Philip Holdsworth

Philip Joseph Holdsworth (12 January 1851 – 19 January 1902) was a poet and public servant in colonial New South Wales.^[1]

Holdsworth was born in Sydney, the only son of Philip Risby Holdsworth, a respected boatbuilder, and his wife Kate (née Bevan).^[2] From 1868 he held a position in the Treasury at Sydney; he later became Secretary to the Forest Department of New South Wales. He devoted his spare time to literature, and in 1885 published a volume of poems entitled, "Station Hunting on the Warrego, and other Poems".^[2]

For several years Holdsworth was the Honorary Secretary of the Athenaeum Club of Sydney. He also held the position of editor of the Illustrated Sydney News for a considerable time. He also wrote a "Brief History of Australia," and a large number of poems, articles, and tales for current journals and reviews.^[2]

Holdsworth died in Woollahra, New South Wales on 19 January 1902, survived by his wife, Charlotte Emily (née Atkins),^[1] whom he wed in Sydney in October 1869,^[2] and by his only son.^[1]

• Works by or about Philip Holdsworth at the Internet Archive