sir Frederick William 1850 1909 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 33930 Subscription or UK public library membership required Parliament of South Australia profile 1 Accessed 26 May 2005 External links Edit Holder Frederick Former members of the Parliament of South Australia Retrieved 19 August 2022 South Australian House of AssemblyPreceded byJohn Cockburn Member for Burra1887 1901 With Ben Rounsevell George Lake Charles Goode Succeeded byWilliam RussellPolitical officesPreceded byThomas Playford II Leader of the Opposition of South Australia1890 1892 Succeeded byJohn DownerPreceded byThomas Playford II Premier of South Australia1892 Succeeded byJohn DownerVacantTitle last held byLawrence Grayson Commissioner of Public Works1893 1894 Succeeded byJohn JenkinsPreceded byVaiben Louis Solomon Leader of the Opposition of South Australia1899 Succeeded byVaiben Louis SolomonPreceded byVaiben Louis Solomon Premier of South Australia1899 1901 Succeeded byJohn JenkinsParliament of AustraliaNew parliament Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives1901 1909 Succeeded byCarty SalmonMember for South Australia1901 1903 With Batchelor Bonython Glynn Kingston Poynton Solomon Division abolishedNew division Member for Wakefield1903 1909 Succeeded byRichard Foster Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Frederick Holder amp oldid 1123013708, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
