British Motor Corporation (Australia) was a motor manufacturing company formed in Australia in 1954 by the merger of the Austin Motor Company (Australia) and Nuffield (Australia).
This followed the merger in 1952 of the
Austin Motor Company and the
Nuffield Group in the United Kingdom to form the
British Motor Corporation.
[ Following further corporate changes in the UK in the late 1960s, BMC Australia was absorbed into the newly established British Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia,][ the name of which became Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia in 1972,][ ''The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring'', pp. 272-273] and then JRA Limited in March 1983.[
]
Austin Motor Company of Australia
In 1949, Austin purchased the Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
based Ruskin Body Works and used the factory to make ute and tourer bodies for fitting to imported Austin A40 chassis.
Nuffield Australia
In 1947 Lord Nuffield
William Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, (10 October 1877 – 22 August 1963) was an English motor manufacturer and philanthropist. He was the founder of Morris Motors Limited and is remembered as the founder of the Nuffield Foundation, ...
purchased the former Victoria Park Racecourse, Sydney
Victoria Park Racecourse was a racecourse in Zetland, an inner-city suburb, south of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was bordered by O’Dea Avenue, South Dowling Street, Epsom Road and Joynton Avenue.
The site was originally a lagoon ...
as the site for a car assembly plant. Nuffield Australia opened their new, assembly and factory building in March 1950. The facility was initially set up to assemble Morris Minor
The Morris Minor is a British economy family car that made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, in October 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.6 million were manufactured between 1948 and 1972 in ...
and Morris Oxford
Morris Oxford is a series of motor car models produced by Morris of the United Kingdom, from the 1913 ''bullnose'' Oxford to the ''Farina'' Oxfords V and VI.
Named by W R Morris after ''the city of dreaming spires'', the university town in which ...
models from CKD kits. Previously these cars were imported into Australia as assembled vehicles.[ ''The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring'', p. 337]
British Motor Corporation (Australia)
In 1954 the Austin Motor Company of Australia and Nuffield Australia merged to form British Motor Corporation (Australia) with the Nuffield facility at Victoria Park becoming the group headquarters of the new company. Austin and Morris vehicles were assembled at the facility and subsequently it was to be the design and manufacturing centre for BMC Australia.
During a period of significant postwar reconstruction, migrant assimilation and technical innovation, the factory employed a peak of 7,000 people from 35 nations. The only plant in Australia to manufacture the complete vehicle, it introduced to Australia the in-line transfer machining of engine blocks, the "rotodip" paint process, automatic conveyor assembly processes and major advances in just-in-time and flexible manufacturing concepts.
This factory produced the Austin Lancer and Morris Major models which were based on the Wolseley 1500
Wolseley may refer to:
People
*Sir Charles Wolseley, 2nd Baronet (c. 1630–1714), English politician
*Sir Charles Wolseley, 7th Baronet (1769–1846), English landowner and political agitator
* Frances Garnet Wolseley, 2nd Viscountess Wolseley ( ...
but modified for Australian conditions. In another example of the badge engineering prevalent at the time, the Morris Marshal
The Morris Marshal is a large six-cylinder vehicle which was produced by the British Motor Corporation (Australia) between 1957 and 1960. The car was a Morris branded version of the Austin Westminster
The Austin Westminster series are large ...
was produced, based on the Austin A95 Westminster.
In 1961 the Mini
The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...
entered production in Australia as the Morris 850. The Mini proving very popular in Australia as it was in the UK. Its success prompted a revised Australian only model line up to be introduced in 1965, beginning with the Morris Mini Deluxe, the first to use Hydrolastic
Hydrolastic is a type of space-efficient automotive suspension system used in many cars produced by British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successor companies.
Invented by British rubber engineer Alex Moulton, and first used on the 1962 BMC p ...
suspension, to have wind-up windows, ignition key operated starter and an improved level of trim and options. Australian Minis were fitted with wind-up windows years ahead of their UK counterparts. Morris Mini Coopers and Cooper S were also made and supplied to the Australian and New Zealand Police forces as high speed pursuit vehicles. The Mini K (for Kangaroo) was the renamed Deluxe MKII and launched in March 1969 complete with Kangaroo decals.
Released in 1962, the Austin Freeway
The Austin Freeway is an automobile which was developed by BMC Australia, based on the British Austin A60 Cambridge. Introduced in 1962, it was marketed under the Austin name in both four-door sedan and five-door station wagon body styles. ...
and Wolseley 24/80 models were Australian built variants of the Austin A60 Cambridge and Wolseley 15/60
The Wolseley 15/60 is an automobile which was produced from 1958 to 1961, and then, as the Wolseley 16/60, from 1961 to 1971. The 15/60 was the first of the mid-sized Pininfarina-styled automobiles manufactured by the British Motor Corporation ( ...
respectively, both powered by a six-cylinder version of the BMC B-Series engine. To add some Australasian brand confusion, in New Zealand the Austin Freeway was badged as a Morris Freeway and the Morris Mini Deluxe was badged as an Austin Se7en. All were made in the Sydney factory.
A local version of the BMC 1100 joined the line up, badged as the Morris 1100 and henceforth the smaller front-wheel-drive BMC models were all to be badged as Morris and the larger ones as Austins borrowing from the established markets where Vice Regal cars were Austin Princess limousines and Morris cars were mass motoring cars. Production of the Morris Mini Moke started in 1966 but fitted with larger, 13-inch wheels and longer rear wheel arms, than the UK original 10-inch.
A local version of the Austin 1800
As of March 1 ( O.S. February 18), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 12 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 16) ...
was also produced from 1965 and this was developed into the Austin X6 range in 1970 with a longer wheelbase than the original. These were called the Austin Tasman for the basic model and Kimberley for the de luxe hi-end model. In New Zealand these were also sold with Morris badging and some were assembled there.
In December 1966, a plant in Rocklea, Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
was opened.
Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia
By 1969 BMC Australia's parent company had merged with the Leyland Corporation to form British Leyland
British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partl ...
[ and a merger in Australia saw the creation of the British Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia.][ BMC Australia continued to trade as a division of the new company but had been renamed the Austin Morris Division by 1970. The company name was changed yet again in 1972 when it became the Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia,][ with the Austin Morris Division carried across to the new company.
In 1973 the Morris Mini became the Leyland Mini and the Morris ]Mini Moke
The Mini Moke (styled "MOKE") is a small, front-wheel-drive utility and recreational convertible, conceived and manufactured as a lightweight military vehicle by British Motor Corporation (BMC), and subsequently marketed for civilian use under ...
became the Leyland Moke. The Australian version of the Morris Marina
The Morris Marina is a front-engined, rear-wheel-drive small family car that was manufactured by the Austin-Morris division of British Leyland from 1971 until 1980. It served to replace the Morris Minor in the Morris product line, which ...
, which had joined the range in 1972, became a Leyland Marina and was offered with a local market only six-cylinder 2,623 cc engine. Australian Marinas were also shipped as CKD assembly packs to New Zealand and South Africa, where the six cylinder engine was also offered.
The Australian big car model, which was intended to see out the 1970s, was the 1973 Leyland P76
The Leyland P76 is a large car that was produced by Leyland Australia, the Australian subsidiary of British Leyland. Featuring what was described at the time as the "standard Australian wheelbase of 111 inches", it was intended to provide the ...
. This was designed to take a straight six or alloy Rover V8 engine
The Rover V8 engine is a compact V8 internal combustion engine with aluminium cylinder block and cylinder heads, originally designed by General Motors and later re-designed and produced by Rover in the United Kingdom. It has been used in a wide ...
with the latter being the more popular, but V-8 engine supplies were restricted reducing production.
Following the worldwide collapse of British Leyland and its associates, linked with the reduction of import tariffs protecting car manufacturers in Australia ( Chrysler, Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
and Holden), the Victoria Park Racecourse, Sydney
Victoria Park Racecourse was a racecourse in Zetland, an inner-city suburb, south of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was bordered by O’Dea Avenue, South Dowling Street, Epsom Road and Joynton Avenue.
The site was originally a lagoon ...
factory, opened by Lord Nuffield
William Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, (10 October 1877 – 22 August 1963) was an English motor manufacturer and philanthropist. He was the founder of Morris Motors Limited and is remembered as the founder of the Nuffield Foundation, ...
in 1957 was closed by 1975. Production of the Mini from imported CKD shells was continued by Pressed Metal Corporation
Pressed Metal Corporation was an Australian automotive body building and assembly operation based in New South Wales.
History
Pressed Metal Corporation (PMC) was established in the late 1930s as a joint venture between Larke Hoskins, the Aust ...
(PMC) in the Sydney suburb of Enfield
Enfield may refer to:
Places Australia
* Enfield, New South Wales
* Enfield, South Australia
** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb
** Enfield High School (South Australia)
...
until 1978 and the Moke until 1982. PMC also assembled Land Rover
Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...
s, Hinos and pressed metal coffins.
Leyland of Australia then proceeded to assemble the Peugeot 505
The Peugeot 505 is a large family car produced by the French manufacturer Peugeot from 1979 to 1992 in Sochaux, France. It was also manufactured in various other countries including Argentina (by Sevel from 1981 to 1995), China, Thailand (by Yo ...
(sedan and wagon) and import the Honda Quint
The Honda Quint is a subcompact car manufactured by Honda in Japan from 1980 until 1985. It was introduced in February 1980 in Japan as a five-door liftback version of the Honda Civic, being more upscale than the Civic, and was sold at the ''H ...
, which was sold as the Rover Quintet locally.
JRA Limited
In March 1983 Leyland Motor Corporation Australia ceased to exist and its place was taken by JRA Limited. The new company was organised into several divisions including Jaguar-Rover-Australia, Leyland Trucks and Leyland Bus Australia. In 1987 JRA was sold by Rover Group
The Rover Group plc was the British vehicle manufacturing conglomerate known as "BL plc" until 1986 (formerly British Leyland), which had been a state-owned company since 1975. It initially included the Austin Rover Group car business (comprisi ...
in a management buyout. In October 1992 JRA was placed in administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...
by the Bank of New Zealand with Deloitte Ross Tohmatsu appointed as administrator. The Austral, Denning and Pressed Metal Corporation South Australia
Pressed Metal Corporation South Australia (PMCSA) was an Australian bus bodybuilder based in Royal Park, Adelaide.
History
The business originally formed as Freighter-Lawton Industries being rebranded Freighter Industries in 1963. businesses were sold to Clifford Corporation
Clifford Corporation was a listed Australian company that purchased several bus manufacturing businesses in the mid-1990s before collapsing in November 1998.
History
In August 1995 Clifford Corporation purchased the Ansair
Ansair was an Aust ...
in July 1996.[Acquisition of JRA Limited '' Fleetline'' issue 243 July 1996 page 131]
References
Further reading
*
{{Authority control
Car manufacturers of Australia
Australian subsidiaries of foreign companies
Australian companies established in 1954
British-Australian culture