What I did not know what that the American company General Motors sold cars in Australia since 1902, setting up an Oldsmobile dealer near Adelaide. Motor vehicle bodies were produced by the company in 1905 and its upholstery was produced a couple of years later. By 1917 Holden’s Motor Body Builders was established and soon grew to be one of the biggest car body makers in the British Empire. The-horse-and-cart era was ending.
Throughout the 1920s Holden also supplied Melbourne’s iconic tramcars.
From 1924, America’s General Motors did a deal with Holden to produce car bodies only for its vehicles. In 1927 the company needed a logo, similar to the lion emblem used for Empire Exhibition held at Wembley in 1924. Adapting the myth about how the wheel was invented when a lion rolled a stone, this symbol was the perfect visual analogy for a car company, embodying the strength and grace of a lion with the invention of the wheel. It was applied to all Holden bodies built from 1928 on.
Alas the Great Depression started, with devastating effects across the world. General Motors purchased the Australian company in 1931 and formed the locally-based General Motors-Holden’s Ltd. By the mid-1930s GMH begun planning full scale local production, with cars assembled in Port Melbourne using foreign US parts. But WW2 delayed those plans as the company had to shift its manufacturing expertise to support the military. Only post-war was GMH was able to make its own engines, chassis and vehicle bodies.
in Port Melbourne, 29/11/1948
theaustralian.com
Holdens coming off the assembly lines in Fishermans Bend Melbourne, 1949
Photo: Pocket Oz
The government believed a local car industry could raise employment, improve workforce skills, reduce the country’s dependence on primary industry and make Australia more secure in the event of another war. With the Australia Federal Government’s warm support, the parent company General Motors went on to release the Holden on 29th Nov 1948, widely advertised as Australia’s Own Car. It was actually a scaled down version of a Chevrolet design that had been discarded in the US but was perfect for Australia. The Prime Minister Ben Chifley proudly launched the very first home-grown Holden in Port Melbourne!
The iconic FJ Holden went on sale in 1953 and everyone’s father at my school bought one. The next iconic car, the EH Holden, went into production in the 1960s and was the biggest selling Holden to date. In the same decade the famous Holden Kingswood went on sale, bringing with it Holden’s first V8, popularised with the introduction of the Monaro. The Kingswood was hugely popular.
Note that Australia was the first country outside Japan to produce Toyota cars, starting in 1963 in Port Melbourne, now the site of the company’s corporate headquarters. Other famous car names to be produced in Australia by Toyota includes Crown, Corona and Corolla. Sadly Toyota Australia closed its manufacturing operations in 2017.
General Motors switched to a smaller sedan because of oil shortages in the later 1970s; the Holden Commodore was in fact an adaptation of a General Motors sedan from Germany. The Commodore started its long run as absolutely Australia’s favourite car, ever!
Holden surprised the industry when it unveiled a smooth two-door Commodore concept car at the 1998 Sydney motor show. Originally designed to divert attention from the new Ford Falcon, the public and the media instantly labelled it the modern Monaro. Holden, which had no intention of producing the car, started analysing the situation to see if it could make a business case.
Holden launched its VE Commodore sedan in 2006. Unlike every Commodore before, these vehicles were totally designed and engineered in Australia. The base was to be used for the new Chevrolet Camaro sold in the US, but engineered by Holden in Australia. But most plans were scrapped during the difficult Global Financial Crisis.
Holden symbol, lion and the stone
Holden FB Special Sedan, 1961
Wikipedia
The end neared in 2016 when the last Holden Cruze rolled off the Elizabeth production line, the same time that Ford closed its Broadmeadows and Geelong plants. Holden shut its Port Melbourne engine plant after 68 years of unbroken operation and more than 10 million engines produced. There was no V8 in Holden showrooms for the first time in decades.
By late 2019 Holden announced the Commodore would be dropped from local showrooms and the model would be phased out as dealers cleared remaining stock. Holden had dominated the Australian car market for 50 years and had shaped the nation’s culture and identity. It closed down totally in 2020.
The history of Holden in Australia was an important aspect of the country’s manufacturing history. But the major memory of the history has to be sought out in the National Motor Museum in Birdwood, an hour’s drive from Adelaide. But my generation will never forget how the Holden transformed suburban Australia, boosted national pride and quickly become a national icon. If I live forever, I will never forget the Holden advertisement sung by a chanting crowd 'We love football, meat pies, kangaroos and Holden cars’.
In National Policy, Global Giants: How Australia Built & Lost its Automotive Industry (2019), John Wormald and Kim Rennick illustrated the globalisation of car makers. They analysed the Australia's car history and its shifting relationship with the Federal government, a perfect case of policy failure. The demise was started in the Hawke years when they unveiled plans to unwind tariffs and forced consolidation. The intention was to make Australian factories better able to succeed alone, but it had the opposite effect. Ultimately Australia had little control over its own car destiny and had to comply with parent company priorities in distant Chicago (or Tokyo).
The iconic FJ Holden went on sale in 1953 and everyone’s father at my school bought one. The next iconic car, the EH Holden, went into production in the 1960s and was the biggest selling Holden to date. In the same decade the famous Holden Kingswood went on sale, bringing with it Holden’s first V8, popularised with the introduction of the Monaro. The Kingswood was hugely popular.
Note that Australia was the first country outside Japan to produce Toyota cars, starting in 1963 in Port Melbourne, now the site of the company’s corporate headquarters. Other famous car names to be produced in Australia by Toyota includes Crown, Corona and Corolla. Sadly Toyota Australia closed its manufacturing operations in 2017.
General Motors switched to a smaller sedan because of oil shortages in the later 1970s; the Holden Commodore was in fact an adaptation of a General Motors sedan from Germany. The Commodore started its long run as absolutely Australia’s favourite car, ever!
Holden surprised the industry when it unveiled a smooth two-door Commodore concept car at the 1998 Sydney motor show. Originally designed to divert attention from the new Ford Falcon, the public and the media instantly labelled it the modern Monaro. Holden, which had no intention of producing the car, started analysing the situation to see if it could make a business case.
Holden launched its VE Commodore sedan in 2006. Unlike every Commodore before, these vehicles were totally designed and engineered in Australia. The base was to be used for the new Chevrolet Camaro sold in the US, but engineered by Holden in Australia. But most plans were scrapped during the difficult Global Financial Crisis.
Wikipedia
The end neared in 2016 when the last Holden Cruze rolled off the Elizabeth production line, the same time that Ford closed its Broadmeadows and Geelong plants. Holden shut its Port Melbourne engine plant after 68 years of unbroken operation and more than 10 million engines produced. There was no V8 in Holden showrooms for the first time in decades.
By late 2019 Holden announced the Commodore would be dropped from local showrooms and the model would be phased out as dealers cleared remaining stock. Holden had dominated the Australian car market for 50 years and had shaped the nation’s culture and identity. It closed down totally in 2020.
The history of Holden in Australia was an important aspect of the country’s manufacturing history. But the major memory of the history has to be sought out in the National Motor Museum in Birdwood, an hour’s drive from Adelaide. But my generation will never forget how the Holden transformed suburban Australia, boosted national pride and quickly become a national icon. If I live forever, I will never forget the Holden advertisement sung by a chanting crowd 'We love football, meat pies, kangaroos and Holden cars’.
In National Policy, Global Giants: How Australia Built & Lost its Automotive Industry (2019), John Wormald and Kim Rennick illustrated the globalisation of car makers. They analysed the Australia's car history and its shifting relationship with the Federal government, a perfect case of policy failure. The demise was started in the Hawke years when they unveiled plans to unwind tariffs and forced consolidation. The intention was to make Australian factories better able to succeed alone, but it had the opposite effect. Ultimately Australia had little control over its own car destiny and had to comply with parent company priorities in distant Chicago (or Tokyo).
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28 comments:
I find it very sad that another manufacturing company has gone. You have given us a great insight into the history of Holden cars.
I felt the same sad way when Arnott's, Speedos and Ugg Boots went overseas. Except that Holden was bigger and more important. History continues to move against Australia.
Hello Hels, That is the sad story we hear more and more--due to oftentimes questionable consolidation, there are fewer companies and less product diversity, to say nothing of the local pride in producing these commodities. If it is any consolation, Cleveland for a while had more car makers than Detroit, but ultimately lost out to that city in the same way that Australia lost Holden.
--Jim
p.s. Regarding Student of History's comment, Arnott cheese crackers used to be imported into Taiwan, and they were delicious, but now all we get are those overly-sweet Tim Tams.
Fun60
I am very ambivalent about financial internationalism Vs nationalism at any cost. If Holden cars can be made cheaper and faster in another country, then I suppose Adelaide and Melbourne assembly lines have to be closed down and tens of thousands of workers have to be sacked. But if Holden is at the heart and soul of Australian identity, then the government has to support the entire industry and its workers.
What do other countries do?
Student
I felt the same when Kraft bought up Vegemite and moved OUR breakfast food to Chicago. What do Americans know about eating Vegemite? What will we give our children for breakfast? Same with production in New Zealand :(
Thank goodness for Bega Cheese, but more battles are lost than won.
Parnassus
fewer companies, less product diversity and the loss of local pride in producing these commodities. Exactly so! Plus massive unemployment of people who have been specialising in the car industry for 20 or 40 years and now have to take crappy jobs as waiters.
The demise of the famous British marques is painful and a hurt to national pride so I feel your pain. Holden is a name I have always known but, of course, never saw one in the UK.
Now Rolls Royce is owned by BMW of Germany, Bentley is owned by the Volkswagen Group and Jaguar & Land Rover are owned by Tata Steel of India. I feel that the world's commerce is drifting eastwards from here...
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bazza
Apparently there was always a "sound" financial reason to off-load national treasures. motortrend wrote: With Rolls-Royce in financial trouble in 1971, the British government nationalised the company, and then created Rolls-Royce Motors in 1973 to separate the Rolls-Royce and Bentley car-making operation from the strategically sensitive Rolls-Royce aerospace business. Rolls-Royce Motors was purchased by engineering conglomerate Vickers in 1980. In 1997 Vickers decided to sell. BMW was comprehensively outbid by Volkswagen AG in 1998. Volkswagen presumed they'd bought all Rolls-Royce and Bentley assets, but the fine print revealed that Rolls-Royce plc, the aerospace business, actually owned the Rolls-Royce name and the logo, and had merely licensed it to the car business. Worse, it then decided to sell the license to BMW, its partner in commercial jet engine manufacture.
Slippery, against national needs and devastating to the general public's pride!
Hi Hels - to me it implies Australia ... but there's so much change at the moment. Take care - Hilary
Hilary
I would agree that this is a terrible time when we can't rely on the dependables we have known for all our lives - employment, income, family life, transport, shopping, health care etc etc. But these changes started happening decades ago.
What will our future be like?
Thanks for this post. It’s very sad that Holden’s Australian story ends. I read that the timeline for Holden’s closure has already been set in stone.
Its sales, design, and engineering divisions will be scaled down by 2021. This will involve the loss of over 600 jobs in the region.
However, as a courtesy, a support period of 10 years will be put in place for Holden car owners. They can still receive servicing and spare parts via national aftersales networks in Australia and New Zealand.
We were told by General Motors that Australia would have a large role in the design and engineering of world cars and then went back on that to no role at all. GM is in dispute with dealers who will be honouring car warranties. Plenty of government policy mistakes for sure, but GM has treated Australia very shabbily.
Andre
I am very pleased that Holden car owners can still receive servicing and spare parts via national after-sales sites in Australia and New Zealand. Otherwise our national treasures would end up on national rubbish tips.
Andrew
Not only shabby treatment back then, but I heard the same dilemma argued out about Qantas this week. When coronavirus hit, Qantas wasn't allowed to fly of course and had to stand down most of their workers. But even after the pandemic ends, the Federal Government doesn't seem remotely interested in protecting our national airline.
Helen, look at what Jonathon Ramsey wrote in Autoblog.
GM's been pulling out of right-hand-drive markets for the past few years, and Australia, New Zealand and Thailand were the only three left. GM said it will wind down sales, design and engineering operations in Australia and New Zealand in addition to killing Holden. It also said China's Great Wall Motor Co had agreed to buy GM's Rayong, Thailand, car manufacturing plant and an engine factory, a transaction expected to be completed by the end of 2020.
The automaker absolved the Holden team of blame, which didn't do much to placate the Australian government. Prime Minister Scott Morrison chastised GM with, "I am angry. ... Australian taxpayers put millions into a multinational company. [GM] let the brand just wither away on their watch."
Autoblog
Feb 17th 2020
Joseph
unbelievable, but correct :( General Motors has been making a slow retreat from other right-hand-drive countries over the past three years, getting out of lucrative markets such as the United Kingdom, Japan, India and South Africa, and now Thailand, Australia and New Zealand.
75% of all vehicles sold in the world are left-hand-drive, while right-hand-drive countries account for 25% of sales. General Motors said it was unprofitable to develop new vehicles for only 25% of the world.
Bom dia obrigado pelas informações e fotos. Nos trás ótimas lembranças.
Luiz
many thanks. When I was young, my brothers were given toy cars to examine and pretend-drive, but I was not. Thus they cared about cars all their lives while I didn't care about cars until recently. Too late.
Dear Hels,
I came across your blog about Holden cars and take it that you have some interest and knowledge in Australia’s Holden heritage which is the reason for me contacting you. The Holden history extends way back before the first Holden car and few commentators have either a full or accurate understanding of what this history entailed or of the family behind it. Thus, may I introduce to you my new book which has just been released in Australia. It is called HOLDEN OUR OWN and is published by BIG SKY PUBLISHING.
It gives you an insight into the contents of the book that I am sure will not only appeal to every true and proud Australian but to every motoring enthusiast around the world who knows this iconic marque from the business that had its family origins in Walsall, England and which became the world’s second oldest mobility company. Thank you.
William James Holden
William
Many thanks. I hope your book does very well and I am sure interested bloggers will follow up the Holden story easily.
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Abarth
Adelaide and Melbourne had a lot to be proud of, nod. There was a long period when half the population had Holden dads (and half didn't) so it certainly went into the language. How sad that my car comes from France and my spouse's car comes Japan.
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John
thanks for reading the post. I understand that ultimately Australia had little control over its own car destiny... but that didn't make Holden fans feel much better.
Usually, I never comment on blogs, but your article is so convincing that I never stop myself to say something about it. You’re doing a great job Man, Keep it up here is more useful information about
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rizwan
Do you remember when the last Holden rolled off the Elizabeth production line, and Holden shut its Port Melbourne engine plant after almost 70 years of endless production? It was like when Australia's famous Mars Bars went off shore and were being manufactured abroad.
Thanks for posting this information it was very useful to me.
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Amiry
were you a Holden fan yourself?
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