Sir Edward Wheewall Holden (14 August 1885 – 17 June 1947) was an Australian industrialist who took his family carriage and saddlery business, Holden & Frost, into a partnership with

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

to create Australia's first automobile manufacturer, General Motors-Holden's Ltd.

Early years

Edward Holden was born at College Town (now St. Peters), the son of saddler and carriage-maker Henry James Holden (1859–1926) and his wife Mary Ann (née Wheewall). He was educated at

Prince Alfred College Prince Alfred College is a private, independent, day school, day and boarding school for boys, located on Dequetteville Terrace, Kent Town, South Australia, Kent Town, near the Adelaide city centre, centre of Adelaide, South Australia. One of th ...

and the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

, where he graduated with a BSc in 1905 and joined the family firm Holden & Frost.Healey, John (ed.) ''S.A. Greats: The Men and Women of the North Terrace Plaques'' Historical Society of South Australia 2003

Career

Edward saw the necessity for the firm to diversify into motor vehicles, initially maintaining and repairing (imported) automobile bodies then building motorcycle sidecars in a shed at the rear of the firm's

Grenfell Street Grenfell Street () is a major street in the north-east quarter of the Adelaide city centre, South Australia. The street runs west-east from King William Street to East Terrace. Its intersection with Pulteney Street is formed by Hindmarsh Squa ...

premises. In 1917 the Australian Government introduced policies to restrict importation of fully manufactured motor cars to encourage the country's nascent automotive body building industry. Holden developed a relationship with America's

(as Adelaide contemporary T. J. Richards did with Chrysler) to fit bodies to imported chassis. In 1919 Edward (as managing director) and his father founded a company Holden's Motor Body Builders with a factory at 400 King William Street later occupied by A. G. Healing Ltd. In 1923, following the signing of an exclusive agreement in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

with General Motors by Edward Holden, a new factory was set up at 879–895 Port Road,

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

, employing the latest in

production line A production line is a set of sequential operations established in a factory where components are assembled to make a finished article or where materials are put through a refining process to produce an end-product that is suitable for onward ...

technology. Automated mass-production techniques increased productivity spectacularly. Edward Holden introduced to the business new standards of scientific management,

cost accounting Cost accounting is defined by the Institute of Management Accountants as "a systematic set of procedures for recording and reporting measurements of the cost of manufacturing goods and performing services in the aggregate and in detail. It includ ...

and production control. In close association with General Motors Export Co., Holdens established a dominant market position throughout mainland Australia. By 1929 the company employed 3,400 workers and was the biggest automotive bodybuilder in the British Empire. In October 1929 the plant closed temporarily for lack of continuous work, and in January 1930 Holden set out for the United States to discuss amalgamation with General Motors. In February 1931, General Motors offered £1,116,000 for Holden's, which was ultimately accepted. This reduced the cash burden of the merger for General Motors, while giving it complete control while maintaining an Australian character in name, ownership and management. Holden was appointed executive chairman of directors and joint managing director of General Motors-Holden's Ltd. in August 1931 and later sole managing director. He was supplanted as managing director in 1934 by Laurence Hartnett but remained chairman until ill health forced his resignation in January 1947. The advent of World War II saw a rapid switch of the motor body building plant at Woodville to war production. Early in 1941 it was almost fully committed to war production, and it was employing 20% more people than were on the normal peacetime payroll. He became honorary Controller-General of Army Canteens in 1939–45 and visited troops in the Middle East. The profits from army canteens, which were immense, initially went to improve camp facilities and the surplus of around £2,000,000 realised by the end of the war was distributed by the Australian Military Forces Special Benefits Committee to organisations whose membership was restricted to service personnel. Holden was sued for damages and taking bribes, but the case lapsed for lack of evidence. Edward Holden was also prominent in many South Australian enterprises: *Adelaide Cement Co. (including chairman of directors) *Alma Shoes (including chairman of directors) *Australian Cotton Textile Industries Limited (ACTIL) *The

Bank of Adelaide The Bank of Adelaide was an Australian bank founded in 1865 in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It was incorporated by an act of the Parliament of South Australia. The original directors of the company were Henry Ayers Sir Hen ...

* Colton, Palmer and Preston Ltd. (including chairman of directors) * South Australian Brush Company (SABCO) (including chairman of directors) *The Council of the

*South Australian Industries Assistance Corporation * Adelaide Chamber of Commerce *The

National Safety Council The National Safety Council (NSC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, public service organization promoting health and safety in the United States. Headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, NSC is a member organization, founded in 1913 and granted a congress ...

*The

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

* South Australian Chamber of Manufactures (and president from 1936 to 1939) *Associated Chambers of Manufactures of Australia.

Politics

He served for three years as councillor and alderman with the

Adelaide City Council The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council, is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia. It is legally defined as the capital city of Sout ...

. In 1936 he was defeated in a bid to oust the sitting

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

, J. R. Cain. In 1935 he was elected to the Central District No.2 seat in the

Legislative Council of South Australia The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the South Australian House of Assembly, H ...

made vacant by the death of

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

's William Humphrey Harvey. Holden was a strong supporter of Premier Tom Playford's push to industrialize South Australia.

Honours

In the New Year's Honours List of 1946, he was created a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

Death

He died in North Adelaide of cerebro-vascular disease on 17 June 1947, aged 61, and was survived by his wife, Hilda May (née Lavis), a son and two daughters. One of those daughters was Senator Dame Nancy Buttfield, the first woman to represent South Australia in the

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Monarchy of Australia, monarch of Australia (repr ...

References