Holden Retirees Club

Mosman Park (Perth).

1926 - 1971

General Motors (Australia) at Mosman Park opened on 13th November 1926 by GM(A) Dealer Representative F.D. Sewell, and assembled vehicles for Western Australia. At this time all plants assembled vehicles from component packs imported from overseas. The plant site was small and in a predominantly residential area.

The factory stood on the corner of Victoria Street and Buckland Avenue, off the Perth - Fremantle Road. The building was two story, with a frontage of 170 ft and was located 9 miles from Fremantle wharves, 21 miles from Perth GPO and near to rail links between both locations. Total floor area was 44,622 square feet of which 9,990 square feet were devoted to warehousing and 34, 632 square feet to assembly. The Architects were Messrs A.E. and A.B. Cox of Perth, and builders Messrs A.T. Brine and Sons, also from Perth.

The land had belonged to a dairy farmer, Joe Sands, with paddocks, fencing, sheds and its own windmill. The site was purchased on 1st June, 1926, the contract let on 18th June, and ground was broken on 21st June, 1926.  The Plant had a capacity of 20 cars per day with 75 employees.

On 13th January 1930, Mr. E. W. Holden of Holden's Motor Body Builders Ltd. who passed through Fremantle on the mail steamer Orama, announced that it was the intention of the company to establish  a depot in Perth. Mr. Holden said that the decision to conduct operations locally had just been agreed to, and he had given instructions to the firm's local representative to purchase a building site on which constructional work would be commenced very shortly. It was hoped that a start of operations would be possible in about six months' time. The plant would be an assembly depot, the object being to fit Holden bodies to chassis, to give a service locally to those bodies, and to carry out repair work.

In  February 1931, it became a GM-Holden's plant with the merger between GM(A) and Holden's Motor Body Builders, and mainly assembled cars from Woodville bodies and parts that arrived by train from Victoria to be unloaded at Cottesloe or later, at Leighton railway sidings. Along with most other Plants, it was closed down in mid 1932 due to the depressed state of the market. On 16th August, 1932, there was a sale of Office Furniture and equipment, Plant and Machinery advertised. GMAC moved their West Australian head office to the Plant on 12th October, 1932.

Preparations to re-open the Plant commenced after sales became more buoyant. On 21st February, 1935, L.J. Harnett announced that preliminary work in connection with the resumption of manufacturing was already in hand, and it was expected that from 60 to 70 men would be employed within the next few weeks. 

The official re-opening of the General Motors-Holdens plant at Buckland Hill was performed on Wednesday morning 27th March 1935 by the Minister for Employment (Mr. J. J. Kenneally).The zone manager for General Motors Holdens Ltd. (Mr. H. E. Searle) said that, because of the rush of business being experienced in the Eastern States, it would be impossible for any of the directors to attend. He expected, however, a representative gathering of business people of Perth.

After Mr. Kenneally had declared the plant open, the machinery was set in motion.

The Perth Sunday Times reported: "The reopening of the assembly plant at Buckland Hill of General Motors-Holden's Ltd. has meant the immediate full-time employment of 80 Western Australian workmen, a number which the company hopes will be increased to 250 when the plant is in full production. No wonder the Minister for Works and Employment (Mr.J. J. Kenneally) expressed his pleasure in performing the official ceremony."

During WWII, Mosman Park was involved in the production of boats and aeroplanes for the national war effort. Pontoons were produced in great numbers.

In May, 1946, Mr. F. W. James, formerly plant superintendent of the Mosman Park Plant was transferred to a similar position in the company's Adelaide branch and left by air on Wednesday 29th May to take up his new appointment. Mr. J. Alterator, of the company's Melbourne office, assumed the duties of Plant superintendent.

From 1948, Adelaide supplied bodies that were semi-finished and then finally assembled at Mosman Park. The bodies were sent by train to WA, with the bodies mainly complete from the firewall back but with no mechanicals fitted. In Perth, the front end Y-frame, engine, gearbox and front painted panels etc were fitted. Unusually, these cars have Perth chassis numbers and Perth VIN plates but Adelaide body plates.

On 15th December, 1948, the Australian - built Holden car was seen for the first time in WA at a preview that afternoon.  About 700 guests were invited to inspect it at Claremont showgrounds. The special preview started at 5 p.m.and continued to 7 p.m. The first public showing of the Holden was on Friday at the showrooms of GMH Distributor, Sydney Atkinson Motors Ltd., Perth.

On 15th June, 1950, the 1,000th Holden to be delivered in the State since the first model was received in February, 1949, was handed over to Mr. H. Elliott, a Perth business-man, who lodged his order in October, 1948.

Although deliveries had been hampered considerably in the past by labour and material shortages, the accumulation of orders was being reduced and it iwas expected that 2,000 Holdens will be on the road there by the end of 1950.

During April 1950, the output of the Holden plant was 1,721 cars in 17 working days, compared with 1,601 in 20 working days for February, and 1,571 during March. February was the first month in which the target rate of production was reached.

General Motors-Holden's Ltd. announced on 4th August, 1954 that it would extend its existing plant in Western Australia as part of its £7,250,000 all-State expansion programme. The programme, which would begin immediately, was expected to be completed within 13 months to two years. G.M.H. would build new factories in New South Wales and South Australia and extend existing plants in Victoria, N.S.W., S.A. and Queensland, as well as a £78,000 project at its Mosman Park (W.A.) assembly plant.

The Mosman Park Plant was seen to be too small and restricted for expansion programs in the 1960s, but despite intensive searching, no suitable alternative location was found.

Mosman Park was closed in 1972 as a result of GMH’s centralised production drive in the 1970s. At the time of its closure it was assembling mechanical items such as engines, transmissions, axles etc., to completed car bodies. The mechanical components were railed from Victoria and South Australia. The last car, an HQ 'SS' model was driven off line in September, 1972. The WA market for GMH vehicles was then  served by transporting complete cars from Victoria and South Australia.

After GMH closed  the Plant it was taken over by the State Electricity Commission and later demolished in the early 1990s. The site is now home to Iona Primary School; none of the original buildings remain.

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The year 1964 was decisive for Mosman Park, as that is when the most vigorous search for a suitable site for a modern replacement plant, was made.

Correspondence between Bill Gibbs, King Stuart, Ken Ladner and others relating to the search for a new Plant site may be found here.

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