Produced in 1963, this factory promotional reel tells the story of one GM’s lesser-known—to Americans, anyway—divisions, Holden of Australia. It’s a great story, watch. 

Sadly, the Holden division of General Motors plans to cease producing automobiles in Australia by the end of 2017, a victim of the global manufacturing economy. (The division will continue to have an engineering and marketing presence there, reportedly.) Though Holden may not be well known to Americans, the company has a long, rich, and fascinating history, as this short film nicely illustrates.

Founded way back in 1856 as a saddlery, Holden originally joined the auto business in 1908 performing upholstery repairs, and became a producer of complete car bodies in 1917. By 1923 the company was producing 12,000 bodies per year for Ford, General Motors, and others.  In 1931, Holden Motor Body Builders was acquired by GM and merged with the world’s largest automaker to become General Motors-Holden’s Ltd. And in 1948, the company introduced a complete home-manufactured automobile, the beloved Holden 48-215, “Australia’s own car.” And while based on GM global components and designs, Holden vehicles have always had their own distinctive character, even to this day.

Short and sweet at only two minutes, this informative 1963 television spot tells the Holden story far better than we can, and also illustrates how important the enterprise was, in these years, to Australia’s economy and people. Video below.

https://youtu.be/QhwSpnlQ0Fg