Holden Retirees Club

Products Other than Motor Cars.

By Neil Pogson

A number of times in the 100 year history of Holden branded companies, there have been periods where the flow of orders was insufficient to keep the employees fully occupied in work.

This problem extends right back to the Holden and Frost days in 1887, when the call up for leatherwork and saddlery was slow, and the company in some difficulties.  The solution came when J. A. Holden’s cousin, Edwin Smith, the Mayor of Adelaide at the time, successfully campaigned to extend the city’s horse tramways.  This generated growing demand for Holden and Frost harnesses and vehicles, so they were back in business thanks to the extensions to the Adelaide Tramways network.

Post war times were also difficult, with a sudden influx of people needing work as they returned from the battlefields.  This was particularly evident after the Second World War, where GMH had many staff volunteer for the Services, who had to be replaced to work on the war supplies.  At War’s end, they had a cessation of the large war time orders, creating an excess on men who had been working on those orders, plus several thousand ex-employees returning from overseas with expectations of returning to work at GMH. A number were able to be employed on the emerging plans for the New Australian Car venture, but some were forced to look elsewhere.

Occasionally there were periods where shortages of material forced a stoppage to the normal work flow, so the idle hands had to be put to some use.

The Great Depression forced GMH to close down most of their plants in 1931, so with all Car Divisions plants at a standstill (excepting Melbourne) and the Body Division (Woodville) using but 5 per cent of its capacity, both establishments looked about for means, however, unpretentious, which would assist in keeping the wheels turning and permit their skeletal organisations to remain.

Holden’s applied their two large modern Wood Mills to the manufacture of millions of shucks for fruit cases manufacture, which also created work at the Adelaide wharves for 30 men unloading timber! For their Press Shop they undertook the manufacture of steel filing cabinets, to the order of a leading office equipment firm.

But the range of projects still surprises. Major components and subassemblies for loud speakers, Stainless Steel Golf clubs, tennis racquet presses, etc. Later, universal joints, clutch components and assemblies, heat treated bumper bars and numerous small pressed parts were manufactured. 

Myers ordered a large number of Kitchen cabinets, and Caravans and Trailers were offered for sale, plus Pedal cars, Scooters and Wheelbarrows. "Holdex" Filing cabinets and Posture Chairs were also a popular item.

This page aims to collect the stories together as a tribute to the resourcefulness of the Designers, Engineers, Tradesmen and employees of Holden’s branded companies.

[Note:  This does not cover the War materials related projects; they are covered extensively on The War Files page.]

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