“Football, Meat Pies, Kangaroos and Holden Cars!” So said the popular ’70s television ad for Holden cars. It wasn’t far from the truth either as Holden cars have been part of the Australian psyche for as long as most Australians can remember. So when it was announced on November 12, 2013 that Holden was to cease production after 2017 it came as something of a shock to even the most hardened of automotive historians.
Commenced in 1856 as a saddlery business by James Alexander Holden, the company started making motorcycle sidecars in 1913. After “The Great War,” Holden’s Motor Body Builders was formed to make car bodies. Soon bodies were being made for whatever make chassis were wheeled through the door. The Great Depression brought a production downturn and in 1931 Holden was purchased by General Motors and became General Motors-Holden’s Ltd (GM-H).
In the late 1940s, with some amount of government encouragement, GM-H produced the first Holden car that was touted as “Australia’s Own Car.” By the beginning of the next decade, Holden dominated the Australian car market and has been the market leader for most years since.
Unfortunately, the Australian market of 1.1 million cars annually does not make for a viable economic reality, especially when there are other manufacturers like Ford and Toyota in the field. Plus, Australians also have a plethora of choice when it comes to imported cars.
Holden, Ford and Toyota have been in receipt of significant government subsidies in recent years, but with difficult economic times, the current Australian government has reduced these subsidies. As late as last May, Ford announced that it would shut its two Australian auto plants in 2015. There is also concern as to the longevity of Toyota as a manufacturer in this country. Should that happen, there will be no automotive manufacturing industry in Australia, which would mean that the jobs of close on to 40,000 workers will be in jeopardy.
Thank heavens there is still football, a zillion kangaroos and any number of meat pies for us Australians to keep on enjoying.
—Patrick Quinn, South Pacific Editor
