Holmes was from Ireland and made his money in Victoria from farming, exporting wool, and supplying the gold fields.

Born in Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland on 15 September 1817,[1] Holmes received his education in his home town.

[2][3] Holmes moved to Australia in 1837 and his first business venture was a stationery shop in Melbourne's Collins Street with William Kerr.

[9][11] After being burned out in the Black Thursday bushfires on 6 February 1851 and their youngest child dying from the effects,[12] he relocated to Geelong[9] and built up a profitable wool exporting company operating under the style of Holmes, White & Co.[3] He also supplied the gold diggings during the Victorian gold rush.

[3] He purchased a large estate in Lasswade[14] near Edinburgh,[3] and became involved in a group which became the New Zealand and Australia Land Company.

In 1859, he returned to New Zealand on the Pirate as the company's general manager, but also spent time in Victoria to look after business interests there.

[15] His station at Castlerock was overrun by rabbits in the 1870s, but Holmes managed to get on top of the problem;[3] his son Stuart later gave presentations on how they went about this.

[16] Holmes was well known for importing quality stock for breeding, including Clydesdale horses and Cheviot sheep.