Sir John Holland (21 June 1914 – 31 May 2009) was an Australian engineer and construction magnate, who founded the
John Holland Construction Group (later named John Holland (Holdings) Pty Ltd) in 1949. He was managing director until 1972, Chairman until 1986, and President from 1986 until his death. The company was purchased by
Heytesbury Pty Ltd
Heytesbury Pty. Ltd. is the privately owned company of the Holmes à Court family in Western Australia.
Originally called Heytesbury Holdings, the company was formed by Robert Holmes à Court in the 1970s as the holding company of his rapidly ...
in 1991, and is now owned by
China Communications Construction
China Communications Construction Company, Ltd. (CCCC) is a majority state-owned, publicly traded, multinational engineering and construction company primarily engaged in the design, construction and operation of infrastructure assets, including ...
.
Biography
Clifton Vaughan Holland was born on 21 June 1914, the eighth of ten children, and was raised on his family's farm on the
Mornington Peninsula, south-east of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
. He acquired the informal name ''John'' at an early age, and he was always known as John Holland thereafter. He studied civil engineering at the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb ...
and then worked for the
Commonwealth Oil Refineries
Commonwealth Oil Refineries (COR) was an Australian oil company that operated between 1920 and 1952 as a joint venture of the Australian government and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.
Early history
The partnership was established in 1920 on ...
for three years. He joined the army when
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
broke out, and served in the Middle East, Greece and the Pacific, becoming a lieutenant-colonel. He returned to civil engineering, setting up his own business in 1949. His first contract was to build a shed on a property in western
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
owned by a farmer named
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Fraser was raised on hi ...
, who would later go into politics and become the
Prime Minister of Australia
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the federal government of Australia and is also accountable to federal parliament under the princip ...
.
[
Holland retired as chairman of the ]John Holland Group
The John Holland Group is an infrastructure, building, rail and transport business operating in Australia and New Zealand. Headquartered in Melbourne, it is a subsidiary of China Communications Construction.
History
The company was founded in ...
in 1972, and in 2000 the Leighton Group bought 70 per cent of John Holland Group; this was increased to 100 per cent in October 2007.
He took a personal interest in every employee, and insisted they be involved in community service. He himself was involved in various causes, including the board of the Royal Melbourne Hospital, the Bone Marrow Foundation, a co-founder of the National Stroke Foundation
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
, the Voluntary Euthanasia Society, chairman of the Sir Edward Dunlop Memorial Committee and, from 2000, as patron of the Children First Foundation
A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person young ...
. He was a keen sportsman in his younger days, and later became president of Royal Melbourne Golf Club
Royal Melbourne Golf Club is a 36-hole golf club in Australia, located in Black Rock, Victoria, a suburb southeast of Melbourne. Its West and East courses are respectively ranked number 1 and 6 in Australia. The West course is ranked in the t ...
and patron of Flinders Golf Club.
Honours and awards
John Holland was knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...
in 1973 for services to engineering, and made a Companion of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...
(AC) in 1988 for service to the community, particularly to youth and in the field of medical research.
Holland received the Peter Nicol Russell
Sir Peter Nicol Russell (4 July 1816 – 10 July 1905), commonly referred to as P. N. Russell, was an Australian foundry owner, manufacturing engineer, and benefactor of the University of Sydney.
Russell worked at iron foundries owned by his fa ...
Memorial Award (1974), the Kernot Medal of the University of Melbourne (1976), the Consulting Engineers Advancement Society Medal (1984), and the Queensland University of Technology
Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public research university located in the urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area viz. Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove. The unive ...
Distinguished Constructor Award and the Australian Constructors Association Award for Distinguished Service (both 2001).[Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering]
Holland was a Foundation Fellow and from 1975 to 1980 the first Honorary Treasurer of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) is a learned academy that helps Australians understand and use technology to solve complex problems. It was founded in 1975 as one of Australia's then four learned academies (now five) ...
, and in November 2004 he was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Academy, a rarely awarded honour.
The Civil College Board of Engineers Australia have honoured Sir John by naming its annual award for Civil Engineer of the Year the "Sir John Holland Civil Engineer of the Year" in his honour.
Family
In 1942 Sir John Holland married Emily Joan ''née'' Atkinson, with whom he had a daughter and three sons. She died in 1999 and in 2003 he married Suzanne Wharton.[
]
Death
Holland died at Cabrini Hospital, Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
on 31 May 2009, aged 94.[
]
Legacy
Since 1999 Engineers Australia has a Sir John Holland Award for Civil Engineer of the Year.Engineers Australia
References
Sources
John Holland Group
Express
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, John
1914 births
2009 deaths
20th-century Australian engineers
Australian Knights Bachelor
Businesspeople awarded knighthoods
Companions of the Order of Australia