Family background
Frederick William Holland was born in London, England and arrived in Sydney in 1851. He married Kate (Catherine) Fitzgerald in 1854. Kate was from county Mayo, Ireland, and had been widowed. The wedding was celebrated at St Mary’s Cathedral and at Christ Church, Sydney. The couple, who had no children, lived in Pine Cottage, Francis Street, Enmore, until 1880. Frederick W. Holland died in February 1880 in Albert Street, Marrickville of natural causes on his way to a funeral, aged 57.
Occupation & interests
Frederick W. Holland worked as an architect and surveyor, practicing from an office in Pitt Street, Sydney. He was the architect of Newtown’s controversial first School of Arts, construction of which began in December 1859 to Holland’s design. After concerns the building was structurally unsound, rival architect John Bibb stepped in to oversee the demolition and reconstruction of the roof and upper storey in 1860. However, the new roof was also defective, and it was not until 1863 that the building was finally completed under the supervision of architects, William Weaver and Edmund Blacket. The building was rented as the Town Hall for Newtown from 1865, by which time Holland was no longer in office.
Local government service
Frederick William Holland was an alderman on Newtown Council in 1863-64 and its first mayor in 1863. Although he only received 26 votes during the election, much less than James Conley’s 107 votes, he was elected as mayor by the aldermen of the first Council.
References
Biographical information for this alderman was originally researched by Mark Matheson for the Newtown Project Website.
‘Family Notices’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 January 1854, 8, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12961168
‘Newtown School of Arts’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 December 1859, 4, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13035020
‘Newtown School of Arts’, Empire, 1 August 1860, 8, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60414166
‘The Newtown School of Arts’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 March 1863, 8, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13075876
‘Family Notices’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 2 February 1880, 1, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1344619
‘Coroner’s Inquests’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 February 1880, 7, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13453789
Freeman’s Journal, 7 February 1880, 11, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article133485902