144 replies to this topic

[Shiney005]

The speed at which the Marrickville factory went from bare ground to churning out cars is astounding.  The architects had ten days to come up with the plans, on June 1st the builders signed the contracts, and 30 days later the floor, walls and roof were in place. By November, Line 1 was turning out an assembled car every 26 minutes, and Lines 2 and 3 were putting one out the door every 30 minutes.

 

Opening day with the ceremony conducted by the Premier JT Lang.

 

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The visitors were conducted to the main assembly floor for a demonstration of a Chevrolet being assembled, which was duly completed in 29 minutes and driven out.

 

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Nine months later on the 23rd August 1927, the 10,000th car came out of the Marrickville plant.

 

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[Shiney005]

Early thirties at a guess.

 

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Cars built at Marrickville up to 1929.

1926 Pontiac Six

1926 Chevrolet

1927 Buick: Standard Four-Door Sedan & Master Sports Touring

1927 Chevrolet: Four-Door Sedan, Roadster, Sports Roadster, Tourer, Two-Door Sedan

1927 Cadillac La Salle

1927 Oldsmobile Coach

1927 Chevrolet: Passenger Utility, Ton Truck, Commercial Closed Parcels Van

1928 Buick

1928 Oldsmobile Tourer

1928 20-60 Vauxhall Six

1928 Silver Anniversary Buick: Sports Roadster, Seven Passenger Sedan, Limousine Sedan, Four Passenger Deluxe Sedan, Five Passenger Four-Door Sedan, 29-55 Sports Tourer, 29-49 Seven Passenger Tourer

1928 Cadillac: 5 Passenger Sedan, 2 Passenger Convertible Coupe, 7 Passenger Imperial Sedan, 7 Passenger Sedan, La Salle 7 Passenger Imperial Sedan, La Salle 7 Passenger Sedan, La Salle 5 Passenger Family Sedan

1929 New Oakland: Four-Door Sedan, Phaeton, Landaulet, Sports Coupe

1929 Chevrolet: Sports Roadster, New Sedan, Landeau Sedan, Business Coupe, Tourer, Convertible Coupe

GMC trucks

 

 

 

 

1928

 

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[Shiney005]

On August 9th 1930, two Marrickville produced Chevrolets were sent to the USA to show the execs over that way just how far the Australian auto industry had come. Another more covert reason was so General Motors could assess the work of HMBB before their planned purchase of the company.

 

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[Shiney005]

Marrickville was also the first of the GMA plants (and the first in NSW) where the work to produce an automobile was carried out in a sequence of tasks, or an assembly line.  An idea that was probably acquired from Henry Ford's new plant in the old Geelong woolstores. This new GMA factory had gained enough celebrity status to draw in visitors such as world champion golfer Walter Hagan, the Master Builders Association, the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Movie club, and Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith.

A description of a General Motors assembly line from the Marrickville "Local Notes" reads as follows;

Bodies are hauled by electric hoists from the body storage area. They are then fitted with the electric wiring harness and the dashboard instruments. Meanwhile, assembly begins with the riveting of the chassis frame. Red hot rivets are tossed from the furnaces to the riveters with seemingly reckless abandon. Each man is ready to collect and the red hot rivets are hammered into place with pneumatic hammers. This part of the factory was very loud. 

Petrol tank, axles, steering column, transmission and springs are then fitted, while mechanics are fitting spark plugs to the motor and the body is finished. The chassis continues its journey along the line where the motor is installed and the body lowered on. Fenders and other parts are fitted and then the car is moved under its own power to the checking pits where every nut and bolt is inspected, the steering and wheels are aligned, and the ignition is checked and set.

 

As state of the art this factory was, it still wasn't at the top of the list when, like all other plants apart from Woodvillle (SA) and City Road (Vic), the Marrickville factory shut down during the depression, from 1st August 1931, to the 27th March 1934.

 

Photo below from 1935 with "Holdens Limited" added under the General Motors signage.

 

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[Shiney005]

By 1937, the realization had set in that the plant was too small and land was acquired at Pagewood to build a new one.  This was built by the end of 1939, and in January 1940, over one weekend, everything was shifted from the old to the new. 

Everything was placed in the new plant exactly where it had to go, so the workers went home from Marrickville on Friday afternoon, and went to work at Pagewood Monday morning.

 

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[Shiney005]

Just back to Mosman Park for a second,  I was thinking it was at the current site of the Iona Secondary College, but it was in fact where the Iona Primary School is now, which is a couple of blocks south west.

 

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The large trees on the west side of the playing grounds are where the GMA offices were.

 

 

 

 

[Shiney005]

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[Shiney005]

The old Deli building is indeed still there on the opposite side of Victoria Street.

 

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[RallyRed]

..reckon there might have been "just a few" of those hundereds of thousands of parts, that got "lost" in the transfer?

[Shiney005]

Staying in NSW, and going back a few years again with Holden's Motor Body Builders.  This is pretty much all from the HRC website as I need to get onto other things and I still have the three largest plants to go yet.

 

The Sydney branch of HMBB was run by the nephew of HJ Holden, Captain Leslie Holden. He was a pilot during the first world war and returned with a Military Cross for valour in low level bombing and strafing the enemy, as well as five victories to his name.  Back in Australia, he had also participated in the search for Charles Kingsford-Smith and Charles Ulm after they went missing in the Southern Cross somewhere in the north west interior of W.A.

 

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A newspaper advertisement on 20th Feb 1920 has the building at McLachlan Avenue in Rushcutters Bay.

 

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Another newspaper ad on 27th Feb 1921 states they had moved to a new premises at 175 Dowling Street.  You can just make out the HOLDEN'S signage on the building to the left where the unfinished cars are parked.

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On the 23rd january 1924, Holden's announced that they would be opening a new factory at 182 William Street with bodies arriving from South Australia and the cars assembled there in Sydney.

There was trouble in May of 1925 when 16 non unionists were hired and the rest of the workers went on strike.

A massive fire engulfed the premises on 3rd March 1927 which was blamed on rags in the paint shop spontaneously combusting, however reports later came to light of a man jumping into a car with no number plates and speeding away not long before the flames were seen. Another part to this story is that once the fire had been put out, it was noticed that the safe had been tampered with as well. 

 

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[Shiney005]

The next day, a building was leased 14 doors down the road to get work underway again. Not long after, around the end of August 1927, Holden's started advertising for workers at 173a Dowling Street which was literally meters away just around the corner. (Red pin is William Street. Red arrow is Dowling Street)

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In 1932, John Storey was the manager of the goings on in Sydney, and in 1934 he became GMH Director of Manufacturing and based himself in Melbourne. He investigated the layout of the GM plant in Detroit, and then in 1935 he oversaw the erection of GMH plants at Fishermans Bend, and Pagewood, as well as the refurbishment of Mosman Park and Brisbane.

 

Work at the plant turned to making items for the war effort, and by the time WW2 was over, Pagewood had come online making the William / Dowling Streets plant redundant.

 

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Please have a look at the Holden Retirees Club website for lots more detail than I have provided here. The easiest way to find their page on this topic is to google "Holden Motor Body Builders Sydney".  I really don't know how to access this page through their own website.

Edited by Shiney005, 04 August 2022 - 01:46 PM.

[Shiney005]

Aaaannd back to Mosman Park for a moment.

Eyepeeler sent me a couple of photos of the Holden Club at the old premises. The five cars at the front were all built in WA.  They were told on the day that the only thing that remains is the brick wall which runs along the back boundary.

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[Shiney005]

I just found these youtube videos with the first one being body manufacturing at Woodville, and the second is assembly at Fishermans Bend. It shows the big Hamilton press at work.

 

 

[claysummers]

That’s gold Laurie. Wonder what happened to the big Hamilton press when Woodville shut. That thing pressed out every panel van roof made up to Elizabeth taking over. Did they relocate it?


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[Shiney005]

I have done a bit of digging on what happened to these behemoths, but have come up with nothing.  A thesis I found written about the Woodville plant mentions that apprentices were frequently sent off to bring back a Hamilton press.  Of course, when they got to the press room, nobody could hear what they were asking for. It was so loud in there that a sign language of sorts had been invented for most commands, and migrants who spoke no english whatsoever had no trouble communicating.

In the 1980's, I bought a pair of front fenders through my local Rare Spares agent, and he told me that they had been stamped with the original Holden press which Rare's had bought.  It was also around that time that Street Machine magazine interviewed the founders of Rare Spares, and they mentioned in that article that they had bought some of the presses from GMH, but after a short time using them, it was decided that they were too expensive to run. (I read this as "more expensive than China") These presses may have come from Elizabeth. A press room was built there as there was no room left at Woodville. The presses at Elizabeth were all Australian with many built by Perry Engineering to a UK design.

I am pretty sure that the Street Machine article had a photo of the presses in the Rare Spares workshop, but none were anywhere near the size of the big Hamiltons.  My best guess is that they were sold off in the early 1970's after the plant was converted for Trimatic production.

 

Elizabeth press room.

 

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[claysummers]

Thanks Laurie. I speculate they went to Ching Chong china to press our steel into panels to sell back to us, though the tinfoil cars are made from now it would be an overkill. Great reading. Keep going…


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[Shiney005]

Pagewood.

With Marrickville unable to keep up with demand, a new site was purchased in the new suburb of Pagewood. It was virgin land with the plaque on the foundation stone reading "From the foundation of New South Wales in 1788 this land was unoccupied until purchased by crown grant by General Motors Holden Limited as the site for these works".  This was true for the 25 acres that was Lot 3497 Vol.5028 Folio 158, but GMH also purchased adjoining land in the 1950's as well as leasing the old TV City Studios land on their south boundary, which gave GMH the whole block apart from the south east corner which was a bus depot. The total amount of land was 53 acres, with 16 acres being under roof.

 1916 Botany Parish map with blue circle showing factory site.

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[Shiney005]

Even though government records show that the site wasn't purchased until June 1939, concrete was being poured by May 9th and the first steel was delivered May 12th.

 

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Test bores went to 330 feet with no difference in the sand all the way down.

 

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First of the steel being delivered.

 

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[Shiney005]

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[Shiney005]

Nearing completion looking from the south west with the warehouse closest, and the admin building on the opposite corner.

 

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The showroom turntable pit under construction. Once finished, the turntable could be lifted two and a half feet using compressed air.

 

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With the plant pretty much completed, there was a fire in the primer dip tank 12-1-1940 which was brought under control without too much damage done.

 

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[Shiney005]

Boiler stack being lowered into position.

 

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Completed powerhouse.

 

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[Shiney005]

Staff club house and dining area.

 

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Admin building.

 

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Showroom.

 

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[Shiney005]

Views from the clock tower. 1st photo shows staff club house with the old TV City Studios building in the background.

 

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Note horse and cart in the car park.

 

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I wonder where they got their inspiration from for Torana colour names!

 

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[Shiney005]

With the floors being poured in May 1939, 9 months later it was in full swing. This photo was taken February 14th 1940, the day before the official opening by Robert Menzies.

 

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Prime Minister Robert Menzies and Sir Laurence Hartnett arrive at the opening ceremony.

 

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Edited by Shiney005, 10 August 2022 - 12:24 PM.

[Shiney005]

Hand basins similar to the ones seen at Acacia Ridge.

 

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Attached Files

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Edited by Shiney005, 10 August 2022 - 12:31 PM.