William Arthur Holman
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The Honourable William Holman KC |
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|---|---|
 |
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| 19th Premier of New South Wales | |
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In office 30 June 1913 – 12 April 1920 |
|
| Monarch | George V |
| Governor |
Sir Gerald Strickland Sir Walter Davidson |
| Preceded by | James McGowen |
| Succeeded by | John Storey |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Martin |
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In office 19 December 1931 – 5 June 1934 |
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| Preceded by | John Eldridge |
| Succeeded by | William McCall |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
4 August 1871 St Pancras, London, England |
| Died | 5 June 1934 (aged 62) Gordon, New South Wales, Australia |
| Nationality | English Australian |
| Political party |
Labor (1898–1917) Nationalist (1917–31) UAP (1931–34) |
| Occupation | Unionist |
William Arthur Holman (4 August 1871 – 5 June 1934) was the second Australian Labor Party Premier of New South Wales, Australia. He later split with the party on the conscription issue in 1916 during World War I, and immediately became Premier of a conservative Nationalist Party Government.
Holman was born in St Pancras, London, England in 1871, the son of William Holman, an actor. His mother was also on the stage under the name of May Burney. He was educated at an Anglican school and was apprenticed as a cabinetmaker. He attended night classes and literary societies. There were bad times in the theatrical profession during the 1880s, and the Holmans were glad to obtain an engagement with Brough and Boucicault in Australia. The family migrated to Melbourne, Victoria in October 1888. The burning of the Bijou Theatre in Melbourne resulted in their move to Sydney, New South Wales.
As a cabinet maker in Sydney he was interested in the ideas of John Stuart Mill, William Morris, Herbert Spencer and Charles Darwin, and became very active in the Australian labour movement. He joined the Single Tax League, the Australian Socialist League and the newly formed Labor Electoral League, a forerunner to the Australian Labor Party (ALP). In the Australian Socialist League he mixed with anarchists and socialists and met future Prime Minister Billy Hughes, Creo Stanley, Ernie Lane, Henry Lawson and J.D.Fitzgerald. Holman and Hughes were associated with Arthur Desmond on the scandal sheet paper, The New Order.
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