Politician, Unionist. Born Henry Edmund Holland, Holland was an Australian born politician who from 1919 until his death in 1933, served as the leader of the New Zealand Labour Party. Longing for the elimination of all poverty in the world, Holland took up an interest in politics, starting with joining the Australian Socialist League. During the remainder of his time in Australia he was sentenced to prison twice, first for libelling the superintendent of the New South Wales Labour Bureau and then for sedition due to his advocation for fighting against capitalism during the Broken Hill Strike. In 1912, Holland and his family moved to New Zealand where he accepted a position with the New Zealand Socialist Party who he wrote and lectured for. At the time of his arrival in New Zealand, the Waihi Miners' Strike was underway which inspired him to write 'The Tragic Story of the Waihi Strike' the following year, supporting his family with editorial work in socialist newspapers. The same year he was imprisoned on the grounds of sedition. Due to the details of the trial being published in newspapers around the country, Holland gained support as a martyr aided by the reports of neglectful conditions during his imprisonment of twelve months. The following years Holland stood for local Wellington electorate but saw no great success. It wasn't until the founding of the Second New Zealand Labour Party, of which Holland was a founding member, that he saw success in politics. He began to be portrayed as "the Bolshevik revolution incarnate" which he used to gain support among labouring and mining communities. In 1918, Holland became a member of the New Zealand Parliament for Grey and the following year the same for the Buller electorate which he represented until his death. After the death of party leader Alfred Hindmarsh, Holland was voted leader, credited to his public profile as many in the party saw Holland as too radical and extreme in his beliefs, an opinion held by many in government throughout his life. During the following years the Labour Party gained support as the onset of the Great Depression became increasingly apparent, during which, Holland gave the majority of his personnel wealth and belongings away. Though never able to succeed in taking power, Holland succeeded in gaining popularity towards the party and subsequently aided Michael Joseph Savage becoming Prime Minister in 1935. He died while attending the funeral of Maori King Te Rata.