Harry Holland

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. The two were to have five sons and three daughters. In 1890, however, Holland found himself unemployed, putting the family in a poor financial position. Holland left the Salvation Army at this point, believing that its response to poverty was inadequate. He remained, however, quite strongly religious. Gradually, his political views became attuned to socialism, although this was probably more an emotional decision than a theoretical one — Holland was deeply dedicated to the elimination of poverty, but had little use for complicated economic models. Despite leaving the Salvation Army, he retained (according to his biographer) a 'sect mentality'; a sense of personal mission, scorn of moderation, impatience with piecemeal reform and a sense of undeviating righteousness. 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.

In 1918, Paddy Webb, a Labour MP, was jailed for refusing military service. Holland stood in the resulting Grey by-election to replace him. 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. 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 Grey electorate 1918–19, and then the Buller electorate from 1919 until he died.

Initially, in Parliament Holland was not a particularly strong performer. His aggressive oratory, while suitable for speeches, tended to oversimplify issues, and Holland was frequently criticised in Parliamentary debates as an impractical ideologue. Holland's opponents successfully characterised him as applying simplistic doctrines to complicated issues, and of failing to look at a problem from all sides. 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. Newspapers were highly critical of Holland and his stance, labelling him as both pro-German and pro-Bolshevik. This put him at odds with his colleagues who were more doubtful of the revolutions overseas.