Celebrating 60 years of Holden. July 08

Since then, along with arch enemy Ford, it has gained icon status, with a host of models culminating last year with the latest VE Commodore.

While we tend to acquaint the Holden with the birth of an all Australian car in 1948, the Holden name is much older than the motor car itself.

The Holden name has been linked with the city of Adelaide, South Australia, for 152 years.

The automotive company known today as GM Holden Ltd originated in Adelaide in 1856 when James Alexander Holden set up shop in King William Street as J.A. Holden and Company, supplier of saddles and leather goods.

In 1878 Holden began manufacturing horse drawn coaches. At the turn of the century, the firm was known as Holden and Frost, carriage makers.

By 1919 it had become Holdens Motor Body Builders (HMMB), operating from premises on the corner of King William and Gillis Streets, Adelaide.

In 1924, HMMB opened a new production plant in the suburb of Woodville and became the sole supplier of bodies for General Motors vehicles, among them Buick, Chevrolet, Oakland and Oldsmobile. HMMB also produced bodies for other US and European marques such as Hudson, Chrysler, Plymouth, DeSoto, Dodge and Willys. GM's Birkenhead (Port Adelaide) plant opened in 1926.

The King William Street plant closed in 1928 and a 1931 merger between General Motors Australia and Holdens Motor Body Builders saw the formation of General Motors-Holdens.

Models produced in subsequent years included Pontiac, Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Chevrolet, Vauxhall and Bedford.

The depression was having a heavy impact on sales and left thousands of unsold chassis on the wharves. Holden filed just 1,651 car body orders in 1931 compared with a high of 36,171 in 1926. The merger of HMMB and GM was a solution that saved both enterprises, but the new company still was unable to post a profit so the parent company sent Larry Harnett, a Vauxhall director to Australia to take charge. He was directed to either "fix it up or shut it down".

Harnett was a man that inspired confidence and under his stewardship things quickly changed and within one year posted a $1.5 million profit.

Within a year GM-H commenced a new headquarters and assembly plant at Fishermens Bend on 20 hectares of land in Melbourne. Such was Harnett's confidence he proposed to the GM board that Australia should develop and build its own car. His dream however was initially thwarted as by 1940 all of GMs plants were working on the war effort.

During WWII, the GM-H plants at Woodville and Birkenhead made a major contribution to the country's defence effort, producing, among other things, aircraft, army vehicles, boats, ordnance and munitions.

With the winding down of the war effort, GM-H revived its plans for an Australian built car. Harnett presented his case for an Aussie car to the GM board in New York in September 1944. He said that GMs share of the market would fall from 45 percent to 25 percent by 1950 if local manufacture didn't take place. Coincidently, at the same time the Federal Government issued a formal invitation for submissions from companies interested in building an Australian car, believing that it was essential for Australia to be self sufficient, along with maintaining employment.

GM-H was in the box seat and the government accepted their submission to build an Australian car. In fact the government accepted GM-Hs proposal even before it received submissions from other companies including Ford.

GM proceeded with development of a local car, under the title 'Project 2000'. The first prototype was built in 1944 using Willy's mechanicals with dozens of prototypes and designs following. The $6 million project was financed by loans from the Commonwealth Bank and the Bank of Adelaide, underwritten by General Motors.

Design work initially commenced in the USA, with a 1940s Chevrolet prototype car used as as the basis for their design as it almost matched the required Australian specifications.

The American designers insisted their model should be used rather than any of the Australian efforts and so this was the car we eventually received.

With the styling complete, work started on a prototype - three of which were hand built. They were tested in Detroit then late in 1946 they were sent to Fishermens Bend, along with a team of technicians, where they were extensively tested in local conditions outside Melbourne.

Rigidity was good, but handling was not up to the task with a number of test drivers running off the road. Suspension and steering was extensively modified.

The name of the car was a highly guarded secret, with the "Holden" only winning out shortly before production commenced in 1948.

The 1800s
1854: 19 year-old Englishman, James Alexander Holden, arrives in Adelaide, South Australia.
1856: James Alexander Holden establishes a leatherwork and saddlery business, J.A. Holden & Co., in King William St, Adelaide.
1859: Birth of J.A. Holden's eldest son, Henry J. Holden.
1865: J.A. Holden & Co. expands, moves to bigger Adelaide premises.
1878: Further expansion sees the addition of a new business - the repair and renovation of horse-drawn carriages.
1879: 20 year-old Henry J. Holden joins company, now called J.A. Holden & Son.
1885: Harness and carriage maker Henry A. Frost becomes a partner and the firm is named Holden & Frost. Henry J. Holden is the senior partner. Goods manufactured include harnesses, saddlery, travel goods, gun cases, whips, riding crops and vehicle hardware.
1897: Death of James A. Holden. Holden & Frost becomes a major supplier of harnesses, saddlery, belts and other equipment under government contract for Australian armed forces serving in the Boer War.

20th Century
1905: A third generation Holden, Henry's eldest son, Edward W. Holden, joins the business.
1908: In the US, the General Motors Corporation is formed. It includes the Buick Company, Oldsmobile, Oakland and Cadillac.
1910: Holden & Frost open a motor trimming department, the products marketed as Holdfast Trimmings.
1913: Holden & Frost begins production of complete motorcycle sidecar bodies.
1914: Holden & Frost produces its first custom-made car body.
The GM Export Company appoints its first field representative in Australia; import of the first GM cars begins shortly afterwards.
1917: The Australian Federal Government's wartime trade restrictions (decreeing that only one complete car be imported for every three chassis) leads to a decision by Holden & Frost to commence large-scale production of car bodies.
Holden Motor Body Builders is set up as a division of Holden & Frost, with Henry J. Holden appointed as Chairman and Edward W. Holden as Managing Director. It begins design and manufacture of a standardised car body for Buick and Dodge chassis'.
1918: Holden's Motor Body Builders Ltd (HMBB) becomes a registered company. Annual car body output for various makes reaches 587. Business booms as the use of state of the art machinery and innovative techniques ensures a competitive product.

The Twenties
1920: HMBB builds an impressive reputation and bodies for Dodge, Buick, Ford, Chevrolet, Studebaker, Overland, Hupmobile, Essex, Durant and Dort - as well as some European marques.
1923: Holden employs over 1,000 workers and produces 240 car bodies a week - more than half the national output. Holden plans the country's most modern production line at a new facility in Woodville, SA, and gains exclusive rights to assemble GM cars in Australia at this plant.
1924: Holden begins production at Woodville, continues making bodies for other chassis importers at its original, now extended, King William St, Adelaide, plant.
Total annual production of 22,150 units includes 11,060 for GM.
1925: Holden's body-building operation produces over 34,000 units, including the first closed body types. With a workforce of 2,600 and 16 hectares of factory floor, it is the largest outside North America and continental Europe. In addition, HMBB turns out tram and bus bodies and railway carriages.
1926: Henry J. Holden dies and his son Edward Holden is appointed Chairman and Managing Director.
General Motors Australia Pty Ltd (GMA) is formed. It has headquarters in Melbourne and soon opens assembly plants in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
1928: Holden's now-famous 'lion and stone' symbol, which represents the legend of man's invention of the wheel, is first employed.

The Thirties
1930: Australia feels the full effect of worldwide economic depression and Holden, having just completed a major expansion, is caught off-guard. Motor body orders plummet and attempts at diversification fail.
1931: General Motors purchases Holden Motor Builders and merges it with General Motors (Australia) Pty Ltd to form General Motors-Holden's Ltd (GM-H). Sir Edward Holden is the company's first Chairman. A.N. Lawrence is Managing Director.
1934: Laurence J. Hartnett, a former Director of Vauxhall, takes up duties as Managing Director.
1935: Holden produces its first 'All Enclosed Coupe' for Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Chevrolet chassis. Dubbed 'The Sloper' this uniquely Australian design is the forerunner of the hatchback.
• Holden builds its first all-steel bodies.
1936: GM-H sets up new headquarters and a new assembly plant at Fishermens Bend, Melbourne, on 20 hectares of land. The facility is opened by the Prime Minister, Joseph Lyons.
1937: Holden produces 32,489 vehicles, claiming 40 per cent of the market.
• Overall profit exceeds £1 million for the first time.
• Hartnett and GM-H executives discuss manufacture of a complete car within Australia.
1938: Holden installs the country's largest metal stamping press, at Woodville.
1939: The investigation into building an Australian car intensifies. Several designs are contemplated and a study known as Project 2200 commences.
• Construction begins on a new assembly plant at Pagewood, NSW.
• When war is declared in September, Holden places its plants, personnel and facilities at the disposal of the Federal Government.

The Forties
1940-42: Holden's wartime workforce, peaking at 12,000 in 1942, operates from seven plants nationwide and turns out supplies for Australian and US armed forces.
Items produced include aero and marine engines, aero assemblies, marine craft, and over 200 types of vehicles, among them ambulances, armoured cars and Blitz trucks. Armaments production includes field, anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns, bomb shells and torpedo engines.
1943: With military contracts slowing, GM-H begins work on a design study, 'Project 2000'. Experience and skills gained from wartime production, with the technical support of the parent company, put GM-H in a good position to take on the challenge of building Australia's first successfully mass-produced car.
1944: A 'Project 2000' prototype is produced; many variations and alternative designs are considered.
• Laurence Hartnett sells to General Motors the concept of all-Australian manufacture.
1945: The Project 2000 car design evolves into 'Project 2200'. GM-H engineers and technicians travel to the US to study manufacturing operations and assist with design and construction of experimental prototypes based on GM's 195-Y-15 six cylinder light car project.
1946: A joint US-Australian team in Detroit produces three handmade prototypes of the Australian car. All are shipped to Australia, complete with detailed project plans and accompanied by engineering project team members.
• Harold E. Bettle is appointed Managing Director.
1947: The prototypes are exhaustively tested for durability and reliability on public roads, component modifications are undertaken.
• All GM-H departments are asked to submit suggested names for the car. Short-list favourites include CANBRA, GMH, GMA, GEM, LION and HOLDEN.
• £1,200,000 is spent on mechanical fabrication, engine and transmission manufacture and foundry facilities at Fishermens Bend.
•£750,000 is spent on fabrication equipment, presses and a new paint shop at Woodville, S.A.
1947:Over 300 Australian supplier companies gear up to fulfill Holden contracts for materials, parts, components and services.
• Death of company Chairman, Sir Edward W. Holden.
1948: The first production schedule is finalised on 5 April, the first body is completed at Woodville in July.
• The name 'HOLDEN' is announced. The model's engineering prefix is 48-215.
It is later nicknamed 'FX', to distinguish it from its FJ successor.
• Holden Number One (body No.6) is the first production-ready car to come off the Fishermens Bend line, on 1 October.
• 1,200 official guests, headed by Prime Minister, Mr Ben Chifley, attend the public announcement of 'Australia's Own Car' on 29 November at Fishermens Bend. The ceremony also marks the inauguration of the Australian automotive industry.
•26,000 GM-H employees and family members preview the new model at Open House gatherings at plants nationwide, Holden dealers and distributors attend special launches.
• Initial production capacity averages 10 vehicles a day.
1949: Demand for the 48-215 far outstrips supply and waiting lists are oversubscribed.
• GM-H aims at annual production of 20,000 units.

The Fifties
1950: Production lifts to 100 units per day to reach an annual total of 20,113 vehicles.
• $43 million is paid to outside suppliers of components, materials and services.
• New vehicle registrations in Australia total 206,087 - almost 70 per cent up on the previous year.
• Total sales of GM-H products exceed the 1949 total by 60 per cent.
* The number of Holden employees Australia-wide exceeds 10,000.
• GM-H acquires a Port Melbourne company to manufacture Holden electrical harness, electric components and AC Spark Plugs.
1951: Production rate reaches 100 units a day. Total 48-215 production passes 50,000 units.
• The first Holden 'Coupe Utility', the 50-2106, is launched; PVC interior trims are introduced.
• GM-H buys 152 acres at Dandenong, Victoria for future expansion programs.
1952: On Holden's fourth birthday, GM-H announces an £11 million expansion program designed to raise output to 200 units a day. Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide plants are to be enlarged and modernised, production efficiency and quality levels lifted.
Holden annual sales reach 32,000.