This is the story of the family and the business behind Australia's most famous car, the Holden.

Transcription

1 One hundred and fifty years ago, a young emigrant to the colony of South Australia set up in business as merchant, importer and wholesale saddler in the centre of Adelaide. It was to be the beginning of one of Australia's great entrepreneurial stories - an innovative family business that seized opportunity in a time of rapid change to become, for a while, Australia's biggest manufacturer., 1

2 This is the story of the family and the business behind Australia's most famous car, the Holden. Those words were written by a colleague and friend Bill Tuckey, former editor of Wheels magazine and perhaps one of best and most entertaining motoring journalists of the sixties and seventies. This is also a story of 4 generations of eldest sons and younger siblings, of adventurers and achievers, of devastating economic cycles and personal tragedies that plays out like a period drama. 2

3 James Alexander Holden arrived in Adelaide in 1852, aged 17, 15 years after the first free settlers set foot on Holdfast Bay. We will follow James early business experiences, personal successes and failures and learn how his sons and grandsons built the Adelaide saddle maker into the largest motor body manufacturer in the world outside North America by the middle 20 s. Their contribution and influence was such that General Motors chose their name for the corporation s first original car brand name. 3

4 My primary reference has been Nancy Buttfield s book about the Holden family So Great a Change. Dame Nancy, the founder s great grand daughter, was a high achiever and SA s first woman senator. I spent several months in SA in 1961 on a concentrated orientation program during an engineering program lull. I wondered how the auto industry got such a foothold in Adelaide when Sydney or Melbourne would have been more suitable centres. The Holden family and their SA business partners were the reason. 4

5 The Holden industrial dynasty began with James Alexander s father Edward Holden, who, in 1819, established a business as 'saddlers, ironmongers and curriers' in Park Street, Walsall, Staffordshire. 5

6 Walsall, Staffordshire, was the main horse furniture and leather centre on the London Birmingham main north road in the days of turnpikes and carriages, before canals and railroads. The early 1800s was also a period of religious wrangling centred in Walsall, involving dissenters from the Church of England, Protestant religious non conformers, Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodists, concerned about their freedom of worship, their ministers had limited civil authority. 6

7 Edward married Elizabeth Mason and they produced eight daughters and two sons, the youngest of whom was James Alexander Holden, born in Elizabeth died soon after, aged just 36, and Edward remarried. James didn t get on with his step mother, she believed the stomach of a child was only the size of a fowl s egg and she fed him accordingly, she also falsely accused him of a misdemeanor concerning money which he bitterly resented. James was close to his mother s sisters and one of his cousins Edward Smith who later came to Australia. 7

8 This is a late nineteenth century view of Walsall, the chimney stack you see in the distance near the church is the Holden factory when James father died, he left his personal and house hold effects plus 1000 to his second wife, 130 for each of 9 surviving children to receive aged 21. Real estate and investments were arranged into trusts to support wife and children, the leather business into a trust for the second wife and James older brother Edward who took over the business when he came of age soon after. 8

9 As you can see highlighted in this later photo Edward expanded the business helped by demand supplying gold rushes in California and Australia 9

10 James older brother was also a high achiever, he served in the Walsall council for 65 years, several periods as mayor, was the local MP, knighted, and went to the US on a government mission to obtain the first 5 million war loan for Britain in 1914, 10

11 Edward Thomas Holden lived to the ripe old age of 95, outliving his younger brother James by nearly 40 years. 11

12 Today the site of the family factory near the centre of town is a large shopping mall called the The Saddlers Walsall soccer team are also know as The Saddlers, I think they are a League level three team. 12

13 After his fathers death in 1851 James, aged 16, unhappy at home, left Walsall to seek his fortune. His brother Edward, 5 years older, and his step mother controlled the family business, James headed for Liverpool with his prayer book, some clothing and a bible. There, it seems, he met and was influenced by George Fyfe Angas, 13

14 Angus was planning to visit the migrant dissenters who formed a significant proportion of the new settlers and to see his sons in Australia. 14

15 Angus was a founder of the South Australian Company which had initiated the colonisation of South Australia, 15

16 The state's colonial origins are unique in Australia as a freely settled, planned British province, rather than as a convict settlement. Official settlement began on 28 December 1836, when the colony was proclaimed at The Old Gum The goal was to establish the province as a centre of civilisation for free immigrants, promising civil liberties and religious tolerance. 16

17 From Liverpool James decided to go North America, he landed in Canada with his few possessions in a big hankerchief tied to a stick. He then headed to New York to see his mother s youngest sister. She suggested he return to Liverpool and join Angas and his Dissenters in Adelaide. 17

18 year old James arrives in the colony reserved, determined, blazing with religious fervour, fastidiously dressed, background in commerce, industrious application 20,000 arrived that year boosting the population to over 68,000, much needed as 15,500; half the male population had emigrated to the Eastern state goldfields. Walsall Pop. Ref.27,000 18

19 James was clever, well versed in book keeping and numbers, first job was with chemist Francis Harding Faulding He was thrifty, enterprising, bought and sold beer, part time teacher, bought shares, 10 was invested each month devout church goer, debated religion, taught Sunday school, founding secretary of Sunday School Teachers Union under president George Fife Angas, With the weather extremes he suffered from chest complaints and a weak stomach. rented house, then boarded, 19

20 Months later in 1952 cousin Edwin Smith, 5 years older than James arrived in the colony. Edwin, also from Walsall, was the same age as James older Brother Edward. Edwin was more entrepreneurial and adventurous, and less thrifty, lived in a hotel, James loaned him money. Edwin went into business as an importer. They were close, James wrote in his diaries of tending Edwin for days through colonial fever during which Edwin nearly died, James spent hours at his bedside nursing him through this crisis. After this experience they shared accommodation and eventually boarded with the Phillips family, daughter Mary caught James attention.. 20

21 James aged 22 Bored with job, counting 25,000 leeches Thought of buying country store, 1856 got job running a produce mill buying and selling for a salary of 9 month Problems getting his inheritance, cousin Edwin had better connection with his brother than James. More involved with Mary Phillips, his diary agonises over Mary showing herself in public and the family fun filled romping and his own desires seemed to challenge his strict religious beliefs. He feared the young people were leading him astray. 21

22 By 1855, there were 2 other leather goods makers catering for the rapidly growing horse population of over 22,000 serving 100,000 people also growing in number and affluence in South Australia. When his initial inheritance of 130 pounds arrived in 1856, James started buying and selling property, and was soon able to lease a small building at the junction of William, Rundle and Hindley Streets. There he set up his first business - `J.A. Holden & Co - merchants, importers and wholesale saddlers opposite the bookshop shown here. 22

23 On 24 September, 1857,aged 22 he married his landlady's daughter, Mary Elizabeth Phillips, and soon after bought his first home, a four-roomed Cambrian stone cottage in what is now Beulah Park. Their first child, Henry James, was born on 18 July They would have nine children, two of whom died in infancy. 23

24 In 1863 when he was 28 James sailed to England to finalise his legacy 24

25 This was the first of many visits Brother Edward s business had flourished, Edward built this substantial house and called it Glenelg. One can imagine both James and Edwin Smith s Australian import businesses and Edward s Walsall connections complemented each other. The huge growth in Australian population fueled their activities. James was commissioned by the South Australian government to promote that state s exports to the UK on several occasions. 25

26 1865, James moved his business into larger premises at 32 King William Street. He then bought an eight-roomed house in Magill, but a year later, with the business going well, he sold both the Magill and Beulah Park houses to buy 15 acres (six hectares) at Kensington Park for five hundred and nine pounds, three shillings and fourpence. 26

27 Making and selling high-quality carriage and saddle harnesses, saddles and blinkers was a booming business and, the company moved again to larger premises in Gawler Place. 27

28 Holden had built a big reputation as a saddler, carrying brand names like Paringa, Winnicke, Innaminka and Broken Hill. To help manage the workload, James Holden took on a partner, Alfred James Birks and renamed the company Holden & Birks, but that lasted just three years. 28

29 Back in Kensington Park Adelaide,the family Lived in a small cottage until a seven-roomed house was built in 1871, later enlarged by 1875 to ten rooms needed to accommodate more children. At the age of 40 James was well established in the fast developing city, and he was largely responsible for founding the Adelaide Chamber of Manufacturers. 29

30 When he first arrived in the colony James was one of the first members of the Baptist movement and started the Sunday School teachers union, at the time a significant religious philosophical group. He was on the building committee for the first Baptist church in Adelaide. 30

31 Cousin Edwin Smith married a few months before James and in 1860 went into partnership in the Old Kent Brewery taking over in 1862 when his partner died. He became mayor of Kensington and Norwood and in later years served a Mayor of Adelaide, was a member of parliament, a significant achiever in all walks of public life, he was knighted and lived till 1919 reaching 89 years. He also actively promoted the city s horse drawn tram system which began in

32 By 1878, a fifth move saw Holdens in a far bigger factory in Grenfell Street, and it was here that they expanded into buggy tops and upholstery, then repairing and updating coaches and buggies and, logically, building full coaches. When Charles Todd, the Superintendent of Telegraphs, was planning the enormous task of building the Overland Telegraph - the `Singing String' - between Adelaide and Darwin, Holden won a major contract to supply wagons and equipment for 165 horses and 210 bullocks. 32

33 At the end of this project his employees presented him with this illuminated address. We the undersigned on behalf of your many employees desire to express our thanks and appreciation for your uniform kindness and gentlemanly bearing towards ourselves and those with whom you come in daily contact, especially for your liberality in connection with our late exertions in completing the Port Darwin-Port Augusta telephone expedition outfits, both for the Government and Messrs. Derwent and Dalwood. 33

34 Here we get a look one of the processes on the leather component manufacture. 34

35 And stuffing straw into horse collars, 35

36 This photo of the transport of the day in rural Australia reminds us of the extensive application of leather harnesses and hardware required. 36

37 In 1879, although only 44 years old, James made his 20-year-old son, Henry, a partner, renamed the company J.A. Holden and Son, and began to withdraw from the business. Dame Nancy Buttfield, wrote that James had frequently been ill, often from what in those days they called a `weak chest'. For years he had taken alcohol for `medicinal purposes', but Dame Nancy suggested that he became over fond of it. By 1885, Henry was effectively running things and James took on a junior partner, Henry Adolph Frost, a wealthy businessman who had migrated to South Australia as a child with his German parents. 37

38 Meanwhile Hubert William, Bill, second son of James, and 7 years younger than Henry James had just finished 5 years schooling at Hahndorf. His father believed they should know more about the German community who were also customers. The business was still struggling so Bill was sent to WA to give away his older sister Ellen (Nell) in marriage to George Gibbs. 38

39 Here we see the Gibbs family in later years and their circumstances appear to have become quite difficult. The children were the inspiration for their cousin May Gibbs famous characters Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. Bill loved the farming life and stayed on in WA Another sister Winifred recently married to Herbert Preston also came to WA so Bill stayed on to help them establish their wholesale grocery business. 39

40 Bill then moved to Hergott Springs near Farina. Hergott was an exploring colleague of John McDouall Stuart who named the springs after him. When German names were purged the place was renamed Maree. Bill managed a large carrying business using camel teams Afghan drivers. There he met his wife to be, Annie,who was visiting family in the area. They moved back to Adelaide where Bill worked for his older brother and started a family. He then joined his brother in law Herbert Preston in the WA gold fields. With a little success they returned but Herbert Preston asked Bill to join him and set up the Australian branch of Nestle Swiss Milk company in Sydney. 40

41 June 2, 1887, James Alexander Holden died in hospital at Semaphore of tuberculosis complicated by his heavy drinking. He was just 52. The company was virtually bankrupt, bruised by a drought and recession and losing a lot of its customers who were also hit by the hard times. The grand house at Kensington Park was put into the hands of receivers and later sold. Young Henry worked day and night, seven days a week, to pay the company's debts and get it back on its feet. In this, he was helped by his father s cousin, Edwin Smith, the Mayor of Adelaide, who successfully campaigned to extend the city's horse tramways, generating growing demand for harness and vehicles. 41

42 Meanwhile, Mary, widowed at the age of 50, was left with little money as James' remaining estate had been put in trust for the education of their three youngest children. Needing paid employment, Mary took a position as matron of the Girl's Reformatory at Edwardstown, a forbidding building behind eight kilometres of galvanised iron fences topped with barbed wire. She argued for the institution to be moved out of the city and, in 1897, became the first matron of the Redruth Girls' Reformatory in Burra, 163 kilometres north of Adelaide. 42

43 The reformatory, housed in the former Redruth Gaol, provided for 30 girls aged 15 and over - 'incorrigibles' front other institutions,and was renamed Hampton Court. Mary Holden set out to civilise it, installing running water, building gardens, running sheep and cattle and having the girls take in washing and ironing. She was described as "Stern but fair", and over the 20 years she was there the inmates became calmer and escapes fewer. After she retired at the age of 70, the new matrons fondness for corporal punishment - forbidden in female institutions - meant that it was back to the bad old days. The reformatory closed in 1922 after a series of riots. 43

44 When the Boer War started in 1899, Holden & Frost discovered the business opportunities arising from government purchasing of military equipment and supplied harness, horse collars, cannel packs, leggings, bandoliers, stock whips and Sam Browne belts. The company finished their initial army order before their eastern states competitors and quickly became Australia's main contract supplier and Henry leased a large shed at Norwood and bought new machinery to meet the demand. A perfectionist, he was known to slash poor work with a knife. 44

45 Employees photographed outside Grenfell street just before WW1 45

46 HJ was influential in South Australian life, here he is with the new governor of SA 46

47 In 1905, Henry's son Edward Wheewall graduated from Adelaide University in science and engineering and joined the family company. Unlike most of the family, he had profound faith in the future of that new evil, the motor car and, in 1908, he convinced his father, Henry, to investigate the fledgling motor industry overseas. 47

48 While his father was away Edward set up a small workshop in Grenfell Street and started Holdfast Trimmings, making carriage hoods for cars to order. When Henry returned he had seen enough to agree with his son and Holden & Frost started to branch out building car bodies and motor cycle sidecars. 48

49 In 1914, war once again brought a boom to Holden with contracts for the supply of all kinds of leather equipment. 49

50 Including saddles, harnesses soldiers belts and gaiters etc 50

51 Then, on 10 August 1917, to conserve foreign exchange and shipping space the Federal Government imposed a ban on imported motor bodies. A clever South Australian Dodge distributor named Sydney Albert Cheney had seen this coming, and with it the potential for building bodies locally. This is Cheney driving the first T Ford and 2 nd car into Broken Hill. That day he contacted Edward Holden before dawn. Henry, Edward and S.A. Cheney (as this remarkable industry pioneer was to be widely known) met that day, and the Holdens agreed to go into the business of building motor bodies immediately. 51

52 Henry and Edward went straight to the Bank of Adelaide to ask for a 50,000 pound loan to buy F.T Hack Limited in Gillies Street, a small body-builder client of theirs that was struggling. However, the bank in what must with hindsight be seen as one of its worst decisions - refused, and the loan was secured only with the guarantee of wealthy grazier, Charles Irwin. Within weeks Holden had built its first Dodge and railed it to Sydney for a Dodge dealer meeting, which scaled the contract with a per-body price of E57/10/. They produced just 99 car bodies in the rest of 1917 and this was effectively the start of a national Australian motor industry. 52

53 In addition to Dodge, orders started arriving from importers of Hudson, Essex, Overland, Chevrolet, Studebaker and Hupmobile and, in 1919, Holden's Motor Body Builders was registered. H J and E W Holden brought influential and talented South Australian people into the organization and onto the board. They were themselves on the boards of many companies and community and industry organisations and participated in local and state politics. Among them were the founding financier Charles Irwin and later his son Major Irwin who was one of the first manufacturing managers. 53

54 By 1923, the company was turning out 340 bodies a week, working extra shifts and overtime as makes like Durant, Dort, Fiat, Morris, Austin, Singer and Hillman joined the client list and had built a large new factory in King William street at the southern end of the city. 54

55 By the end of that year Holden's Motor Body Builders was supplying half of Australia's motor bodies and was even producing rail carriages for the SA Railways and trams for the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board. 55

56 Here we have a Melbourne tram, we all rode on them as kids. 56

57 A SA railway carriage, 57

58 Following are some photographs of the first bodies being built, These are the frames for touring bodies, 4 door canvas roof style 58

59 Trim shop 59

60 That s a roadster on the far right behind the tourer being prepared for painting. 60

61 Final assembly on the chassis. 61

62 In April 1923, about two weeks after Edward Holden sailed for the US and Europe to investigate new production techniques and equipment, the expanded King William street facility could not cope so HMBB bought four and then five hectares of land at Woodville, an outer suburb of Adelaide. GM was exporting around 10,000 chassis a year into Australia, but had to compete with all its rivals for local bodies. 62

63 Two senior executives came over to to Australia to look at establishing GM's own bodybuilding business, but after inspecting Woodville negotiated a contract tying the new HMBB plant exclusively to GM bodies - although the old city plant could continue to Supply rivals. Here we see H J, centre, J M Irwin and William right and Ed Riley and James D Mooney President of GM Export left. E W was overseas when the Riley and Mooney agreement with Holden in Adelaide was being developed and subsequently participated in further discussions in New York. 63

64 E W apparently impressed A P Sloane who commented, I have contacted Mr Holden quite a good deal and developed a good deal of confidence in my mind as to his ability and honestness of purpose H J and his 2 young sons also had broad global industry experiences and they in turn had recruited some of the best local technical and business brains into their rapidly expanding and profitable enterprise. 64

65 The agreement was processed by GM on 24 Oct 1923 and received the seal of Holden Motor Body Builders in Adelaide on the 10 Dec, Setting up Woodville to satisfy GM s market ambitions was aided by the arrival with E C Riley of a number of experienced GM production specialists with him when he returned to Australia in January A key player in the all these activities was William Holden, Edwards younger brother. He served in the WW 1 and studied the auto industry developments in England and the US before joining his father and brother in the developing motor body business. 65

66 Frank Daley, former senior Holden executive who under commission wrote an unpublished manuscript of Holden s business history, credits William with guiding this huge manufacturing expansion. He was only in his middle 20s at the time, acting MD on several occasions. Daley wrote from first hand experience In the realm of human relations he was accreditied beyond his confreres and associates and stood in the highest esteem. In this respect he had caught the attention of Mr. E.C. Riley when manager of GM Export Co. William was our late colleague Bob Holden s father. 66

67 Coincidently Riley on his return ran into the Australia MD of Ford, (H C French) in Adelaide seeking a similar body supply agreement with Holden. The new factory formally opened in By this time, with a workforce of 2,600, it was producing around 65 different body styles and production again increased by 50% that year. 67

68 Back from overseas in 1926, E W encouraged his father to invest in more moving production line systems. Again Holden body production increased by 50% reaching a peak of 36,171 and was arguably the largest body building factory outside North America. Meanwhile at the same time GM Export operations based in Sydney since 1912 had doubled it s share of the Australian market to 31.4%. This total body output was not exceeded for another 26 years in 1952/3. But in that year H J died aged 67 years. E W was elected Chairman at the age of 40 and his young brother William who had played such a significant role with J M Irwin in establishing the King William Street and Woodville plants was made managing director. 68

69 As we know GM Australia was formed in 1926 in Melbourne and 5 vehicle final assembly plants were constructed, one in each of the mainland capital cities. The industry growth seemed endless. 69

70 Let us return to James Alexander s second son Hubert William (Bill) shown here with his young family in Sydney. 70

71 Les Holden, eldest son of H J s younger brother Bill went to war as a motor driver and joined the first Australian flying corps. In France. His exploits and flying skill was rewarded with a Military Cross and promoted to Captain he finished the war as an instructor. 71

72 Back home in Sydney he joined the family business managing the Holden body depot in William Street Sydney not far from Kings Cross shown here during the 30s. He continued to fly and set up his own air service. 72

73 When Kingsford Smith and Ulm disappeared in far north west Australia in 1929 Les became a national celebrity when he undertook a search for the pair and rescued them in the Kimberleys. Captain Les Holden right, father H W Holden (Bill) left, with his business partner and co pilot Dr. George Hamilton centre, plan the search expedition. 73

74 Refueling in the outback during the search and rescue. 74

75 Back in Wyndham with the lost pair, surrounded residents. 75

76 And crowd around as they return to the town. 76

77 Les Holden on the right chats with Charles Ulm left and Charles Kingsford Smith centre. 77

78 Back in Sydney another big crowd welcomed their safe return. Two other searchers, Keith Anderson and Bob Hitchcock, were lost in their aircraft the Kookaburra, and the media of the day turned on Smith and Ulm, accusing them of a publicity stunt. The controversy resulted in the Sydney Citizens' Relief Committee, which had commissioned Holden to undertake the rescue operation, withholding payment of his expenses. 78

79 He nevertheless continued flying commercially, and is credited with making in September 1931 arguably the first flight from Sydney to New Guinea, where he started an air freight service. He expanded his operations the following year in Sydney with more aircraft, establishing Holden's Air Transport Services 79

80 This photo was taken from his house behind Salmanta in New Guinea. 80

81 On 18 September 1932, Holden was travelling as a passenger aboard a New England Airways Puss Moth when it crashed near Byron Bay killing pilot Ralph Virtue and joint owner of the Canberra, Holden's schoolfriend Dr George Hamilton. His father Hubert carried on operating Holden's Air Transport Services, floating it as a public corporation and serving as chairman. 81

82 Younger brother James was badly injured in a motor cycle accident and after recovering went bush in Queensland again injuring himself while horse riding. After working for his father in Nestle James joined the family business in Adelaide. He quickly established himself which helped fill the hole left by the tragic death of his cousin William in late

83 He was knighted for his services to industry in 1963 and finished his career in the middle 60s as Resident Director of SA operations. 83

84 Let us return to Holden in 1926 with 5 body factories in 3 states, 84

85 Powerful advertising 85

86 The processes become more complex as more steel is added to the bodies. 86

87 Sedan body assembly jig 87

88 Closed body assembly 88

89 More Steel panel pressings 89

90 Trim fabrication at Woodville 90

91 While HMBB hit its peak in 1926, there were storm clouds ahead saw a substantial reduction in GM s market, the new Ford A model contributed no doubt, but with the deteriorating economy there was worse to come. When, in 1928, Edward Holden decided to close the Adelaide city plant,and transfer body-building for GM rivals to Woodville, an agitated GM responded by advising it would terminate their Mutual arrangement on October 1, 1929, leaving a temporary agreement in place. 91

92 Then came the 1929 Wall Street crash and the start of Australia's Great Depression, and GM slashed its orders. In August, Woodville started shutting-down production and began chasing small makers who would previously have sat in the waiting room. On December M D William Holden died at age of 30. He like his grandfather James Alexander had a chest illness while young and suffered further while serving overseas during WW1. Some months prior to his death he was injured in a riding accident from which he never fully recovered. 92

93 In December 1929 E W was sent to the US to review the situation with GM with an option of outright purchase. A P Sloane arranged for G K Howard the regional director for Europe to travel with E W back to Australia in September 1930 to explore all aspects of Holden s offer. The merger agreement was dated March , 15 months after E W left on his salvation mission. Prominent in the restructure boards were E W and his cousin J R Holden along with 3 other prominent Australian former Holden board members. Only a handful of US executives chose to transfer to the local payroll. 93

94 GM wanted the high level of Australian participation in the management of the business in the proposed restructure and particular on the board. E W had already brought people like Frank Daley and later John Storey into the business. Daley came from the munitions industry which had pioneered the technology for high volume precision manufacturing in the US and was the nursery for America s first auto engineers. (ref. to Lithgow Small Arms Factory) E W was appointed Chairman and M D when A N Lawrence became regional director. 94

95 By early 1930, the Holden workforce had been halved; retrenched workers could no longer live in company-owned cottages and those left were producing fruit cases and filing cabinets. On 14 February 1930, Edward Holden signed agreements to sell the business to GM for 1,111,600. He would become chairman and managing director of the new company, General Motors-Holden's. It was a sad end to an inspired and inspiring family business dynasty. But not the end of the Holden contribution to the business. By 1931, orders had nose-dived from a peak of 36,000 a year to just 1,

96 The management integration of the 2 different organisations divided between Melbourne and Adelaide appeared to have teething problems during this period of economic depression. In 1931production sank to 1651 bodies and a market share to lowest level ever of 10.7% Early in 1932 J D Mooney and others involved in the merger came here to review progress. Early signs of recovery were evident as production and market share had doubled. 96

97 During 1933 E W visited Vauxhall and met with Hartnett and Mooney while market growth continued. With globally auto business experience the dynamic Englishman Hartnett who had spent time in Australia in 1929 was appointed as the new MD of GMH. He arrived in Sydney in March 1934, was met by directors Sir Wallace Bruce, A G Rymill and John Storey now at the Holden body operation in Sydney. They proceeded to Marrickville to reopen the Assembly plant. So much for Hartnett s claim he had to make it work or close it. 97

98 Hartnett was just what was needed, just 34,, a great salesman, energetic and ambitious, he motivated the organisation and the dealer network and increased market share in a still difficult economy. He employed the best writers and photographers, such as Errol Coote and Frank Hurley to tell the GM Holden story in a wide range of GM sponsored media publications and promotions. 98

99 Woodville tool room Hartnett went on to become Director of Ordnance controlling Australia's Munitions production for WW2, to oversee Holden's conversion to producing guns, airframe assemblies, marine craft, bombs, aero and diesel engines and reconditioning US forces equipment. That he achieved more fame as the father of Australia's first fully manufactured car, the Holden, is a well-trodden path in history told in his own auto biography which has become the dominant Holden history narrative somewhat overshadowing the role of the Holden family. 99

100 The first 3 generations of the Holden family created the business foundation and drove the auto business growth so successfully in the post WW1 period that they attracting GM Export contracts and technical participation many years before GM invested in Opel and Vauxhall. They participated and were influential in business, community organizations and politics. E W served as Chairman of Directors until his death aged only 62 in Cousin James was on the inaugural GMH board retiring as Resident Director of South Australian operations in the sixties. 100

101 Edward Wheewall Holden : Member of the council of the University of Adelaide August 1931-March 1934: Managing director of General Motors- Holden's : Chairman of General Motors- Holden's 14 December January 1947: Member of the South Australian Legislative Council : President of the SA Chamber of Manufactures : honorary controller-general of army canteens; visited Australian troops overseas 1943: Sponsored the establishment of a chair of electrical and mechanical engineering at the University of Adelaide 1946: Made Knight Bachelor 101

102 History, however, had not done with the Holden lineage. Edward's second daughter, Nancy Eileen, married businessman Frank Charles Buttfield in 1936, the marriage producing two sons. Her extensive charity work led her in 1955 to become South Australia's first female member of Federal parliament, elected to a Senate seat that she occupied for more than 18 years. She continued her charity work, including setting up a youth venture club and awarding prizes for decorative arts. She died in 2005, aged 92, to the end a staunch advocate of women's rights, equal pay and the ending of any public service marriage bar on women. 102

103 Nancy Buttfield is also famous for ending the Old Parliament House ban on women drinking in the Members' Bar. One feels that James Alexander Holden would have loved that. 103

104 E W s son John James Holden bequested this bust of his father to the National Portrait Gallery. John worked for Holden s for most of his career and became Director of South Australian operation. There was a degree of sibling rivalry with his older sister Dame Nancy Buttfield, he was the executor his father s estate. He was somewhat critical of aspects of her book to the point of commissioning his own family history. 104

105 The first car to be fully manufactured in Australia, the , was still unnamed a year before its unveiling by Prime Minister Ben Chifley on 29 November In 1947 General Motors-Holden s had sent a long list of proposed names to GM in Detroit, headed by 'Canbra'. Other suggestions included `Gem', `Austral', 'GMH', `Emu', `Melba', 'Woorama', 'Wirraway', `Cook', 'Flinders', 'Phillip', 'Parkes' and `Melwood' - an amalgamation Melbourne and Adelaide. 105

106 Ed Riley, general manager of GMOC, who had worked with the Holden family since 1923 suggested the name Holden in memory of the company's first chairman, Sir Edward Wheewall Holden, who had died on 17 June of that year and his younger brother William. In his recommendation to GMH Riley wrote of William He was in charge of manufacture at Woodville and was a very pleasant and capable Man. His death was a great loss to the factory end of the Holden company. And so the new car was named Holden. 106