Rootes Australia was the Australian affiliate of the

Rootes Group The Rootes Group or Rootes Motors Limited was a British automobile manufacturer and, separately, a major motor distributors and dealers business. Run from London's West End, the manufacturer was based in the Midlands and the distribution and dea ...

, a British motor vehicle manufacturing company.The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, page 413 The company was formed immediately after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

initially operating as an importing and distribution firm.The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, page 216 In 1946, it began assembling

Hillman Minx The Hillman Minx was a mid-sized family car that British car maker Hillman produced from 1931 to 1970. There were many versions of the Minx over that period, as well as badge-engineered variants sold by Humber, Singer, and Sunbeam. From the m ...

vehicles at

Port Melbourne, Victoria Port Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Port Phillip local government areas. Port Melbourne recorded a populatio ...

.Pedr Davis, Wheels Across Australia, 1987, page 208 This was the first instance of a British motor manufacturer establishing a production line in Australia.Shaun Birney, A Nation on Wheels, 1987, page 187Rootes Group
at Motoring Weekly (UK) By 1954, the company had gained a 5.4% share of the local market and subsequently announced plans to create a full local manufacturing facility. A 35-hectare site was acquired for this purpose at Harrisfield (now known as

Noble Park Noble Park is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 25 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Greater Dandenong local government area. Noble Park recorded a population of 32,257 at the . ...

), near

Dandenong Dandenong is a southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area, with a recorded population of 30,127 at the . Situated mainly ...

in Victoria. However, the proposed plant was never built. HillmanMinx1953

Hillman,

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between th ...

and

Singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

models were assembled successfully for a number of years. The company also produced models which were hybrids of the three makes. By the mid-1960s, falling sales and an ageing model line-up meant the Rootes Group was in trouble both in Britain and Australia.Shaun Birney, A Nation on Wheels, 1987, page 188 In December 1965, Rootes Australia was merged with

Chrysler Australia Fiat Chrysler Australia, officially FCA Australia, is the official Stellantis subsidiary in that country, operating as distributor of Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Abarth, Alfa Romeo and Fiat vehicles. However, there had previously been a "Chrysler Au ...

. Assembly operations were continued at the Port Melbourne facility Gavin Farmer, Great Ideas in Motion, A History of Chrysler in Australia 1946-1981, Ilinga Books, 2010, page 428 and Hillman cars, Humber cars and

Commer Commer was a British manufacturer of commercial and military vehicles from 1905 until 1979. Commer vehicles included car-derived vans, light vans, medium to heavy commercial trucks, and buses. The company also designed and built some of its own ...

trucks were now sold by Chrysler dealers. Chrysler was quick to phase out the Humber brand,Gavin Farmer, Great Ideas in Motion, A History of Chrysler in Australia 1946-1981, Ilinga Books, 2010, page 280 however assembly of the Hillman Arrow and Hunter range was commenced in early 1967. Chrysler Australia also utilised Port Melbourne for assembly of the

Dodge Phoenix The Dodge Phoenix is an automobile which was produced by Chrysler Australia from 1960 to 1972. The Phoenix was introduced in May 1960 as an Australian assembled version of the American Dodge Dart,

from 1968 and

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...

Galant The galant style was an 18th-century movement in music, visual arts and literature. In Germany a closely related style was called the '' empfindsamer Stil'' (sensitive style). Another close relative is rococo style. The galant style was drawn in ...

from 1971. The last Hillman Hunter was produced in November 1972,Gavin Farmer, Great Ideas in Motion, A History of Chrysler in Australia 1946-1981, Ilinga Books, 2010, page 282 and, with Dodge Phoenix and Galant assembly transferred to

Tonsley Park Tonsley is a southern suburb of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. History The suburb of Tonsley was created on 27 January 2017 by dividing the suburb of Clovelly Park in half. The southern part of the suburb was separated from Cl ...

in South Australia at the end of 1972, the Port Melbourne facility was closed.

Vehicles produced

Significant models produced by Rootes Australia included the following: Humber Vogue Series I

- assembled from 1946. *

Humber Super Snipe The Humber Super Snipe is a car which was produced from 1938 to 1967 by British-based Humber Limited. Pre-war Super Snipe The Super Snipe was introduced in October 1938, derived by combining the four-litre inline six-cylinder engine from the ...

- assembled from 1953.The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, page 226 * Sunbeam Mk III - assembled circa 1955 Advertisement for Sunbeam Mk III and Alpine "Produced in the factory of Rootes Australia Limited", Modern Motor, March 1955, page 34 *

Sunbeam Alpine The Sunbeam Alpine is a two-seater sports roadster/drophead coupé that was produced by the Rootes Group from 1953 to 1955, and then 1959 to 1968. The name was then used on a two-door fastback coupé from 1969 to 1975. The original Alpine was ...

- assembled circa 1955 *

Humber Hawk The Humber Hawk is a four-cylinder automobile manufactured from 1945 to 1967 by British-based Humber Limited. Humber Hawk Mk I & II The Hawk, a re-badged Hillman 14 (1938-1940) was the first Humber car to be launched after World War II. Sl ...

– assembled to 1964 *

Singer Gazelle The Singer Gazelle name has been applied to two generations of motor cars from the British manufacturer Singer. It was positioned between the basic Hillman range and the more sporting Sunbeam versions. Gazelle I and II The Gazelle was the ...

- assembled from 1957 to 1961.The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, page 436 *

Hillman Super Minx __NOTOC__ The Hillman Super Minx is a family car which was produced by Hillman from 1961 to 1967. It was a slightly larger version of the Hillman Minx, from the period when the long-running Minx nameplate was applied to the "Audax" series of desi ...

* Humber Vogue - assembled from 1962 to 1965. *

Hillman Imp The Hillman Imp is a small economy car that was made by the Rootes Group and its successor Chrysler Europe from 1963 until 1976. Revealed on 3 May 1963, after much advance publicity, it was the first British mass-produced car with the engine blo ...

- from 1964Gavin Farmer, Great Ideas in Motion, A History of Chrysler in Australia 1946-1981, Ilinga Books, 2010, page 273

References

External links

* http://www.sa.hillman.org.au/BV_ADLbrochure01a.htm Hillman Minx Series IIIC Special (1962)sales brochure - Retrieved on 21/6/08 * https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/tazydevilbear/hmhumbervogue.html&date=2009-10-25+22:39:25 Humber Vogue Mk2 image - Retrieved on 21/6/2008 * http://www.sa.hillman.org.au/RootesFactory.htm Rootes Australia Factory - Retrieved on 22/6/08 * http://www.sunbeam.org.au {{Rootes Group Rootes Group Car manufacturers of Australia Australian subsidiaries of foreign companies