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Top 10 Facts about Robert Holmes a Court

Businessman/Ruthson Zimmerman

Michael Robert Hamilton Holmes à Court was a South African-born Australian businessman who became Australia’s first billionaire.

Holmes à Court received his early schooling in South Africa and moved with his family to New Zealand in 1950.

He earned degrees in agricultural science at Massey University and in law at the University of Western Australia.

After heavy losses in the 1987 stock market crash, Holmes à Court formed the private Heytesbury Holdings Ltd. and began to rebuild.

Mr. Holmes a Court, who lived in Perth, had a reputation as a renegade from the frontier who delighted in shaking up the sometimes-closed world of finance and industry in Australia.

1. Rober Holmes interestingly acquired Western Australian Worsted 

In 1970 Holmes à Court acquired Western Australian Worsted and Woollen Mills Ltd, Albany, which was in danger of closure.

He turned it around financially, ceased practicing law, and in 1974 bought a controlling interest in Bell Bros Holdings Ltd, an earthmoving and transport group.

He had a gift for seeing an opportunity and soon developed a legendary reputation for his daring company raids.

He did in 1979 for Ansett Transport Industries Ltd and, before he could take control, sold his interest to News Ltd for an $11 million profit.

 In 1981 he pulled out of a proposed takeover of Elder Smith Goldsbrough Mort Ltd, making a $16 million profit.

2. Interested in media Robert Holmes published a weekly newspaper in Perth

newspaper by Absolute vision/

Interested in the media industry, from 1980 to 1987 Holmes à Court published a weekly newspaper in Perth, the Western Mail.

Late in 1981, he failed in an attempt to win control of the Herald and Weekly Times Ltd but, through a merger with TVW Enterprises Ltd in 1982.

Identifying business prospects offshore, in 1980 he unsuccessfully pursued control of The Times, London.

In 1982 he acquired Lord Grade’s Associated Communications Corporation, a major British entertainment group, which included the Stoll Moss group of thirteen theatres.

He was particularly proud of a 1987 deal in which Bell Publishing Group Pty Ltd bought West Australian Newspapers Ltd from News Corporation Ltd.

3. Robert Holmes amazingly stayed aloof from the local entertainment he enjoyed gossip

Holmes à Court stayed aloof from the local Establishment, he enjoyed gossip and could be acerbic when discussing his corporate enemies, he also appreciated jokes against himself.

His main hobby was breeding thoroughbred horses in 1984 his horse Black Knight won the Melbourne Cup.

He relaxed at weekends at his Heytesbury stud at Keys brook. He collected vintage cars and European, Australian and Aboriginal art.

From 1986 to 1990 he chaired the board of the Art Gallery of Western Australia; Mr. Holmes a Court was one of a handful of Australian entrepreneurs.

4. Interestingly Robert Holmes could not buy the Brocken hill Company it was halted by the court

A bid by the Australian investor Robert Holmes a Court to buy control of the Broken Hill Proprietary Company was halted by a court injunction.

The injunction was issued by the Supreme Court of the state of Victoria on behalf of Broken Hill, a steel, oil, and mining concern that is Australia’s largest company.

Mr. Holmes, a Court has offered to buy half of each stockholder’s stake in Broken Hill. If successful, the bid would give him 52 percent of Broken Hill’s stock.

Mr. Holmes a Court valued the bid at about $3.5 billion Australian, the equivalent of $2.45 billion at current exchange rates.

5. The remarkable Bell Group companies was a well-Australian transport group

In 1973, Holmes à Court’s AWM acquired Bell Brothers, a well-known West Australian transport and contracting group, for $9.6 million, through a reverse takeover.

Bell Group acquired media interests including the Albany Advertiser, the Katanning weekly, the Great Southern Herald, the Collie Mail, and a radio station.

Bell Group took stakes in Rolls Royce and Portland cement and made an unsuccessful bid for the Herald and Weekly Times group.

Bell Group purchased a stake in Pioneer Concrete and made a second unsuccessful bid for the Herald and Weekly Times group.

6. The amazing La Dimora is a hidden valley designed with luxury and convenience 

luxurious by Vojtech Bruzek/

Once the secluded country estate of Australian entrepreneur Robert Holmes A. Court, you will find no better place to call your home.

Hidden Valley has a delightfully Tuscan feel, green and yellow chequered hills edged with pencil pines, terracotta roofs, and a valley that seems to stretch into forever.

The east and north sides of the valley have been transformed into the La Dimora village by the award-winning Arcadia Group.

Each La Dimora Villa has been designed with luxury and convenience in mind, from the bedroom to backyard, kitchen to lounge, you get a sense of space.

7. The astonishing Australian Consolidated investment previously known as Bell resources

Australian Consolidated Investments was previously known as Bell Resources between 1984 to 1990, and before that,t the company was known as Wigmore’s between 1938 to 1984.

Bell Group bought Perth mining equipment company Wigmore’s and was renamed Bell Resources Ltd.

Through the ACC group, BRL gained control of Bass Strait oil and gas explorer, Weeks Petroleum which owned a 2.5% royalty share in the Esso-BHP consortium.

8. Interestingly Robert Holmes did not make quick decisions 

Working eighteen-hour days, Holmes à Court did not usually move quickly in making decisions about his acquisitions.

He laughed at suggestions that he was a swashbuckling corporate pirate plunging impulsively into deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

While his staff found his work regimen exhausting, they respected his abilities to go to the core of a problem and to display a cool nerve.

A tall, unassuming man with a quiet voice and manner, he was courteous but capable of ruthlessness.

9. Astonishingly Robert Holmes married Janet Ranford blessed with four children

Family Portrait by Eric Ward/

He married science teacher Janet Ranford on 18 May 1966. Holmes, a Court is survived by his wife, Janet, three sons, and one daughter.

Holmes à Court was born in Johannesburg but spent much of his early life in Southern Rhodesia.

He was educated at Cordwalles Preparatory School and Michael House School in Natal, South Africa.

10. The famous Holmes Court died of myocardial infarction

a businessman by Hunters race/

Holmes à Court died of myocardial infarction on 2 September 1990 at Kelmscott, Perth, and was cremated.

He died intestate, with assets estimated to be worth over $800 million. The Holmes à Court collection of Australian and Indigenous art is located in Perth.