Editing Holden (section)

===Early history===
[[File:Holden and Frost Grenfell Street.jpg|thumb|Holden & Frost premises on [[Grenfell Street]]]]

In 1852, [[James Alexander Holden]] emigrated to South Australia from [[Walsall]], Staffordshire,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.burnside.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/hnames.doc |format=[[Doc (computing)|DOC]] |title=Street name |publisher=[[City of Burnside]] |access-date=3 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609141635/http://www.burnside.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/hnames.doc |archive-date=9 June 2009 }}</ref> U.K, and, in 1856, established '''J. A. Holden & Co.''', a saddlery business in [[Adelaide]].<ref>[[#Davis, Kennedy, Kennedy (2007)|Davis, Kennedy, Kennedy (2007)]]: Part One, p. 16.</ref> In 1879, J. A. Holden's eldest son [[Henry James Holden]], became a partner and effectively managed the company.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Heart of the Lion|last=Wright|first=John|publisher=[[Allen & Unwin]]|year=1998|location=Sydney|pages=5}}</ref> In 1885, German-born [[H. A. Frost]] joined the business as a junior partner and J. A. Holden & Co became '''Holden & Frost Ltd.'''<ref>[[#Davis, Kennedy, Kennedy (1998)|Davis, Kennedy, Kennedy (1998)]]: p. 7.</ref> [[Edward Holden]], James' grandson, joined the firm in 1905 with an interest in automobiles.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemDetailPaged.aspx?itemID=913304 |title=James Alexander Holden family papers, 1801–1975 |publisher=[[State Library of New South Wales]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402145034/http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemDetailPaged.aspx?itemID=913304 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite Australian Dictionary of Biography |last=Hancock |first=Joan |author2=Richards, Eric |id=A090705b |title=Holden, Sir Edward Wheewall (1885–1947) |access-date=23 August 2008}}</ref> From there, the firm evolved through various partnerships, and in 1908, Holden & Frost moved into the business of minor repairs to car upholstery.<ref name="Holden History">{{cite web |url=http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/history_holden.htm |title=Holden History |publisher=Unique Cars and Parts |access-date=23 August 2008}}</ref> The company began to re-body older chassis using motor bodies produced by F. T. Hack and Co from 1914. Holden & Frost mounted the body, and painted and trimmed it.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gibbs|first=A G|date=10 January 1965|title=Correspondence: F W Stevenson to J H Horn|journal=Holden Archives Held Mortlock Library|volume=BRG 213 series}}</ref> The company began to produce complete motorcycle sidecar bodies after 1913.<ref name="milestones">{{cite web |url=http://media.gm.com/aus/holden/en/company/history/history_milestones.html |title=Milestones |publisher=[[General Motors]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080322141257/http://media.gm.com/aus/holden/en/company/history/history_milestones.html |archive-date=22 March 2008 |access-date=18 March 2010}}</ref> After 1917, wartime trade restrictions led the company to start full-scale production of vehicle body shells. H. J. Holden founded a new company in late 1917, and registered '''Holden's Motor Body Builders Ltd''' (HMBB) on 25 February 1919, specialising in car bodies and using the former F. T. Hack & Co facility at 400 [[King William Street, Adelaide|King William Street]] in Adelaide before erecting a large four-storey factory on the site.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Daley|first=Frank|date=February 1967|title=The Holden Saga|journal=The Victorian Historical Magazine|volume=LIV|pages=49}}</ref><ref>[[#ND02|Darwin (2002)]], p. 3.</ref>

[[File:Holden Body's badge on a 1928 Chevrolet National tourer (8701042412) st crop.jpg|thumb|Holden Body badge on a 1928 Chevrolet Tourer]]

By 1923, HMBB were producing 12,000&nbsp;units per year.<ref name = "Holden History"/> During this time, HMBB assembled bodies for [[Ford Australia|Ford Motor Company of Australia]] until its [[Geelong]] plant was completed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/25843/sub048.pdf |title=Submission to Automotive Enquiry |work=[[Productivity Commission]] |publisher=[[Government of Australia]] |access-date=17 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080810151651/http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/25843/sub048.pdf |archive-date=10 August 2008}}</ref> From 1924, HMBB became the exclusive supplier of car bodies for GM in Australia, with manufacturing taking place at the new [[Holden Woodville Plant]]<ref name="The Holden car in Australia">{{cite web |url=http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/holdencar/index.htm |title=The Holden car in Australia |publisher=[[Government of Australia]] |access-date=23 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720162936/http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/holdencar/index.htm |archive-date=20 July 2008  }}</ref> (which was actually in the adjacent suburb of [[Cheltenham, South Australia|Cheltenham]]<ref>{{cite book| url=https://www.charlessturt.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/163066/Woodville_Village_Master_Plan.pdf | publisher= [[City of Charles Sturt]] | page=29| title= Woodville Village Masterplan: Final Report| date=December 2010| author=Jensen Planning and Design}}</ref>). These bodies were made to suit a number of [[chassis]] imported from manufacturers including [[Austin Motor Company|Austin]], [[Buick]], [[Chevrolet]], [[Cleveland (automobile)|Cleveland]], [[Dodge]], [[Essex (automobile)|Essex]], [[Fiat Automobiles|Fiat]], [[Hudson Motor Car Company|Hudson]], [[Oakland Motor Car Company|Oakland]], [[Oldsmobile]], [[Overland Automobile|Overland]], [[Reo Motor Car Company|Reo]], [[Studebaker]] and [[Willys-Knight]].<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/58241114 Holden Bodies] ''[[Sunday Times (Western Australia)|Sunday Times]]'' 9 May 1926 page 5</ref><ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/219040592 New Company] ''[[Daily Mail (Brisbane)|Daily Mail]]'' 10 June 1926 page 16</ref>

In 1926, '''General Motors (Australia) Limited''' was established with assembly plants at [[Newstead, Queensland]]; [[Marrickville, New South Wales]]; City Road, [[Melbourne, Victoria]]; [[Birkenhead, South Australia]]; and [[Cottesloe, Western Australia]]<ref>[[#ND02|Darwin (2002)]], p. 7.</ref> using bodies produced by HMBB and imported [[complete knock down]]  chassis.<ref>[[#ND02|Darwin (2002)]], p. 4.</ref> In 1930 alone, the still independent Woodville plant built bodies for Austin, [[Chrysler]], [[DeSoto (automobile)|DeSoto]], [[Morris Motors|Morris]], [[Hillman]], [[Humber Limited|Humber]], [[Hupmobile]], and [[Willys-Overland]], as well as GM cars. The last of this line of business was the assembly of [[Hillman Minx]] sedans in 1948.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sedgwick |first=Michael |year=1975 |title=Cars of the Thirties and Forties |location=London |publisher=[[Hamlyn (publisher)|Hamlyn]] |page=187 |isbn=0600321487}}</ref> The [[Great Depression]] led to a substantial downturn in production by Holden, from 34,000&nbsp;units annually in 1930 to just 1,651&nbsp;units one year later.<ref name = "Holden History"/> In 1931, GM purchased HMBB and merged it with General Motors (Australia) Pty Ltd to form General Motors-Holden's Ltd (GM-H).<ref name = "milestones"/> Its acquisition of Holden allowed General Motors to inherit an Australian identity, which it used to cultivate nationalist appeal for the firm, largely through the use of [[public relations]], a then novel form of business communication which was imported to Australia through the formation of General Motors (Australia) Limited.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1080/1031461X.2019.1651354|title=The Cultivation of an Australian Identity: New Insights into Public Relations at General Motors-Holden in the Interwar Era|year=2019|last1=Fahey|first1=Jack|journal=[[Australian Historical Studies]]|volume=50|issue=4|pages=483–502|s2cid=211666849}}</ref> Throughout the 1920s, Holden also supplied 60 [[W-class Melbourne tram|W-class]] tramcar bodies to the [[Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board]], of which several examples have been preserved in both Australia and New Zealand.<ref>Body by Holden ''[[Trolley Wire]]'' issue 232 February 1988 pages 23-27</ref>