HOLDEN
In 1852, James Alexander Holden emigrated to South Australia from Walsall,[1] England and in 1856 established J.A. Holden & Co, a saddlery business in Adelaide.[2] In 1885 German-born Henry Frederick Frost joined the business as a junior partner and J.A. Holden & Co became Holden & Frost Ltd.[3] Edward Holden, James' grandson, joined the firm in 1905 with an interest in automobiles.[4][5] From there, the firm evolved through various partnerships and, in 1908, Holden & Frost moved into the business of minor repairs to car upholstery.[6] The company began to produce complete motorcycle sidecar bodies in 1913, and Edward experimented with fitting bodies to different types of carriages.[7] After 1917, wartime trade restrictions led the company to start full-scale production of vehicle body shells. J.A. Holden founded a new company in 1919, Holden's Motor Body Builders Ltd (HMBB) specialising in car bodies and utilising a facility on King William Street in Adelaide.[8] By 1923, HMBB were producing 12,000 units per year.[6] During this time, HMBB was the first company to assemble bodies for Ford Australia until their Geelong, plant was completed.[9] From 1924, HMBB became the exclusive supplier of car bodies for GM in Australia, with manufacturing taking place at the new Woodville, South Australia plant.[10] These bodies were made to suit a number of chassis imported from manufacturers such as Chevrolet and Dodge.[6] In 1926 General Motors (Australia) was established with assembly plants at Newstead, Queensland; Marrickville, New South Wales; City Road, Melbourne, Victoria; Birkenhead, South Australia; and Cottesloe, Western Australia[11] utilizing bodies produced by Holden Motor Body Builders and imported complete knock down (CKD) chassis.[12] The Great Depression led to a substantial downturn in production by Holden, from 34,000 units annually in 1930 to just 1,651 units one year later.[6] In 1931 General Motors purchased Holden Motor Body Builders and merged it with General Motors (Australia) Pty Ltd to form General Motors-Holden's Ltd (GM-H).[7] Throughout the 1920s Holden also supplied tramcars to Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board. Several have been preserved in both Australia and New Zealand.
The Holden 50-2106 utility launched in 1951, three years after the 48-215 sedan.
1940s
In 1852, James Alexander Holden emigrated to South Australia from Walsall,[1] England and in 1856 established J.A. Holden & Co, a saddlery business in Adelaide.[2] In 1885 German-born Henry Frederick Frost joined the business as a junior partner and J.A. Holden & Co became Holden & Frost Ltd.[3] Edward Holden, James' grandson, joined the firm in 1905 with an interest in automobiles.[4][5] From there, the firm evolved through various partnerships and, in 1908, Holden & Frost moved into the business of minor repairs to car upholstery.[6] The company began to produce complete motorcycle sidecar bodies in 1913, and Edward experimented with fitting bodies to different types of carriages.[7] After 1917, wartime trade restrictions led the company to start full-scale production of vehicle body shells. J.A. Holden founded a new company in 1919, Holden's Motor Body Builders Ltd (HMBB) specialising in car bodies and utilising a facility on King William Street in Adelaide.[8] By 1923, HMBB were producing 12,000 units per year.[6] During this time, HMBB was the first company to assemble bodies for Ford Australia until their Geelong, plant was completed.[9] From 1924, HMBB became the exclusive supplier of car bodies for GM in Australia, with manufacturing taking place at the new Woodville, South Australia plant.[10] These bodies were made to suit a number of chassis imported from manufacturers such as Chevrolet and Dodge.[6] In 1926 General Motors (Australia) was established with assembly plants at Newstead, Queensland; Marrickville, New South Wales; City Road, Melbourne, Victoria; Birkenhead, South Australia; and Cottesloe, Western Australia[11] utilizing bodies produced by Holden Motor Body Builders and imported complete knock down (CKD) chassis.[12] The Great Depression led to a substantial downturn in production by Holden, from 34,000 units annually in 1930 to just 1,651 units one year later.[6] In 1931 General Motors purchased Holden Motor Body Builders and merged it with General Motors (Australia) Pty Ltd to form General Motors-Holden's Ltd (GM-H).[7] Throughout the 1920s Holden also supplied tramcars to Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board. Several have been preserved in both Australia and New Zealand.
The Holden 50-2106 utility launched in 1951, three years after the 48-215 sedan.
1940s
Some really useful content here. I've been looking for something like this to help with a research piece I've been working on.
ReplyDeleteHolden Wreckers Brisbane.