ADS, RADIO, FILMS + 360 FOOTAGE
Watch car advertisements, listen to a GMH Radio Hour recorded in Adelaide, and watch videos of Holden workers in action.
Dairy of a Holden, 1949
A 48-215 Holden ‘tells’ its own story of being purchased by a family and the comfort and reliability the new owners now enjoy.
Produced by Reo Motors of Sydney.
Duration: 3.35 minutes
Holden exports, 1960
Holdens were exported to many places including South Africa, Sudan, India, Thailand and countries in the Pacific. Left-hand drive cars to Greece, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Kuwait and Hawaii. Duration: 2 minutes
There’s a whisper on the wind, 1968
An advertisement for the HK Monaro.
Duration: 1 minute
Advertisement for Monaro, 1969
Join the space age with Monaro. Duration: 1 minute
Torana, 1976
A promotional film that delights in the style, space and innovation of the Torana SS Hatchback.
Duration: 3.38 minutes
Compilation of Commodore adverts, 1978
A compilation of Commodore adverts from 1978. Duration: 10 seconds to 1 minute.
Football, meat pies, kangaroos, and Holden cars, 1976
A tune guaranteed to stay in your head!
The jingle was adapted from a General Motors’ campaign in the
United States ‘baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet’.
Duration: 1 minute
Drone footage of the last day at Elizabeth, 2017
Drone footage of the last day at the Elizabeth Plant. Workers assemble for one last photograph. Working class man by Jimmy Barnes provides the soundtrack.
Duration: 4 minutes
Courtesy of the Holden Manufacturing Heritage Association
Working in record time
Filmed in 1926, this fascinating footage captures a large team of workers assembling a Chevrolet Superior V in just 16 minutes and 55 seconds at the Birkenhead General Motors plant - all under the watchful eyes of interested car dealers.
Duration: 2.9 minutes. Silent.
Hamilton Press arriving at Woodville
Filming the arrival and unloading of the Hamilton press at Port Adelaide in 1938, and its transport to the Woodville plant. When the press was installed, it measured seven metres above the floor and four and a half metres below. It could produce a complete side, top or floor of a motor body in one action.
Duration: 6 minutes. Silent.
The General Motors Hour - radio show
During the 1950s The General Motors Hour blazed a new path in radio listening, "for the better entertainment of Australia.”
Well-known actors of the day, including Queenie Ashton, Ruth Cracknell and Roger Climpson, and famed Adelaide radio producers Harry Dearth and Ken Chinner recorded radio plays, some of which are held in the State Library’s collection.
Moonshine was broadcast in 1956. SLSA: BRG 213/112
A brochure promoting The General Motors Hour, A story of Enterprise in Australian Radio. SLSA: BRG 213/112/469/3
A brochure promoting The General Motors Hour, A story of Enterprise in Australian Radio. SLSA: BRG 213/112/469/3
Holdin' You In My Holden
Produced by General Motors-Holden, the release of this song coincided with the arrival of the FC Holden in 1956.
The music was written by Don Bennet, lyrics by Norma Hall. Performed by Lou Toppano and his Orchestra, featuring the voice of Joan Clarke. SLSA: ZR 1157
FAMILY PRIDE
The 1954 FJ Holden ute
Giuseppe Dichiera, born in Italy in 1909, migrated to Australia in 1939. After various jobs, including cutting sugar cane in Queensland, he joined Holden’s Woodville plant post-WWII, prepping panels for painting. His pride in the job led him to buy a brand-new FJ ute in 1954, a source of pride for the whole family. Giuseppe retired in 1963 and passed away in 1972, leaving behind a legacy of hard work and pride.
In 1949, 16-year-old Peter joined his mother in Australia, later working briefly at Holden’s Woodville plant. He shared his father’s love for the FJ, but eventually, the car was left in a shed where time took its toll.
In mid-2019, Peter’s five sons secretly organised the FJ’s restoration by Marque Restoration. One Christmas morning, his wife Tina and the grandchildren led him outside, where he found his father’s car, gleaming like it had decades ago. Peter passed away in 2022, but that moment of joy lives on.
holden workers
The Holden Manufacturing Heritage Centre
The Holden Manufacturing Heritage Centre, at the former Elizabeth Plant, is run by former Holden workers who volunteer their time to care for significant cars, historical material, design and manufacturing artefacts.
In this film, volunteers tell of their working life and the importance of Holden in the history of Australian manufacturing.
360 Degree Factory experience
Recorded in the last of the Elizabeth's plant operations, Holden workers placed a GoPro camera inside the Assembly line, giving you the opportunity to experiences the sights and sounds of the factory floor.
Instrument panel installation – inside view
Viewed from the inside of the body. Pre-Assembled and Tested complete Instrument panel assembly robot loaded through the windshield opening. Two robots then add 2 bolts to attach the assembly to the body. Like many assembly methods, this system was developed by GMH engineers and is unlike the method used in other GM assembly plants.
Instrument Panel Installation - outside view
Viewed from the outside of the body. Pre-Assembled and Tested complete Instrument panel assembly robot loaded through the windshield opening. Two robots then add 2 bolts to attach the assembly to the body. Like many assembly methods, this system was developed by GMH engineers and is unlike the method used in other GM assembly plants.
quality check station
Online systems checking of engine, transmission and body wiring systems. In a later station the car will be driven on chassis rolls to check these systems under simulated driving conditions.
Wiring harnesses and interior trim component assembly
Section of the interior trim assembly line. Body wiring harnesses and interior front body pillar mouldings being installed, using a combination of snap in fixings and bolt on methods.
Sequenced door assembly
Doors being attached to a car on the assembly line. The doors had been attached to the body and painted with the body. Then they are removed and assembled on a separate loop line. The doors then come back to marry up with the same body they were taken from and installed using assembly aids and lifting fixtures.
Installing the front end module and bumper facia assembly
Preassembled and tested Front End Modules and Bumper Facias are delivered in build sequence to the assembly line and installed. Error proofed locating guides ensure accurate a fast installation.
Inside a transfer press
Sheet Metal forming Dies are set up to form and pierce the panel in stages. The panel is progressed to each die set via a shuttle or transfer system. Other press lines use robots to transfer panels between each die set.
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