Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/259

 ADELAIDE AND VICINITY Hon. F. W. Holder, M.P., Prauicr and Treasurer THE latter half of the decade eiuUxl in 1890 brought out of com])arative obscurity three men who have pregnantly impressed public thought in South Australia, namely : — Messrs. Gordon, Cockburn, and Holder ; and it is a co-incidence that the i)olitics of all three are almost identical, also that each has been a member of the same three Cabinets. The present is the fourth occasion that Mr. Holder has been Treasurer ; and no one, probably, has more dis- tinguished himself in such a department in Australia. When he took over the portfolio in 1894, upon the appointment of Mr. Playford as Agent-General, it was conceded by both sides of the House of Assembly that South Australia would gain, " both in London and in Adelaide, by these changes." On that occasion the Australian editor of the Rct'icw of Rcz'ii'ivs, in referring to Mr. Holder, said : "He is rich in saving common-sense, has a most intimate knowledge of the con- ditions and needs of the Colony, and is universally respected for his uprightness." Erederick William Holder was born at Happy Valley, South Australia, on May 12, 1850, and is the son of James Morecott Holder. In his school days he showed some inclination for the teaching profession, and eventually accepted a position imder the South Australian State Schools Department. After filling several scholastic appointments, he was transferred to the Burra, where he later began his public career. His abilities fitted him for positions of wider scope than teaching, and after some time he resigned from the department. If at this time he had any ambition for public life, he could not have chosen a more suitable and appropriate training ground than that he now entered. The country press is a useful lever, and Mr. Holder became proprietor and editor of the Burra Record. He gave life ,-uk1 strength to that organ ; and, as it circulated through a large district, he became well Johnstone, O^Shamtess), & Co., Photo