Holden's Elizabeth Timeline: 1958 to 2017

General Motors Holden Elizabeth Plant
The GM-Holden Elizabeth facility was once located in Elizabeth, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. Construction on the plant began in 1958, she had her official opening in 1963 and was closed in October 2017.
History
The construction of the Elizabeth plant commenced in May 1958, with the groundbreaking celebration - a ceremonial pouring of concrete - witnessed by Managing Director Earl Daum. The plant’s body hardware plant opened in 1960 while the body and vehicle assembly plant opened in 1962. Queen Elizabeth officially opened the plant in 1963.
The Elizabeth plant played an important part in the development of GM-Holden, with the facility undergoing continual revisions, upgrades and modernization over the years until its closure in October 2017.
Closure
In December 2013, GM-Holden announced that it would transition to a national sales company and full-line importer in Australia and New Zealand by the end of 2017. The transition called for the closure of all manufacturing operations in Australia, including vehicle production at the Elizabeth plant and engine production at the Port Melbourne plant. It also meant a reduction of engineering operations in the country.
Between 2013 and 2017, 2,900 jobs would be lost over four years - 1,600 from Elizabeth and 1,300 from Victoria, which housed Holden’s Port Melbourne plant.
Timeframe
The first step in winding down the Elizabeth plant was the discontinuation of Holden Cruze production in October 2016. Then, in January 2017, Holden announced that October 20th, 2017 will be the last day of production for the vehicles that were still being built at the plant - the Zeta platform Commodore and Caprice. The cessation of manufacturing operations in the Elizabeth plant makes Holden the last automaker to shutter its manufacturing base in Australia, with Ford being first to do so, and Toyota being second.
Reasons For Closure
Though GM-Holden did not share official reasons for its transition into a national sales company, it is believed that the following factors played into the decision:
A lack of import tariffs, making it attractive to import vehicles into Australia rather than build them locally
An extremely strong Australian dollar, bringing the price of imported vehicles to a 30-year low
High labor costs in Australia which, coupled with a strong Australian dollar, makes it financially unattractive to operate a plant in the country
Low demand in the local market, making it financially unattractive to operate a plant dedicated to producing vehicles for Australia
Cruze Wind-Down
In 2011, the Elizabeth plant began assembling the compact Cruze car range 2011, creating 400 jobs in South Australia. The-then Prime Minister Julia Gillard drove the first Cruze off the production line in February 2011. Based on GM’s Delta platform, the Cruze saw initial sales surge, followed by a nosedive thanks to the combination of a strong Australian dollar and an artificially-devalued Japanese yen. The circumstance saw the Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla rocket to the top of Australia’s new-car sales charts - ending the Holden Commodore’s 15-year winning streak in the process. On October 7th, 2016, Elizabeth workers built Holden’s last locally-made four-cylinder car: a Cruze SRI Z-series hatchback. The milestone came 50 years after the first four-cylinder Holden Torana and 41 years after the iconic Holden Gemini arrived in Australia. A total of 126,225 units of the Holden Cruze were built. Holden Elizabeth plant operations director Shaun Calvert stated that workers felt a sense of history and pride during the bittersweet moment in Holden’s journey.
“This morning that pride, mixed with some sadness, will be felt by everyone as the final two Cruze vehicles - a hatch and sedan - will be driven off our assembly line,” wrote Mr. Calvert upon the shut-down of the Cruze line at the Elizabeth facility.
The final two cars were donated to the Leukaemia Foundation, which held a raffle using the two vehicles to raise funds for patient support services and research. The end of Cruze production at Elizabeth resulted in 270 of the plant’s remaining 1,200 workers being made redundant.
Zeta Wind-Down
The final batch of Zeta-based Commodores, Utes and Caprices rolled off the line on October 20th, 2017.
*Info care of GM Authority

[@elizabeththatwas]

Cheers for watching For more Elizabeth (and Adelaide) that was, please subscribe - Will 😀

[@earrapemusic5737]

Hey Mate, I am currently looking at this plant for my Year 12 geography assignment. I was wondering if you had a reference list that i could use! Thanks!

[@elizabeththatwas]

@@earrapemusic5737 hey buddy. Are you looking for references specific to the plant itself, or Holden's in general? I have a video I'll link here, it's former Premier Playford talking at the Kariwara Hotel (now Playford Tavern) about how the deal to bring the plant to Elizabeth was originally secured. It may be helpful: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4nNgoidm5VqjNmcttps://kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4nNgoidm5VqjNk

[@andrewg2618]

As a Ford man, this tugged at the heart strings. It's true, we don't know what we've got until it's gone.

[@elizabeththatwas]

That is very true mate. Cheers for watching Andrew, much appreciated

[@matthunter4826]

As an American, I always loved Holdens. I remember so fondly when we got the GTO, G8, Caprice PPV, and SS. I feel really bad for the Aussies because after Holden shut down, the Commodore was continued as a rebadged Opel Insignia. And that was just a massive middle finger to Holden fans, including the people who worked at the Holden factory. Finally to add fuel to the fire, they called their jobs their lives. So sad!

[@elizabeththatwas]

Hello Matt. Thanks for sharing with us mate and for watching. G'day from Oz mate

[@cv8plumber18]

I really enjoyed the video. I miss our car industry ☹️

[@elizabeththatwas]

Glad you enjoyed it Cv8 - thanks for watching, much appreciated 🙏

[@retroman71]

As I was not a Holden man, mostly Ford. Seeing the end of Holden was a dark day for Australia's all round. This was an amazing watch to see the history of Holden rise up to be the King of Australian made cars, this video brought tears of happiness & sadness. Today I drive Japanese (Mazda), I wish & would love to see Australian made cars again & would buy if that day came, but sadly it won't. I wish everyone who worked at this this plant & everyone everywhere who helped build the Australian dream all the best.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Thank you for the lovely share retroman. Much appreciated

[@rickkeylock5649]

I started working there in 1975 as a toolmaker and retrenched in 1998. The training building is now a charity shop. I guess some people would call this progress. Not me.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Oh, I know. I drove past a couple of weeks ago and saw that for the first time. Would be unthinkable not that long ago. Still hard to believe. Cheers for watching and sharing with us Rick, much appreciated 🍷🙏

[@adamthreapleton9149]

did my fitting apprenticeship there. i was in the last intake at Woodville. Finished the last three years at Elizabeth. Very sad to see it gone.

[@billsmith7254]

Great video .It ended with a tear in my eye.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Thank you for the kind words Bill. Well, I won't lie, the video was made to hopefully make an emotional connection so, mission accomplished. Thank you for sharing with us, much appreciated 🙏🍷

[@marcpercat4519]

@@elizabeththatwas great video i could even see my house at the end off the roundabout and yes i had tears

[@This-crazy]

I worked for John’s Hydraulics Clayton Victoria we supplied the plastic injection moulding machines to Elizabeth biggest we built went to Elizabeth. Australia had a very proud manufacturing sector all gone. Great video but bloody sad.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Hey Chris - thank for sharing mate, much appreciated - love hearing people's stories and thoughts. Cheers for watching too 🙏🍷

[@adamthreapleton9149]

Did my apprenticeship in plastics working on the Johns machines, and others.

[@Martin-rj3ib]

Thanks Will, Awesome video. Very sad..God bless all of the workers that ever worked there. I hope they found new employment..Greed destroyed Elizabeth..At least I have a memory. A fantastic Holden built at the Elizabeth plant in 2014..Thanks to you all..

[@elizabeththatwas]

Elizabeth's not dead yet mate, she's just limping a little...lol. Many chapters still to be written. Cheers again for watching Martin, much appreciated.

[@martyk7914]

Great job putting that together. Better times when South Australia was making everything from cars, clothes lines, whitegoods and ships. RIP.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Thank you Marty. Yes, once was the lucky country. Cheers for watching mate, much appreciated 🙏🍷

[@wizzard5442]

Better times when all of Australia was making just about everything.

[@rod_at_adelaide5766]

Wow that was quite a journey you took us on Will, thank you very much mate! We don't really appreciate how cheap cars are today, working on the price of the FX Holden in 1948 and the average wage per year, it would be the equivalent of paying $160,000 today for a standard family sedan.

[@elizabeththatwas]

My pleasure Rod, I really enjoyed putting this together. Yes, it's amazing how easily accessible and affordable many things are to us today. A totally different world. Thanks for watching mate

[@greg_one_izm]

Only difference is the percentage of wages that go to rent and general cost of living is astronomically higher now than it was then! Which is why I'll keep building my caravan and pushing friends in my generation to leave permanent housing behind, permanently! Catch me and the rest of the GenZ zoomers stealth camping and dole bludging near your coastal holiday home investment soon :^D

[@rod_at_adelaide5766]

@@greg_one_izm You've probably got a point there Greg but home ownership is still the best way to create wealth for retirement. I don't think the dole has ever lead to wealth in any generation even mine as a boomer. Caravans do eventually break down and become worthless, caravan parks charge quite a lot of money these days and it's really hard to live off grid in your old age especially when you need a permanent address to receive medical care such as cancer and heart treatment. Each to their own though mate.

[@greg_one_izm]

@@rod_at_adelaide5766 Wealth and retirement? Chances of that are 0 for me mate. I'm just tryna enjoy the short amount of time I have here, there's no need to worry about old age or retiring when you plan on not living that long 👍 Funny enough my grandparents live mobile and one is undergoing chemo whilst simultaneously travelling australia... A permanent address isn't a barrier if you're determined to make it work

[@tripsadelica]

A lot of valid supposition about why Holden was killed off. Some of it valid, some not. What killed Holden was a combination of factors: -Joe Hockey and Tony Abbott colluding to remove the vital subsidy paid to keep Holden going. The subsidy was one of the smallest paid to any car maker in the western world. Compared to what the US and Germany give their car makers it was a pittance and it kept at least 100,000 people in work who paid taxes and, in turn, fuelled the economy at large. -All Holden (and Ford and Chrysler) decision making taking place in Detroit with very little credence given to local management. Hence the local makers could not keep up with local car buyer's tastes because they couldn't break out of Detroit's planning for them. -The main reason, the critical reason, was the GFC wherein GM decided to cut all right hand drive production. GM had its sights on China and now they make fantastic profits there. I wonder if they realise that they are powering an economy that may destroy the USA one day...they probably don't care as long as the profits keep rolling in. Don't let anyone tell you it was the unions. It wasn't...they were very reasonable with the manufacturers in the last decade of production. Neither was it the cost of material or design. German labour costs are higher, as are French and Italian costs. Japanese costs were higher than ours and Korean costs were on par. Our governments, both flavours, went all in for Globalisation. They did it because they were, and are, in the pockets of big business. Multinational corporations have made staggering profits charging the same prices for products made in China as when they were made in western nations. If you make a pair of socks in Australia for a dollar and sell them for ten imagine how good it is making them for twenty cents a pair and STILL selling them for ten once you move manufacturing to Shenzhen! Just pure greed! It has made China a monster...a communist/capitalist conglomeration which will, eventually, destroy the west. And we paid for it...our governments forcing us to do so. We allowed them to decimate the middle class so now we have the haves and the have nots. Vale dear Holden...your proud lion resting its paw on the rolling stone of progress is now dead...never to roar again and we are all of us, all Australians, the poorer for it.

[@elizabeththatwas]

A great share tripsadelica. Cheers mate, and thanks for watching. Much appreciated 🙏

[@antonyfrost2541]

@@elizabeththatwas yep you nailed it .

[@queentual]

Ummm……Holden failed because people stopped buying them and preferenced Asian made vehicles. End of story. Its the Australian public that is to blame. Not as you suggest.

[@philipmann9548]

Very well said. I think that also the buying public could have been more patriotic in their choice of cars. Still got my hj van. Makes me my kids and my dad happy. Well written sir.

[@christinehandley1746]

Another special one I have a friend who has many Holdens are from the 50s through to the 70s can't wait to show this to him

[@elizabeththatwas]

Awesome Christine. I hope he enjoys it 🙏🍷

[@dominicdonnellan-ss5sm]

I think we moved there late 1958, my dad had already been working at the Woodville plant, and was involved in Plant 1, as a general Foreman, the original "components Plant, Back when they made just about everything, from Mufflers, door locks, oil filters etc etc , My older Brother did his F & T apprenticeship their, i work for awhile in the Lock Section, my younger sister worked in Trim Fab for awhile.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Very cool Dominic. So many stories of multi-generations of families working at GMH Elizabeth. Mostly happy ones, too. Thank you for sharing with us, mate :-)

[@stevetallarida7037]

Another great video mate 👍

[@elizabeththatwas]

Thank you Steve, much appreciated mate

[@airdbreck]

Great video just shared to Holden Ex Employees Facebook site

[@elizabeththatwas]

Cheers buddy, that's very kind of you. Much appreciated

[@bradjarrett4756]

Awesome to watch.....thank you.....I wish we never lost our ability to make great cars.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Thanks Brad, appreciate the kind words. I wish the same mate

[@jeremym9994]

Great video, sad watching it all close down. The VF Commodore was a fantastic car and advanced for its time.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Glad you enjoyed it Jeremy, thanks for watching and for the kind words. Much appreciated mate 🙏🍷

[@MrMofo01]

Thank you, i was an employee for 10 yrs..........

[@elizabeththatwas]

My pleasure Jason - thank you for watching :-)

[@andrewmorgan4306]

Great vid but it brought a tear to my eye though.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Bittersweet I'm sure..I wanted to bring the human element to it. Cheers for watching mate

[@davidrobertson376]

While watching the opening I was thinking The Queen is most likely one of only a few left alive after all this time. Thank you for putting this together.

[@elizabeththatwas]

My pleasure David. I have had messages from a fair few who were little children at this time. But yes, not too many left now. All the more important to document. Cheers for watching mate, much appreciated 🙏🍷

[@MarkWhich]

Nope the queen is no longer alive either.

[@scotty11782]

Thank You

[@elizabeththatwas]

My pleasure mate. Glad you enjoyed it, cheers for watching much appreciated

[@Krustyclown5791]

Holden should be brought back. Its in our national interest. another reason for higher priced cars .

[@dunxbee2967]

Pretty emotional rollercoaster ride.. Thanks for that one mate.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Actually, when I made this I thought it might get a thousand views or so, which is about average for this channel - but it's by far the most viewed. It has clearly struck a chord with others too. Cheers for watching

[@geoffmower8729]

As much as I hated the place while I was working there it brought a tear to my eye seeing it close down.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Yes, GMH wasn't for everyone, that's for sure. One of the shames about Elizabeth, it's lack of work opportunities. Which has always been the case. Always earmarked for industry, there was always going to be many people who would struggle to carve out a happy life for themselves there. Myself included, which is why I think it was always inevitable that I would have to leave eventually. She's the land of my birth however, and I have great affection for her, and I'm soon to return. Things go full circle I suppose. Cheers for watching yet again Geoff, much appreciated 🙏

[@davidbarnsley8486]

Fantastic video and what history all gone now 😢😢

[@elizabeththatwas]

Thank you for the kind words David. To my pleasant surprise this vid has really taken off - around 9,000 views in the last 5 days or so. I wasn't expecting that as I originally published this in March. It's much appreciated, so thank you again - for watching and for the kind words 🙏🍷

[@philzolth4710]

Great video and I owned a yellow HZ kingswood when I worked there same as the one in the video still here

[@elizabeththatwas]

That's very cool Phil 👌

[@samjohns5622]

VZ kingswood? No such thing. Theres a vz commodore though..

[@jono8809]

The only car brand I still buy to this day 🇦🇺

[@noelgibson5956]

13:42..... I've never, ever seen that WB image. It's a wonder it's not far better known. The final Kingswood based vehicles ever to be built would have been a big deal to most Holden enthusiasts and historians alike. Thanks for sharing 😃👍

[@elizabeththatwas]

My pleasure Noel. Thank you for watching mate, much appreciated.

[@noelgibson5956]

@@elizabeththatwas Cheers 😃

[@denisiwaszczuk1176]

That was Bloody brillant

[@elizabeththatwas]

Thanks mate. Much appreciated. Thank you for watching

[@theaustralianconundrum]

Well you wasted 19:45 minutes and seconds of my time showing old footage of what was always going to happen to Australia before the western world was smoked by the asian regions of manufacturing. How DUMB could people be? I recall that Datsun and Toyota were considered pieces of Jap crap back then when we made locally made even WORSE quality junk at a far higher price. Ask Paul Keating what he thought of Australian manufacturing of "anything"! He is the man that caused the rot to set in. @@elizabeththatwas

[@maxbrouggy3126]

Worked there from 1987 till 1993, some great ( and some not so great) memories of then.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Myself also mate. I was there in 1990, again from 1992-93. Many bitter/sweet memories, but met many good people and learnt some great lessons. Wouldn't change a thing. Cheers for watching Champ, much appreciated 🙏

[@chadpatten]

What a great video! Thank you from a proud Holden owner in America. Is the music information available?

[@elizabeththatwas]

Hey Chad. My pleasure mate. And thank you for the kind words. The final track is called "It'll Be Alright" by Cody Francis (easily found on Spotify). I have the other info at home. I'll look it up and post back to you. Cheers for watching mate

[@gavincrispin1436]

i have an vz sv6 and a vy ezecutive both spoilt of course,thanks to all the people who worked there heroes one and all.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Nice one mate. Cheers for watching, much appreciated

[@airdbreck]

The Holden Social Club Christmas Party was another huge event once a year and everything was free rides, drinks and ice cream

[@elizabeththatwas]

Yes. Did you catch the Super 8 vid I posted a few weeks back from 1977? It featured some very cool footage of that years Christmas Party

[@airdbreck]

@@elizabeththatwas Yes I watched it late 80s onwards were the best I was involved with the organising

[@johnconning2995]

Met 1st wife at the adult 3:08 Christmas party

[@jimfashik]

Wow's very much enjoyed but very sad to see Holden gone the best Holden made VK VL

[@elizabeththatwas]

Thank you for watching Jihad - glad you enjoyed it mate

[@jimfashik]

@@elizabeththatwas mate I can't believe they close down I grew up for these cars from the early 80s right up to my high school years in the early 90s that's why I got 6 Commodores tucked away😀😀😀😀🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@cj8172]

It's a tad sad to see this being that I'm a car nut from way back. I've owned well over 70-something cars over the years here in New Zealand and many were Holdens, like the HD, HQ, HQ Ute, Statesman V8, VN Calais V8, Vx Commodore station wagon, all great cars. Good video.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Over 70 - man, that's a lot. How many at the one time Cj? Cheers for watching mate, much appreciated

[@cj8172]

@@elizabeththatwas Yip 70 +, first car when I got my licence was a old Ford Prefect, then Holdens, Falcons and Valiants and everything in between. I'm 49 now and have 4 vehicle at the moment. Two are still GM, ones a 95 OBS Chevy truck and a 66 Chevy Bel Air 454. Cool vids you've done I'm going to check more of them out.

[@joanneburford6364]

So sad, this makes me cry.

[@ozzylambo8793]

Mad drop. Rip Holden’s. Never selling mine.

[@vincentthao3497]

Prior to Elizabeth plant being open, Holden cars were manufactured at Woodville

[@elizabeththatwas]

Yes, that's right. I'll post a vid on the Woodville site before long. Cheers again for watching Vincent - much appreciated

[@beagle7622]

The Melbourne plant built cars before Dandenong took over in 1956 . I remember one of the Superintendents at Dandenong began working for GMH there, he was quite a story teller with his tails of working there.

[@Stipiggy]

I'm a Kiwi, and I refurbish the Big W at Elizabeth and drove past the Holden plant every day, this was a sad video, to see how great Australian manufacturing was and now we have mining and building houses. Sad.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Yes, and yet we have a housing crises...go figure. Too many successive selfish "leaders" have really driven us into a ditch. Life has its cycles though - nothing lasts forever. The good times come and go, but so do the hard. It is very strange to drive past the old Holden site today though, that's for sure. Cheers for watching Philip, and for sharing with us - much appreciated mate 🙏🍷

[@bradroesler7072]

My family owns a 2001 VX Executive, 2004 VZ SV6, and a 2017 VF SSV Redline, THE LAST AUSSIE HOLDEN'S!!! Our VF only has 780km on it and we bought it in August 17'.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Sweet. That VF would be worth a bit I'd say. Holden PROUD. Good on you mate. Thanks for watching and cheers for sharing with us 🙏🍷

[@outdoorsrob3023]

So sad that it all ended. I was there 2003-2013

[@elizabeththatwas]

10 years is a good stint mate - hope they were happy years for you. Cheers for watching, much appreciated 🙏

[@marty3469]

Same, I started in May 2003, plant 4 fab assembly dash line, great times, great people. Was moved to general assembly in 2005 driving towmotors till I pulled a package in 2009... The writing was on the wall with bailouts and days off etc that the company was stressing. I heard rumours back then that GMC wanted Holden gone by 2011, if not for the govt it may have happened.. that aside, the memories and times were golden as were the people I chatted to while delivering stock to the lines . 👍

[@elizabeththatwas]

@@marty3469 great share Marty. Cheers mate. It's still surreal driving past the old girl today and seeing her so quiet. There's even an Op Shop operating out of one of the buildings now. Unbelievable.

[@marty3469]

@@elizabeththatwas yeah very strange, it's like another planet now. I used to live a few kms from the plant and if I was quick I would be home before the siren( never left work on time, usually earlier) , which I could hear at home as well as those Speed Doors lol . At least I seen the 7millionth car and Kevin Rudd ramble on about the future which obviously didn't happen . I was lucky to get a job there, failed the main test, but only cause my resume said 'Welder' , that got me into fab assembly !!

[@samh9914]

It's an absolute shame so many people worked there over its time, at my work we have 3 ex Holden employees 1 of which worked there for 26 years, they were excellent quality vehicles near the end and it's a shame that it was all canned because of cost, my 2 cents is that GM could have done alot more across all areas to keep it going for longer but simply didn't

[@elizabeththatwas]

What motivated GM to move into Australian territories like Elizabeth was cheap labour and low production costs, along with Tariffs of course - which Australia, along with the Playford Govt. and South Australian Housing Trust happily provided when they moved here. . GMH's loyalty was never to local markets or economies like Elizabeth. It's unfortunate that Playford and the SAHT put so much of Elizabeth's economic future in Holden, and manufacturing in general, without including other industries. It was shortsighted, though their passion and commitment to trying to make Elizabeth both an economic success, as well as a beautiful place to live can't be argued when you really study their efforts and initial enthusiasm. But their initial plans were made at a time when the world was rapidly changing, almost as soon as the first stages of building Elizabeth was completed, between 55 and 70, those plans were already starting to show their age. Elizabeth's history is quite unique and complex, and I hope one day it will be righty recognised for how it really captures the hopes and dreams, as well as the disappointments of a whole generation of people looking for something better following the horrors and economic upheavals of a post WW2 world, not just in SA, but in this country in general. It really is a microcosm of something much bigger, imo. Cheers for watching Sam, and sharing your thoughts. Much appreciated 🙏

[@seanosuillebhean7495]

Lima agreement

[@elizabeththatwas]

@@seanosuillebhean7495 Yes, that too :-(

[@Willow_508_]

That was lovely but so sad to watch..It didn't take them long to build,from a dirt field. All those workers,I still find it hard to think that it's not there anymore. What are they doing now with Holden's Will? Is anyone there still ? Thankyou for all your hard work. ❤️

[@elizabeththatwas]

My pleasure. There are actually security guards who still work onsite, including the fella at the end taking down the flag...which is pretty amazing to think of how different patrolling that area today must be. My understanding is the buildings are leased out to various different businesses. To what extent and which businesses I'm not sure of. Would make a pretty interesting video though, now that I think of it. Cheers for watching, much appreciated

[@stevetallarida7037]

Hey mate I'm the security guard that took down the flag. I'm still there (security manager now) with most of the old security team. All ex Holden workers make up the lionsgate management team (great lads) we have about 13 tenancies on site now and always growing. I have worked there since 2012 and I was also sad to see the demise of holdens but I'm also glad to know the site hasn't gone to waste.

[@elizabeththatwas]

@@stevetallarida7037 brilliant Steve. Thanks for that info, much appreciated mate 👍

[@Willow_508_]

@@stevetallarida7037 thankyou Steve for that info 💜

[@johnconning2995]

The herdy gerdy was the line that bench seats and recliner seats used to go on shorty was the old fella who used to put springs on seat's the start of it's journey

[@ConMichaliadisCPAAdelaide]

Dad went from Woodville to Elizabeth plant spent about 25 years there got a gold watch on retirement deceased 2012 😢

[@elizabeththatwas]

Thanks for sharing mate. Sorry to hear about your Dad. Hope his years at Holden's were happy ones

[@johnpaultheresaattard2916]

Great memories very sad

[@elizabeththatwas]

A great loss to many towns, not just Elizabeth. Cheers for watching John, much appreciated

[@BCBtrucks64]

i dont like to think about it but i couldnt help but watch as i'm stuck in the past with a memory that doesn't quit , currently restoring a 1969 HT 307 GTS Monaro (80837) just like the body in the video but mine is a sydney car , if paul keating had never put australia on the stock exchange we wouldnt be relying on imports right now

[@elizabeththatwas]

It's okay to visit our memories mate. We can do that without living there, don't worry. Thanks for watching and sharing with us, it's much appreciated. 🙏

[@nauseous3925]

I wasn't ready for this. 🥲

[@elizabeththatwas]

Sorry mate 🙁

[@Darren...son4634]

I was there for a few year's

[@dundee1000]

Just an fyi... The first Holden was a 48-215, Never actually called an FX...

[@elizabeththatwas]

Hey MickyD, you are correct. At the time the 48-215 went on sale it was not referred to as the FX. However The FX moniker was applied later, to differentiate it from the FJ and FE models - I labelled it as the FX for the same reasons - though perhaps I shouldn't have. Hope you enjoyed the video regardless. Thanks for watching mate, much appreciated

[@andrewdawe8667]

We went there when my stepfather was transferred from Woodville to Elizabeth. He was in management and was with Holdens for 36 years. He would have laughed at you if you had said there would be day Holdens would be gone. My brother did his apprenticeship their in the late 60's. Despite what has been said Elizabeth was a great place in those days. Go the Dogs!

[@elizabeththatwas]

It sure was. I think the amalgamation of Munno Para with Elizabeth to form Playford has proven too vast an area to care for properly by just one council. There has been a clear decline in the Elizabeth areas since that happened. I know what you mean regards Holden - it still feels very strange to have it gone - such a huge part of not only the local economy but also Elizabeth's identity. Very big shoes to fill indeed. Thanks for watching and dropping a line mate, much appreciated 🙏

[@DrFelonious]

I'm sceptical. That yellow Kingswood had all it's wheels!

[@rodneymichelle]

If only they kept the Tariffs on car importation we would still have a car manufacturing sector. But it’s ok Labour is here to save the day

[@wizzard5442]

Paul Keating's and Productivity Commission's policies. Maybe they should have decreased tariffs somewhat but not down to 5%. Irony is, imported cars now have a monopoly, no local cars to compete with, they can charge an arm and leg. Noticed that lately? New car prices been going up quicker than they used to and by the 1000's not the 100's like before.

[@SunRise-ul7ko]

I bought my brand new VF Commodore in 2016. I live in Sydney. I always wondered how they transport the car from Adelaide to Sydney. Do they use Rail, truck or Ship. Also I still own my first car after leaving Highschool, A 1977 SS Torana I bought in 1980. I also own my father's 1976 253 V8 HJ from brand new & my mother's 1983 Gemini.

[@elizabeththatwas]

That's very cool Sun Rise. I believe most cars were transported by rail - but don't quote me on that. Rail would have been easy as the Elizabeth factory had it's own rail network. Cheers for watching and sharing with us mate, much appreciated 🙏

[@Landcruisermann]

Great timeline video. Such a shame to see the plant the way it is now. The last Commodore, the VF, I think was one of the best cars produced👍 GM were a pack of thieving arseholes and I struggle to understand how they got away with taking Australian Taxpayers money given to support them, back to the US😡 I certainly don’t wish them the best!

[@elizabeththatwas]

Cheers for the kind words Willo's - glad you enjoyed it. I think many would share your GM sentiments. Cheers for watching mate, much appreciated 🙏🍷

[@GBCobber]

But could you go out with anymore style? I agree, the VF is simply stunning, and a very good car. I still just want one.

[@michaelandmariedownes6070]

Well landcruiser man, you got your wish they are gone and all the workers now on welfare 😢

[@johnconning2995]

Started working there when hq had just finished production worked making seat's called it the herdy gerdy shorty putting Springs at the beginning I was 16

[@elizabeththatwas]

Very cool John. Never heard the herdy gerty shorty reference before. Thank you for sharing with us, mate. And for watching. Much appreciated.

[@Rob-fc9wg]

The first prototype 48 - 215 was not built by Holden. It was designed and built by GM in Detroit before being shipped to Australia for evaluation and testing.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Thank you for sharing that Rob. I did not know that 🙏

[@Rob-fc9wg]

@@elizabeththatwas cheers bloke.

[@alanhamer5002]

I had a fb an eh and a Holden premier great cars

[@elizabeththatwas]

They sure were/are mate. Cheers for watching, and for sharing with us Alan - much appreciated 🙏🍷

[@lesklower7281]

In1969 l did a tour of the Elizabeth plant

[@elizabeththatwas]

That's very cool Les. Was it a private tour, or did GMH do tours for the public back then?

[@lesklower7281]

@@elizabeththatwas l played rugby union in my youth and our team went to Elizabeth to play a couple of games with a local rugby union team and one of the activities we did was a guided tour of the Elizabeth GMH plant it was interesting and most of the people in Elizabeth worked at the plant

[@samueljesse2179]

The first Holden factory was in Currie St Adelaide CBD not Fishermen's bend in Victoria, that's a common error!.

[@EVISEH]

The Holden factory in Adelaide was owned and operated by Holden's Motor Body Builders Ltd. This company was not part of GENERAL MOTORS at this time.Fishermans Bend as is correctly quoted was in fact General Motors Holden's first factory. Holden's Motor Body Builders Ltd constructed motor bodies for all manufactures.

[@blastermaster2383]

The Holden factory should never of closed down.Australian companies should of bought it from GMC AMERICA & made it an all Australian company building Australian cars.I’m a Ford fan but it’s a shame that Holden finished here.

[@elizabeththatwas]

It sure is a shame mate. Cheers for watching, much appreciated

[@joshuaross4644]

Thank you for this awesome video GM will never be the same especially now that SAIC motors in China own a good percentage of them. That’s another reason HOLDEN died

[@elizabeththatwas]

My pleasure Joshua - thank you for watching, and for the info - I didn't know a large percentage of GM was now owned by China.

[@joshuaross4644]

@@elizabeththatwas Yep. Since the GFC in 2008

[@andrewg2618]

@@joshuaross4644 China doesn't own any of GM. There are joint ventures between SAIC motor and GM only for the Chinese market.

[@franklococo8288]

❤😢

[@peterausfranken]

The probleme for Holden and also Ford was right hand drive. Not many countries in the world have this. Over 80% are left hand drive. In the old days Holden bulit also left hand drive cars and sold these in the middle east. The last models wern't planed as left hand drive cars. This with lower sales in Australia made in hard for Holden zu stay.

[@AridersLifeYT]

That’s not really an issue if it’s designed to be able to be converted easy. GM USA destroyed Holden from mid 2005 onwards when they wanted to keep the name but send Australia the cars. 50%’of all profits were sent back to GM USA and they kept declining all our new build plans. Then complained to our government that’s aussies don’t know what we want etc. we wanted hot hatches, sedans, suvs and utes. Give us a v8 version and a economy engine version

[@antonyfrost2541]

It's like watching a dear friends funeral.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Oh man, that's bleak. I wanted to stir some heart strings I won't lie. Hope you enjoyed it none the less Antony. Cheers for watching mate

[@antonyfrost2541]

@@elizabeththatwas didn't mean in a bad way , lots of good memories bit still very sad to say Goodbye to something the residents of SA were extremely proud of . Thanks again for your time and effort.

[@billmago7991]

Good vid, although sad...I've had many Holdens over the years,HJ was my first car $800 ..... VNs rule

[@elizabeththatwas]

Cheers for watching Bill, glad you enjoyed it mate

[@Rob-fc9wg]

09:35. Left-hand drive HDs.

[@karengayehammat4199]

wonder what year the first woman was employed outside the office

[@elizabeththatwas]

Would be good to know

[@Grumpy-sy7wr]

Before 1982, as they were out on the assembly line and in the paint shop when I worked there then. How long before '82, I don't know.

[@bigdope3913]

The Cruze was the biggest lemon ever produced in Australia, closely followed by the series 1 VE

[@Darren...son4634]

I started on the vn days

[@Fairybread68]

I still don't understand why the Lib government let this go. We need this more than ever now but all the collective knowledge is lost. I feel privileged to still own one and will be driving her until spare parts run out 🚙

[@darrylcampbell4411]

Some commentary would have been good...

[@grantlucas6678]

It was announced by an American GMH was closings down how bizarre

[@elizabeththatwas]

Yeah, that does seem rather tactless doesn't it? Suggests how out of touch they were with their workforce by this point. Thanks for watching Grant, much appreciated 🙏

[@Darren...son4634]

Adelaide hasn't recovered from this

[@bill9845]

i grew up not far from the factory, had friends whose parents worked there, then my mates got jobs there too. an uncle that worked 30 plus years in the hallowed grounds , Saddest day for all there the day the gates shut and the corporate padlock was chucked on never to have another holden ever roll off the line , end of an era is an understatement The saddest part is the workers, its not like Elizabeth and surrounding suburbs is full of people that have $100 bills falling from their pockets, a lot live in struggle town and were glad to have a job there and were proud of what they did Ripped off by that joe hockey fella,globalisation greed and GM then claiming the right hand drive market wasnt worth the money, but it was ok to take our right hand drive cars and sell them to places like Saudi Arabia they took over $2b over the years and then to claim it was all in the scale of things, meaning we werent a big enough market, well if the tossers that made the decisions gave the ok for decent cars to be made here and not some hodge podge of cars from around the globe then theres the pontiac g8 debacle, soon as they set up to export them, gm shut pontiac down..pretty much no g8 sedans or utes got exported i think just a couple of ones for promotion so then came th chevy ss, suppose to export 15000 per year but the lack of advertising meant no one really knew about them til the wrecking nall went through the Elizabeth factory politicians hang your head in shame , you caused the demise of the whole car industry, getting rid of tarrifs and that means money in to the budget so now we have a truck load of absolute shit cars to choose from that werent designed for our conditions plus a few brands like mazda and toyota and of course chevrolet which seem to manage to get tirned into right hand drive...funny that.....

[@elizabeththatwas]

Hey Bill. Thanks for the share mate. I enjoy reading everyone's thoughts and feelings. It's a great shame to be sure. Thanks for watching mate, much appreciated 🙏

[@servantofgod5642]

Hey Bill, Australias vehicle building industry was doomed long before the Elizabeth plant was built. All governments are controlled by prostitutes in suits and they are so easily beguiled by the global pimps that control them that none represent you or any of the mindless voters too blind to recognise they vote for the same 2 corrupt harlots every election. The Hawke/Keating govt were given the order: destroy your manufacturing industry. Hawke had to destroy the power of the unions first which he did brilliantly. Then went the tarrifs which meant the end of everything. And if there is anything more stupid than a highly educated person , that is the mainstream educated person so easily engineered to belive whatever he reads, hears, or sees on mainstream media that long ago was created not to inform but misinform, be the stenographers of the ruling elites. Everything is going almost perfect to plan, it is hard to believe voters so stupid actually deserve to vote but the mindless carefully engineered to ensure his life revolves around sport and entertainment is breeding dumb to dumber and leaving nothing to do but pay the caninals to eat them last.

[@peterlaustra2892]

Isn't time to get a consortium to restart a car industry in this country again?

[@kevinfield6614]

both parents worked there 60s............i was born Elizabeth............65

[@elizabeththatwas]

Awesome Kevin. A huge part of Elizabeth's story, and for many years a huge part of its character that still reverberates today. Cheers for watching mate, and for sharing with us. Much appreciated 🙏🍷

[@kevinfield6614]

@@elizabeththatwas thanks for the effort to post this.......much appricated all involved

[@elizabeththatwas]

@@kevinfield6614 my pleasure mate

[@brianlove8413]

Yep, anyone that purchases a GM product from 2018 on should be ashamed, same goes for Ford! 2017 on!

[@Rob-fc9wg]

Toyota as well.

[@davidmilledge221]

Great show 👏 but if Holden's made cars like 4wd duel cab utes and suv,s that the people demand if u don't make they will buy elsewhere and thank GOD 4 Toyota

[@elizabeththatwas]

Yes, you have to listen to your customers and give them what THEY want, if you wish to keep them. And innovate too as times change - something it appears the GM management failed to do, at least fast enough to make a difference to their outcome...and ours. Cheers for watching David - much appreciated 🙏🍷

[@bill9845]

gm management didnt give a rats ass about Holdens, they took any money from our government and fed it into their northern hemisphere operations, we are just a little fish in a big pond...and you know what happens to little fish....the big fish eat them

[@BlairSauer]

Many things contributed to the demise of our car industry. The way I see it is and this is my interpretation of it. Removal of government protections (import tariffs) to create a so-called level playing field from what I understand import tariffs were at 30% and the industry for so many years had thrived under. One possible factor could be that cost of labour may have been high and also the cost of manufacturing. And in my opinion Governments didn't do nowhere near enough to save the industry. The so called level playing field policy eventually led to the industry being uncompetitive as far as the cost of the product compared to products manufactured overseas and also export markets for Australian built cars drying up due to those countries putting up their tariffs to protect their industry. Interesting to know other people's opinions on this topic. I will end with the remark shame on general motors corporation in America for what they did to the Holden brand in February of 2020 by suddenly announcing they would kill off the brand, without consulting Holden and it's dealer's. Adding insult to injury, it was sudden and unexpected and at a time when the pandemic being COVID was in its infancy. Pretty much GM corporation abandoned Holden saying the right hand drive market wasn't worth it which is pretty much bullshit and a cop out at that. An easy out as far as I'm concerned and should've stayed the course or sold the brand instead in order to give some hope. #shamegeneralmotors.

[@elizabeththatwas]

I feel your pain Blair. I think many factors come into it, many of which you have articulated very well here. Cheers for watching mate, much appreciated 🙏🍷

[@noelgibson5956]

Given that our population increases by about a million every three years, we won't be a small market forever. Holden, Ford, Toyota and Mitsubishi all followed a similar business model........locally build the large sedans the market was abandoning, and import the twincab utes and SUV's the people now wanted. Why they weren't making those here escapes me. There may have been a valid reason......I wouldn't know. Another angle to it was unions making our workforce too expensive. High wages and low tarriffs just drives factories offshore. There were people high up who should have got that.

[@amraceway]

@@noelgibson5956 GM shut down the Thailand plant at the same time so the union/ high wage argument doesn't hold any water. A weak conservative government let GM call the shots.

[@Lobo-ih3bh]

@@noelgibson5956 what should the wages for GMH workers have been?

[@stephensmith1794]

Bogans going to Bathurst waving Holden flags yet never bought a Holden in their lives. I’ve had all Holden’s, 3 new and 3 statesman’s, a variety of Toranas and Kingswood my first new car

[@mrmasters75]

We ALL GOT SCREWED FOLKS

[@chrisrumble2665]

First caption wrong. No such thing as an FX.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Actually there was mate. This is just one of many articles and references I found on it before making the video www.whichcar.com.au/features/holden-fx-fj-holden-70th-anniversary

[@chrisrumble2665]

@@elizabeththatwas Actually in that article it confirms that Holden never called it the FX. It was called the 48-215.

[@elizabeththatwas]

@@chrisrumble2665 fair enough - though it was rereferred to as the fx later, to differentiate it from the FJ and FE models. So I went with that for the same reasons. But yes, you are correct in the literal sense at the time no-one referred to it as an fx. Hope it didn't ruin the vid for you

[@chrisstaff5870]

Bloody Sad

[@tomcroydonfrommtthomas4719]

I blame the government for the demise of Holden and Ford. Allowing Korean and Thai built cars to take over

[@peterlaustra2892]

Yes you can certainly blame Tony Abbott and Joe Hocking in particular...

[@thegreata.m4590]

Great video. So sad. This is what "free trade" got us. We surrendered our car manufacturing to slave labour nations & got nothing in return except for their crappy cars.

[@elizabeththatwas]

Thank for for watching, and for the kind words mate. Much appreciated

[@karengayehammat4199]

🤦Same with consumables and pharmacology , does my head in too .

[@servantofgod5642]

As much as we morne our lost forever livelihoods, Australia was one of the fortunate nations whose governments knew to obey the criminal, ruling global elites orders to close down manufacturing industries, deracinate the population to prepare it for one global government. We could easily have suffered as defiant Yugoslavia did, refusing to give away its sovereignty to the New World Order and was punished by Nato and the USA by being bombed to the ground. Next time you feel sorry for yourself, remember Yugoslavia is no longer, and is contaminated forever with American chemical weapons and depleted uranium.

[@MarkHenstridge]

Thanks Joe Hockey, the worst federal treasurer ever!!!

[@rjl110919581]

sad video of dead holden in Australia as stop building cars in Australia buy every from another part of the world today and further no more jobs in Australia here as know send all money to keep the operation in Australia jobs send to USA company help out there problem in the USA as one time was 24 million jobs in Australia where build cars and truck here

[@chuckmaddison2924]

If people stopped buying European to impress the neighbours and pretending to be sophisticated we would still have HOLDEN At least one thing, We can change like a wounded bull to fix their Euro crap.

[@lockyraglus3358]

Thumbs down due to me being a Toyota man

[@elizabeththatwas]

Ha. That's fair enough. Cheers for watching all the same. I do have an "Adelaide That Was" playlist on this channel, maybe I'll do a Toyota vid at some point. 🙏🍷

[@stephensmith1794]

My 72 Statesmen was built at Pagewood. Area is demolished and Jewish high rise for Chinese have sprouted up everywhere

[@h4tchetman]

Breaks my heart

[@MrZillaman73]

INTENATIONALglobalistCLIQUEbanksterSWEJdestroyingSOVERIGNnationsWORLDWIDE