Holmesville is named for Joseph Holmes, and originally was a Private Town because it was a privately set up town by Joseph Holmes to house the many miners working in the local mines. The story began in 1856 when Joseph Holmes, his 19 year old wife, Mary, his relative John Holmes (a cousin?) and his wife Emma, came to Australia on the “Herald:” They moved around a bit after their arrival, their children being born in different suburbs.  In 1862 Joseph, then living at Minmi, applied for and received a grant of 101 acres - Portion 47 for 100 pounds. The family settled here in the area which today is called “Private Lane” or referred to locally as “Down The Lane”.  In 1895, Joseph bought Portion 49,100 acres for two hundred pounds.  This was subdivided into town allotments, the first sale of land was recorded on the 29th April 1898. Joseph and Mary Clark Holmes had 12 children.  The eldest son, Joseph, died from injuries, in the mine collapse that left his father permanently stooped, when they were working together.  Joseph and his parents are buried in the West Wallsend Cemetery. The town went ahead, some blocks being paid off over a period of time, some due to default returned to Joseph.  In the early days there were many little local shops dotted around the town, selling sweets and daily necessaries. 

The first shop building still remains on the corner of Charlotte and George Street, it closed its doors in September 1997. The Post Office section closed 1994. The cousins, John and Emma, settled in Estellville in their Portion 48 grant. They suffered a tragedy in their family when their 3 year old son, William, was bitten by a black snake.  Imagine this!  The cottage was situated in bushland, no doctors or nurses handy. Wallsend was approached by a track through the bush. The lad’s father returned home about 3pm to be met by his frantic wife. He rushed to the cottage, tried to scarify it with the razor, but noticed the red line of poison already moving up the leg. John turned tail and ran along the track to Wallsend for the doctor who came at once.  By the time the doctor arrived back the boy was dead, although the body was still warm. We don’t know for sure just why John and Emma returned to England, but it would seem feasible that the isolation where they lived, no medical help readily available and the death of their loved son was motivation enough.   Descendants of both lines have made contact in the past years, and are endeavouring to find out more about this return to the homeland.

The Holmesville Hall was built by Simeon Hartland in 1906, to provide a place for his Grandson, Jack Bramwell, to skate. The hall was known for many years as Hartland’s Hall.  When the Hall commemorated its centenary, Hartland descendants attended the special afternoon arranged by Holmesville “Where Old Friends Meet”. Another well known landmark is the beautiful Holmesville Hotel, built in 1904.  There was a marvellous centenary celebration in 2004, the year that our well known resident, Jennifer Hawkins was crowned Miss Universe.

Another heritage building is the little Congregational Church in St Helen Street, built in 1903 by William Holmes, youngest son of Joseph who donated the land.  Since 1977, the church has been part of the Uniting Church, and today is affiliated with the West Wallsend Church.  Holmesville Services are still held monthly and the local Fellowship Group meets in the Church Hall. There is a lot of history in our area and if interested, it is possible to find out more at the local Museum situated in the grounds of the local West Wallsend High School. It is manned by enthusiastic volunteers who live in Holmesville, Barnsley and Wakefield, and are on duty each Wednesday during school terms from 10 am to 2 pm. It would take many books, to tell all there is to about Holmesville.

There was one written for the town’s Centenary Celebrations in 1998, and that could only tell part of the story.  Holmesville today It still has a lot going for it. The local Tennis Courts in George Street, could be utilised more, there are two good courts available for hire.  The Holmesville Skatepark gets full use by the youngsters. Holmesville Hall possibly is one of the best used local halls in Lake Macquarie and the Hall Management Team look forward to the upgrades promised by the Council in due course. The owners of the Holmesville Hotel are constantly putting on events to make attending the premises more attractive. There is a little shopping centre down on Appletree Road, housing a butcher, hairdresser and fruit and refreshment shop. A “State of the Art” fully manned Fire Station in Holmesville opened its doors in June 2010, so residents should be assured of quick response in times of need. There are active groups meeting in the town.  Holmesville “Where Old Friends Meet” celebrated its 38th birthday last November. It has good entertainment and finishes with a popular afternoon tea.  Held in the Holmesville Hall on the second Saturday each month, except December when there is a breakup dinner on the 1st Saturday. The Holmesville Progress Association is a small group, geared to liaising with authorities where possible to improve the local area, notifying Council on things needing to be attended to.  They support the Precinct Meeting, the Save Our Suburbs group, and has remained active in other ways, including the necessary in depth research necessary for the West Wallsend War Memorial Committee Project.

They were also part of the successful Holmesville Skatepark  Committee. They are concerned about the proposed new subdivision plans, which if successful means an end to endangered wildlife and fauna in the area.  The plans for a new Asphalt Plant in Cameron Park is also on the no, no, list.  Progress members do not seek glory, but quietly continue to work for the benefit of the local area. Over the past 13 years, the Progress Association has also been caretakers for the Monday morning Friendship group held in the Holmesville Hall.  Providing somewhere for folk to meet, have morning tea, chat and maybe do craftwork.  All made possible by dedicated leaders.