James Alexander HOLDEN

HOLDEN, JAMES ALEXANDER (b. Walsall, Staffordshire, England, April 1834, d. Adelaide, SA, 2 June 1887). Baptist manufacturer and retailer.

As a result of strained relations with his stepmother, Holden left his late father's flourishing leather business at Walsall, England, and came to SA after a brief sojourn in the USA. He established a leather and saddlery business which was generally successful. His son, Henry James (1859-1926), and grandson, Sir Edward Wheewall (1885-1947), later developed the firm into Australia's leading motor vehicle manufacturer. James Holden's health was never robust and this limited the extent to which he could become involved in public affairs. However he was one of the founders of the SA Chamber of Manufacturers and on several occasions represented the SA government at international exhibitions.

Baptised in 1856, Holden was a founding member of both the Flinders St Baptist Church in 1861 and the Norwood Baptist Church in 1867. At the latter church he served at various times as deacon, treasurer, secretary and Sunday school superintendent. Devoted to the strengthening of Christian education he also served as secretary of the interdenominational Sunday School Teachers Union. His eldest son, Henry James, was also active in Baptist affairs but was not an evangelical.

N Buttfield, So Great a Change (Sydney, 1979); Truth and Progress (1 July 1887): 94-95; J S Walker, 'The Baptists in South Australia, 1863 to 1914' (BTh thesis, Flinders University, 1990)

JOHN WALKER