History
A legal history shaped in Ringwood.
Holt & Macdonald brings together several strands of Victorian legal practice, including R H Ballard & Co, Holt & Clemenson and Smith Ryan & Co. Through successive mergers and generations of practitioners, the practice developed a longstanding connection with Ringwood and Melbourne's eastern suburbs.
One strand of the practice traces its roots to R H Ballard & Co, which was established in Ringwood in 1893. Another arose from Holt & Clemenson in Melbourne and the Ringwood practice later established by Robert Wilfred Holt.
The phrase “Serving Ringwood since 1893” refers to the founding of these predecessor practices rather than to the Holt & Macdonald name itself.
Successive mergers brought these strands together. Smith Ryan & Co joined the combined practice on 7 August 2000, and in October 2012 the then directors, Ron Frederick and Don Ryan, sold the practice to Parke Lawyers, led by Jim Parke. Holt & Macdonald continues from 281 Maroondah Highway, Ringwood, with a complementary presence in Melbourne's CBD on Collins Street.
Record
Selected dates.
1893
The legal practice later associated with R H Ballard & Co was established in Ringwood in 1893.
1977
R H Ballard & Co became Ballards. Following the later dissolution of that partnership, one of the successor practices was R H Ballard of Mitcham and the City.
Late 1950s
Holt & Macdonald traces another line of origin to Holt & Clemenson in Melbourne. Robert Wilfred Holt later established a legal practice in Ringwood after leaving federal politics in the late 1950s.
Around 1979
Holt & Macdonald merged with R H Ballard & Co, bringing together two longstanding legal practices.
1981
The City office closed, consolidating the practice's focus on Ringwood and Melbourne's eastern suburbs.
August 2000
Smith Ryan & Co merged with Holt & Macdonald and R H Ballard & Co. The combined firm commenced operations on 7 August 2000 from 1 Ringwood Street, Ringwood.
June 2006
Holt & Macdonald became an incorporated legal practice.
October 2012
Holt & Macdonald became part of Parke Lawyers, continuing the practice's longstanding connection with Ringwood and Melbourne's eastern suburbs.
Biography
Robert Wilfred Holt
Robert Wilfred Holt, known as Bob Holt, was born in Launceston, Tasmania, on 9 June 1913. He was admitted to legal practice in 1940 and served as an Australian Army officer during the Second World War.
Holt entered the Victorian Parliament in 1945 and later served as Minister for Lands and Social Settlement from 1952 to 1953. In 1955, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives. After leaving federal politics in 1958, he established a legal practice in Ringwood and continued practising as a solicitor for the remainder of his professional life.
His Ringwood practice became one of the historical strands that later formed Holt & Macdonald. He died at Montrose, Victoria, on 26 April 1985, aged 71.
