He lost heavily in the 1893 recession that followed the land boom, and briefly found employment in the Victorian Government Agriculture Department, after which he opened an estate agency.
[3] Howe was first elected to the Port Melbourne Council in 1900, and apart from a brief forced retirement when he took a Government appointment, remained a councillor until 1946.
He served five terms as mayor, including the year of the visit of the then Duke and Duchess of York, and was a member of the party that farewelled them from Victoria.
Howe was responsible for establishment of the gardens along the Port Melbourne Railway, opened by Sir Thomas Bent in 1906.
[3] He officially opened the first house in Garden City, the local Baby Health Centre, the annexe to the Town Hall that became the Lending Library, and the statue to G. S.