Hiding in the workshop below are items from the working lives of 12 South Australian Holden employees, from 1945 to 2017. Together, they represent just a few of the hundreds of different jobs required to make a car, from tradesmen and engineers, to sewing machinists and secretarial staff. For some, the association with Holden goes back much further to relatives who worked in the original saddlery. Others came as migrants, joining the multicultural melting pot that was Holden’s workforce. For these workers, the Holden story is forever entwined with their own personal and family history.
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DON MCDONALD
Woodville & Elizabeth, 1945-1986
Image courtesy Don McDonald.
Image courtesy Don McDonald.
Don joined GMH’s Woodville plant in January 1945 as a 15-year old apprentice, qualified as a Motor Body Builder and worked in the drawing office. He later moved to Elizabeth where he was Engineer in Charge of Body Assembly, Planning and Tool design. He travelled extensively, including to Thailand where he oversaw the setup and start of local production of the HQ Holden and the Torana in the early 1970s.
Tie, tie pins, and tie clip. Courtesy Don McDonald.
Tie, tie pins, and tie clip. Courtesy Don McDonald.
Don procured this tie (otherwise reserved for select managers) while working for GMH in Thailand. The pins and clips were issued by the company at various times, with the exception of the clip representing a train, which he bought while on GMH business in Japan.
CLARA BODEN
Woodville & Elizabeth, 1949-1953, 1962-1966, 1969-1996
Courtesy Clara Boden (left).
Courtesy Clara Boden (left).
Clara worked in Trim Fabrication as a sewing machinist first at Woodville and later at Elizabeth. While she worked at Holden three times for various lengths of time, first starting as a 15-year old.
Gold watch. Courtesy Clara Boden.
Gold watch. Courtesy Clara Boden.
Employees were presented with a gold watch for 25 years of continuous service. However, due to her breaks in employment, it was not until 1994 that Clara earned this Omega ladies gold watch.
JOAN AND DAVID MATTHEWS
Woodville 1954-1961 and Woodville 1955-1962
Courtesy Joan and David Matthews.
Courtesy Joan and David Matthews.
Joan and David Matthews came from multi-generational Holden families, and met and married while they were both working at Woodville. Joan started as a 15-year old in the typing pool while David worked in electrical maintenance; both were heavily involved in the social club. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 2020.
Trimmer's tools and sewing kit. Courtesy Joan and David Matthews.
Trimmer's tools and sewing kit. Courtesy Joan and David Matthews.
These tools originally belonged to David’s father Alf Matthews, who started at Holden & Frost as an apprentice trimmer in 1916 at the age of 12. Alf is pictured to the right of Joan in her wedding picture above.
ROBERT SMITH
Woodville 1956-1962
Courtesy Robert Smith.
Courtesy Robert Smith.
Robert Smith followed in his father’s footsteps, joining GMH at Woodville in January 1956 as an apprentice fitter and turner, one of 37 apprentices taken on that year. As a child, he attended Holden picnics at Belair National Park and the celebrations held at Woodville for the launch of the first Holden, where he made himself sick eating too much free ice cream.
Tool box. Courtesy Robert Smith.
Tool box. Courtesy Robert Smith.
These wooden tool boxes were made by apprentice patternmakers for the Tool Room apprentices. Robert received his when he started at Woodville in 1956.
Apprentice Progress Report and Annual Apprentices' Evening programme. Courtesy Robert Smith.
Apprentice Progress Report and Annual Apprentices' Evening programme. Courtesy Robert Smith.
Despite a comment that Robert needed to ‘put in a lot of time into his maths’, the remarks in his apprentice progress report are glowing: ‘His attitude to work is all that can be desired’. Each semester’s report required a signature from a parent.
BOB BOTH
Elizabeth 1963-1995
Bob Both with his wife Margaret. Source: The Communicator, 1991, vol 25, p.1. Reproduction courtesy GMANZ.
Bob Both with his wife Margaret. Source: The Communicator, 1991, vol 25, p.1. Reproduction courtesy GMANZ.
Bob was struggling to make a living as a flower grower when he decided to apply for a job as a factory worker at Elizabeth. Over the next 32 years he held many roles from light press operator to validating new cars for delivery to dealerships. He was a Fire Squad member for 20 years, and he extinguished three fires in that time.
Gold watch and GMH Fire Squad badge. Courtesy Bob Both.
Gold watch and GMH Fire Squad badge. Courtesy Bob Both.
This gold Omega Seamaster was given to Bob when he completed 25 years at the company in 1988. It was inscribed ‘RJ’ Both by one of the staff in the Checking Centre.
Bob also kept the Fire Squad badge as a memento (even though he thinks he should probably have returned it!)
GEORGE VASSALLO
Woodville & Elizabeth 1968-2008
George started as an apprentice at Woodville, then worked in die maintenance. He was promoted to leading hand then a supervisor in tooling but when hard times hit the company, he went back to being leading hand. He moved to Elizabeth to die maintenance before rejoining the tool room when it relocated there from Woodville.
'Vassallo's Lip award'. Courtesy George Vassallo.
'Vassallo's Lip award'. Courtesy George Vassallo.
George was tasked by management to devise a way to manufacture a complex part for the USA-bound Pontiac G8 using existing tooling – he recalls being enticed with a ‘golden handshake’. His solution was so successful that his colleagues presented him with this trophy.
DARYL NETTLETON
Woodville 1969-1984
Courtesy Daryl Nettleton.
Courtesy Daryl Nettleton.
Daryl was 15-years old when he was employed as an apprentice fitter and turner at Woodville, one of 135 apprentices taken on that year. He worked his way through the jig shop, the die shop, the press shop and the chrome plating plant into construction and ended his time as a maintenance construction fitter.
Meat cleaver foreignee. Courtesy Daryl Nettleton.
Meat cleaver foreignee. Courtesy Daryl Nettleton.
Foreignees are objects made in a factory that are not part of the regular manufacturing process, often unauthorised and for domestic use. Daryl made this meat cleaver whilst working in Plant 10 at Woodville. It was one of a set of 20 ordered by 'others unknown'. He asked no questions, but kept one as a souvenir.
Apprentice wallet. Courtesy Daryl Nettleton.
Apprentice wallet. Courtesy Daryl Nettleton.
A certificate of indenture was issued to all apprentices upon completion of their apprenticeship. Daryl began his in 1969 and received these ‘indenture papers’ in 1974.
KEITH HAMILTON
Elizabeth 1981-2017
Courtesy Keith Hamilton.
Courtesy Keith Hamilton.
Four generations of Keith’s family worked at GMH. Keith joined as a 19-year old and held a variety of roles at Elizabeth including forklift driver. He was team leader in the warehouse for 25 years and chairman of the Plant 7 social club, started by his father Des.
Indoor bowls tournament shield and cricket medal. Courtesy Keith Hamilton.
Indoor bowls tournament shield and cricket medal. Courtesy Keith Hamilton.
Keith’s father Des started a social club in Plant 7 at the Elizabeth factory, running a bowls competition as well as playing cricket, soccer and other sports. Keith captained an indoor cricket team that played against the Fisherman’s Bend (Victoria) factory – the first time a sporting competition was held between Holden factories from different states.
PAUL LUCANTONI
Elizabeth 1988-2007
Paul Lucantoni (right) with colleagues. Source: People, March 2002, p.9. Reproduction courtesy GMANZ.
Paul Lucantoni (right) with colleagues. Source: People, March 2002, p.9. Reproduction courtesy GMANZ.
Paul's father Frank found a 'job for life' at Holden when he migrated from Italy after the war, and was so happy when his three sons also found work there. Paul started at Elizabeth on night shift in Plant 4 sub assembly and later transferred to Plant 6 Vehicle Validation. One of his duties was to test drive the cars before they were sent to the dealerships or exported overseas.
GM Holden uniform shirt. Courtesy Paul Lucantoni.
GM Holden uniform shirt. Courtesy Paul Lucantoni.
This shirt is one of several items of unworn Holden uniform kept by Paul. Uniforms were not always provided but by the late 1990s a comprehensive uniform featuring the company's logo was available and widely worn, both inside and outside the factory.
LYNETTE TAINSH
Elizabeth 1988-2014
Lynette Tainsh (second left) with colleagues in the Apprentice Holden pedal car team. Courtesy Lynette Tainsh.
Lynette Tainsh (second left) with colleagues in the Apprentice Holden pedal car team. Courtesy Lynette Tainsh.
Lynette was the third generation of her family to work at Holden, and only the second woman to complete an apprenticeship. After qualifying as an electrician, she worked in a variety of roles before moving into supervision. As a first-year apprentice, she competed in the Holden pedal car team.
Service award and model Monaro. Courtesy Lynette Tainsh.
Service award and model Monaro. Courtesy Lynette Tainsh.
Lynette has kept a number of mementos of her 26 years at Holden, including a limited edition model of the Monaro CV8 (only distributed to employees) and a piston service award, which was given to employees after the announcement of the closure of manufacturing operations.
ANDREW READE
Elizabeth 2003-2017
Andy Reade at work. Courtesy Andrew Reade.
Andy Reade at work. Courtesy Andrew Reade.
A former hospitality worker, Andrew was part of the third shift recruited to Elizabeth during ‘the boom years’. His first job was on the production line in Final Assembly and he spent his last years as a group leader in the quality department. At a media conference held on Elizabeth’s closure day, he gave a speech on behalf of the workers.
Andy's final day speech notes. Courtesy Andrew Reade.
Andy's final day speech notes. Courtesy Andrew Reade.
Andrew referred to these speech notes to deliver a speech on behalf of the factory workers to mark the final day of the Elizabeth factory in 2017. After initially struggling to find the right words, he wrote his speech that morning in a café.
The full oral histories from the Social Histories of Holden in Australia oral history project are currently held by the National Library of Australia.
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