Social Histories of Holden in Australia. In 2013, Holden announced that it would cease manufacturing vehicles in Australia at the end of 2017, thus ending more than a century of automotive manufacture in this country. As South Australia’s largest private employer for much of its life-span, and the linchpin of the state’s manufacturing sector, Holden’s announcement evoked grave concern for its workers and the hundreds of smaller component manufacturers and local businesses that figuratively and literally fed its factory and workforce. This story was repeated in Victoria, though to a lesser extent due to that state’s greater economic diversity. The despair that marked the ‘end of the line’ at Holden risks overshadowing the remarkable history of this company and its workers who for many decades were so successful in building and selling vehicles. The role that workers, and the working-class communities in which they lived, played in Holden’s business warrants thorough investigation,as does the efficacy of the company’s attempts to help its workforce transition to new jobs.
Historians at the University of Adelaide (Jennifer Clark, Paul Sendziuk and Carolyn Collins) and Monash University (Alistair Thomson and Graeme Davison)have accepted this challenge, and are investigating the making and breaking of Holden’s manufacturing arm in Australia in the post-WW2 period. The team is focussing on the reciprocal relationship between the company, its employees, and the places where its factories were located and its workers lived. Whereas most histories of Holden (and histories of automotive manufacturing in general) focus on the mercurial careers of senior executives and the cars, this project puts manufacturing workers and places at the centre of the story. In particular, it seeks to understand:
- how the experience of working at Holdenwas mediated by gender, ethnicity, class, andgeneration
- how working at Holden impacted on family lifeand featured in strategies for security and socialmobility
- how, within a tightly disciplined and regulatedworkplace, workers managed to ‘make theirmark’ and developed unique sub-cultures withinthe workplace
- how technological innovation changed the natureof work
- how workers sought to protect their employmentrights and conditions, and related to their bossesand the US-based parent company
- how the location of Holden’s manufacturingplants influenced the nature of its business, andhow the company’s decisions about where tolocate its factories irrevocably changed the urbanlandscape and socio-demographic profile ofAdelaide and Melbourne
- how Holden behaved as a ‘corporate citizen’ inthe places where its workers lived and its factorieswere located, and, conversely, what thesecommunities contributed to Holden’s success
- how workers responded to previous periods ofeconomic contraction, and
- how they interpreted the challenges facingautomotive manufacturers in Australia in the 21stcentury
- how morale and production standards weremaintained once it was announced that Holden’smanufacturing plants would close
- how Holden sought to assist workers to transitionto new employment, and whether its efforts havebeen successful
- how working for Holden is remembered and howthose memories continue to impact on ex-Holdenemployees, their families and communities, andthe wider society
Holden Workshop, Service Manual and wiring diagrams |
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| Holden Acadia 2019 AC Service & Warranty Booklet | Download |
| Holden Acadia 2019 Service & Warranty Booklet | Download |
| Holden Astra 2004 to 2009 Service & Repair Manual | Download |
| Holden Astra Service Manual | Download |
| Holden Astra Service, Repair and Workshop Manual | Download |
| Holden Barina 2005 – 2011 Workshop Repair Manual | Download |
| Holden Captiva CG / GC Il 2006 – 2017 Workshop Repair Manua | Download |
| Holden Colorado 2019 Service & Warranty Booklet | Download |
| Holden Commodore Full Workshop Manual | Download |
| Holden Commodore MY18 ZB Service & Warranty Booklet | Download |
| Holden Commodore / Calais VK 1984-1986 Workshop Repair Manual | Download |
| Holden Cruze EWD Wiring Diagrams | Download |
| Holden Cruze JG JH J300 Model 2008-2016 Workshop Repair Manual | Download |
| Holden Engine Troubleshooter Reference Manual | Download |
| Holden FE wiring diagram.jpg | Download |
| Holden Jackaroo Workshop Manual | Download |
| Holden Rodeo TF 1988-2003 Service & Repair Manual | Download |
| Holden VK Commodore – Generator electrical wiring diagrams.jpg | Download |
| Holden VN Commodore V8 Electronic Control Module Wiring Diagrams | Download |
| Holden VT- / X- / VY- / VU Commodore Workshop Repair Manual | Download |
Holden Owner's Handbook Manual |
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| Holden ZB Commodore 2018 Owner’s Manual | Download |
| Holden Volt 2014 Owner’s Handbook Manual | Download |
| Holden Vectra Owners Manual | Download |
| Holden Trailblazer RG 2017 Owner’s Manual | Download |
| Holden Trailblazer 2019 Owner’s Manual | Download |
| Holden TM Barina Owner’s Handbook Manual | Download |
| Holden TM Barina 2017 Owner’s Manual | Download |
| Holden TJ Trax 2019 Owner’s Manual | Download |
| Holden TJ Trax 2018 Owner’s Manual | Download |
| Holden RG Trailblazer 2019 Owner’s Manual | Download |
| Holden PJ ASTRA Owner’s Handbook Manual | Download |
| Holden MP SPARK Owner’s Manual | Download |
| Holden Malibu EM 2015 Owner’s Handbook Manual | Download |
| Holden Equinox LS Owner’s Manual | Download |
| Holden Drover Owner Manual | Download |
| Holden Cruze JH Owner’s Handbook Manual | Download |
| Holden Colorado 2019 Owner’s Manual | Download |
| Holden Cascada 2017 CJ Owner’s Manual | Download |
| Holden Captiva 7 Owner’s Handbook Manual | Download |
| Holden Barina Owner’s Handbook Manual | Download |
| Holden Barina Brochure | Download |
| Holden Barina 2017 Owner’s Manual | Download |
| Holden Astra Owner’s Handbook Manual | Download |
| Holden Astra Brochure | Download |
| Holden Acadia 2019 Owner’s Manual | Download |
| Holden Acadia 2020 Brochure | Download |
Sendziuk, Social Histories of Holden
Beginning in late 2019, the research team will conduct 100 in-depth interviews with former Holden employees. These will take approximately 12 months to complete. Most of the interviewees will be ‘factory floor’ workers, but design, engineering, and marketing employees will also be interviewed. The oral histories will be held and, depending on the access conditions specified by the interviewee, made publicly accessible by the National Library of Australia. This research will be complemented and supported by a critical examination of archival sources, particularly GM Holden’s archive held by the State Library of South Australia, and trade union records held mainly by the Noel Butlin Archives Centre in Canberra. The oral histories and the interpretative work will form the basis for a series of publications aimed at scholarly and general audiences, and exhibitions at the National Motor Museum and online. The project is supported by GM Holden, the National Library of Australia and the National Motor Museum. It has received generous funding from the Australia Research Council.
If you, or anyone you know, worked in some capacity in Holden’s manufacturing operations between 1945 and 2017, please consider submitting an expression of interest to be interviewed for the project. Former Holden workers who are unable or unwilling to be interviewed can also submit written reflections of their time at Holden, or submit copies of photographs and other material related to their time in the workforce.
