The Holden Woodville Plant was a manufacturing facility owned by the Australian motor vehicle manufacturer

Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...

situated in

Cheltenham, South Australia Cheltenham is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located on Kaurna Land in the City of Charles Sturt. Geography The suburb lies between Port Road and Cheltenham Parade, which form its southwest and eastern boundaries respectively. T ...

, a suburb of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Etymology

Although the plant is named after the Australian town of

Woodville, South Australia Woodville is a suburb of Adelaide, situated about northwest of Adelaide city centre. It lies within the City of Charles Sturt. The postcode of Woodville is 5011. Woodville is bound by Cheltenham Parade to the west, Torrens Road to the north, Po ...

, the actual plant was located in the adjacent suburb of Cheltenham.

History

In 1923, Holden's Motor Body Builders Ltd (HMBB) established a site known as the Holden Woodville Plant, expanding to and employing 5,500 people three years later, which had an impact on all of the surrounding suburbs. The Woodville plant got its first orders from

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

. When Holden became the exclusive supplier of car bodies for General Motors, all of them were manufactured at the Woodville plant, from around 1949. The very first Holden car was completed and delivered from the Woodville plant in 1948. The plant grew and developed largely under the guidance and vision of the Australian motor engineer Sir

Laurence Hartnett Sir Laurence John Hartnett CBE (26 May 18984 April 1986) was an engineer who made several important contributions to the Australian automotive industry, and is often called "The Father of the Holden". Childhood Hartnett was born into a middle-c ...

, who was instrumental in the success of the Australian automobile industry. It was largely due to Hartnett that Holden went from a minor Australian marque to a significant competitor in the global car market. Between 1959 and 1965, all non-obsolete equipment was moved to Holden's new Elizabeth plant. However Woodville continued to produced replacement parts for discontinued models. The

Holden TriMatic Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...

transmission was produced at the plant until 1987, although the site was sold off in 1984. Through the 1980s, Holden progressively moved its operations to its Elizabeth plant, leading to the closure of Holden Woodville Plant. The plant was finally demolished in 1991.

Achievements

During the 1950s, the Woodville plant assembled approximately 10 per cent of all Holden vehicles assembled in Australia. Although the Woodville plant was closed along with several other plants such as the Elizabeth manufacturing plant, the plant has lived on in the folklore of Australian industry veterans and in their collective memory.

References

External links

Woodville plant, South Australia • Mixed material • State Library of South Australia

[Photographs of the Woodville plant prior to World War II] • Photograph • State Library of South Australia

Woodville Holden plant
{{coord missing, South Australia General Motors factories Former motor vehicle assembly plants Motor vehicle assembly plants in Australia Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1947 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1992 Buildings and structures demolished in 1991 Demolished buildings and structures in South Australia

Etymology

History

Achievements

See also

References

Further reading

External links