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WHERE SOUTH
AUSTRALIA LEADS.
MOTOR-BODY MAKING.
When, through the exigencies of the
war, the importation to Australia of
motor car bodies was prohibited, the local
manufacture of such articles sprang into
the position of an important industry. As
a case in point may be mentioned the fact
that Holden & Frost, Limited, in two
years only made 64 bodies. When the em-
bargo was imposed the firm seized the
opportunity, and in the succeeding months,
up to the present, they have turned out
no fewer than 2,120 bodies, which have
gone to all States. Their wages sheets
increased from £3,750 to £33,570 for the
periods under review. Holden & Frost
about 20 months ago took over the motor
body works of Mr. F. Hack, in King
William street south, under the style of
Holden's Motor Body Builders, Limited.
Mr. H. J. Holden is managing director,
and his son (Mr. Allen Holden) is works
manager. Appearances are deceitful.
There is very much more behind the
matter-of-fact frontage to the works than
any one, not aware of the true state of
the case, would dream of. More land has
been acquired and, to-day, instead of
covering 1,400 square feet, the workshops
spread over 43,560 feet. Even now one
thing which strikes a visitor is that there
is little spare room, and if the duplications
of appliances are installed as is intended,
then it seems to be evident that more
space must be acquired.
—Much Expansion.—
The factory produces eight bodies a day,
or 40 in a five day working week. Hours
and hours could be absorbingly spent in
inspecting the splendid collection of ma-
chinery, some of which was already in-
stalled when the premises were taken over,
but much of which is new. Every labour-
saving device seems to be there, from oxy-
acetylene welding to paint sprays, and
from sand-blasts to electric cloth and
leather cutters. The place not only affords
work to many men and women, but to sub-
sidiary occupations also, so that, alto-
gether, 500 persons are employed. This is
the biggest enterprise of the kind in Aus-
tralia, and justly regarded as a monument
to South Australian industrial enterprise.
The whole of the timber used is Austra-
lian, the leather is made in Australia from
Australian hides. The metal parts are of
Australian origin. Only the steel sheets
for the bodies are imported.
—Minister of Customs Interested.—
On Monday morning a party of visitors
accompanied the Minister for Customs
(Mr. Massy Greene), in a tour of
the factory. Nearly two hours was
thus spent, and every minute had some
fresh interest. Among those present were
Rep. Foster (member for Wakefield), Rep.
Yates (member for Adelaide), Mr. F. W.
Birrell (Trades and Labour Council), Mr.
T. B. Merry (Trades and Labour Council),
Mr. A. E. Pritman (President of the Coach-
builders' Union), Mr. H. E. Winterbottom
(secretary of the South Australian Cham-
ber of Manufacturers). and Mr. J. A.
Thomson (trustee of the Angas Estate,
which owns the Meadowbanks works, near
Sydney). It must be emphasized that the
great aim of the factory is standardization,
which, carried out conscientiously, permits
of cheaper supplies for the consumers and
higher wages for the operators. When the
various processes, ranging from the be-
ginning of a car-body to the completed
article affixed to a chassis ready to be run
out on the roads, had been investigated,
the employes collected to hear addresses
from the visitors.
—Continued Protection Wanted.—
Rep. Foster said it was he who had in-
duced the Minister to come to
Adelaide for the week-end for
the one purpose of making him
acquainted with the extent of the Holden
Company's operations. A big tariff fight
was looming ahead for the Federal Parlia-
ment, and the more members could be con-
vinced of the value to the community of
such an establishment as that which had
been inspected the better. It was an
industry which deserved to thrive, for it
was run in evidently whole-hearted co-
operation between the management and
the men. The employes were not treated
as mere "hands," but were regarded as a
most essential part of the undertaking,
and they worked under humanitarian con-
ditions. (Applause.)
Rep. Yates said he was a "whole-hog"
tariff man, and would do his utmost to
keep alive such an important industry as
motor body making, provided the workers
got a quid pro quo. Where such a step
was warranted he would almost go to the
point of prohibition of the importation of
articles which could be manufactured in
Australia, without inflicting hardship on
the community. He commended the Hol-
den Company for its energetic enterprise.
Messrs. Winterbottom, Thomson, Birrell,
and Pittman also spoke. Mr. Thomson re-
marked that the Meadowbanks Works,
while they were competitors of Holden's
Motorbody Builders, Limited, heartily
wished the latter continued success, for
such success in one direction meant success
in another. He had been greatly im-
pressed by the extent and perfection of the
factory, and the sincere spirit of co-opera-
tion which prevailed between all depart-
ments.
Mr. Holden said the industry was one
of those war-time ones which the Federal
Government had promised to do its utmost
to keep alive when the war should end.
Promises he had made to the Federal Go-
vernment about the extension of the in-
dustry he felt sure had been kept. More
plant would be installed. The venture had
been undertaken in full confidence of the
hearty co-operation of the men. They
were a fine body. When the extension
of the works was decided upon he had ap-
proached the unions interested and had
pointed out that if the industry expanded
as was hoped, the local labour market
would be exhausted, and it would be neces-
sary to bring in labour from outside. He
was met in the most generous spirit, and
he earnestly desired to acknowledge it.
The men took an earnest, intelligent, and
whole-hearted interest in their work, and
he thanked them for it. He hoped that,
later on, profit sharing and other conces-
sions would increase the pleasant relations
which now existed. All hoped that the
Federal Government would afford suffi-
cient protection for the industry to still
further advance.
The Minister said the Federal Govern-
ment had made a most definite promise
that industries established or expanded
during the war would be treated with the
greatest consideration. In Australia there
were the brains, the skill, the enterprise,
and the material to promote and push on
most industries that would supply the
country with nearly everything she re-
quired. He could not for the life of him
see why Australians should go elsewhere
for their commercial needs. Peace might
be in sight, but there could be a hitch,
and if that hitch did occur it would be a
calamity if Australia were not more pre-
pared for war than in 1914. It was de-
clared that the fundamental need of the
Commonwealth to-day was settlement on
the land, but it seemed to him that it
would be useless to put people on the land
unless they were provided with markets to
sell their products, and the best markets
were the home markets. He could not, of
course, indicate the intentions of the Go-
vernment, but he would say that as far as
practicable the industries of the country
must be encouraged. He had been deeply
impressed with what he had seen in the
factory, and admired the skill and enter-
prise which had been shown. The Federal
Government heartily approved of the
policy of standardization so far as it was
practicable, and would do all possible to
encourage it. (Applause.)
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