Thomas Holt

Thomas Holt (14 November 1811 – 5 September 1888) was an English-born Australian pastoralist, company director and politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1868 and 1883. He was also a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for two periods between 1856 and 1857 and again between 1861 and 1864. Holt was the first Colonial Treasurer in New South Wales.

Early life Holt, born in Horbury, Yorkshire, England in November 1811, was the son of Thomas Holt Snr. a Yorkshire wool merchant and Elizabeth Ellis and was educated in Wakefield. He initially worked in his father's firm in Leeds but after 3 years became a wool buyer in London. Subsequently, Holt emigrated to Sydney in 1842 and made a fortune as a wool merchant. He was also a director of numerous colonial companies including the Sydney Railway Company. Holt invested extensively in pastoral land and by 1860 had acquired more than in New South Wales and Queensland. As a result, he was independently wealthy and retired from active business in 1855. However, Holt was one of the first to attempt to replace unsustainable dredge harvesting of oysters with a sustainable method of aquaculture. He was a pioneer of oyster farming in the Georges River estuary.

Later life In 1881 Holt went back to England where he devoted himself to the poor of London, working with The Salvation Army, Andrew Mearns and Dr Barnardo. He died at his home "Halcot" in Bexley, Kent, on 5 September, after completing his book, 'Christianity, or the Poor Man's Friend'; and was buried at Abney Park Cemetery.

Legacy The Thomas Holt Retirement Villages in the south of Sydney are named after him. The promontory known as Holts Point, now part of Sylvania Waters, is named after him; Holt's former house, Sutherland House, stood there, until it was destroyed by fire in 1918. Sandstone blocks from the ruin were reused in the Sutherland War Memorial, unveiled in 1921.