Zara Kate Holt (Bate)

Dame Zara Kate Bate (née Dickins, previously Fell and Holt; 10 March 1909 – 14 June 1989) was an Australian fashion designer and socialite who was best known as the wife of Harold Holt, the 17th Prime Minister of Australia. She grew up in Melbourne, attending Ruyton Girls' School and Toorak College. Going into the dressmaking business, she opened a shop in 1930 and eventually expanded into a chain of boutiques. Zara's first marriage to James Fell was short-lived, although they had three children together. She remarried to Harold Holt – a Liberal Party politician – in 1946, although they had known each other for many years previously. She became the prime minister's wife in 1966, and was known for her energy and flamboyance. She was widowed in December 1967, when her husband disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach, Victoria. Zara published her autobiography in 1968, and the following year remarried to Jeff Bate, another politician. She was widowed for a second time in 1984, and subsequently retired to the Gold Coast.