William Holman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 19th Premier of New South Wales | |
| 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 |
| Attorney-General of New South Wales | |
| In office 21 October 1910 – 29 January 1914 | |
| Premier | James McGowen |
| Preceded by | Charles Wade |
| Succeeded by | David Hall |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Martin | |
| In office 19 December 1931 – 5 June 1934 | |
| Preceded by | John Eldridge |
| Succeeded by | William McCall |
| Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 27 July 1898 – 18 February 1920 | |
| Constituency | Cootamundra (1904–1920) Grenfell (1898–1904) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 August 1871 St Pancras, London, England |
| Died | 5 June 1934 (aged 62) Gordon, New South Wales, Australia |
| Political party | Labor (until 1916) Nationalist (1916–1931) UAP (after 1931) |
| Spouse | |
| Relations | Portia Holman (daughter) |
| Occupation | Cabinet-maker, trade union official, journalist |
William Arthur Holman (4 August 1871 – 5 June 1934) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 1913 to 1920. He came to office as the leader of the Labor Party, but was expelled from the party in the split of 1916. He subsequently became the inaugural leader of the NSW branch of the Nationalist Party.
Holman was born in London and arrived in Australia at the age of 17, becoming a cabinet-maker in Sydney. Before being elected to parliament, he was active in the labour movement as a journalist and union official. He was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1898. He began studying law part-time, and was called to the bar in 1903. In 1910, Holman became Attorney-General of New South Wales in the state's first Labor government, under Premier James McGowen. He succeeded McGowen as premier in June 1913, and later that year led his party to victory at the 1913 state election.
In 1916, Holman supported the "Yes" vote in the referendum on overseas conscription and was consequently expelled from the Labor Party. He and his supporters remained in government with the backing of the opposition Liberal Reform Party, and the two groups subsequently merged to form the NSW branch of the new Nationalist Party, under Holman's leadership. The new party won a large majority at the 1917 election. However, it was heavily defeated at the 1920 election, in which Holman lost his own seat. After his defeat, he returned to his legal practice and was made King's Counsel. He was elected to the House of Representatives for the United Australia Party at the 1931 federal election, but was in poor health and died before completing his first term.