Thousands of Holden fans salute end of an era

Twelve hundred pristine Holdens and even more Lion brand aficionados gathered in Adelaide yesterday to commemorate 69 years of manufacturing cars in Australia.

As Holden prepares to shutter its Elizabeth manufacturing facility for good this Friday (October 20), fans from around the country celebrated Holden’s history in a slow-moving procession.

The drive was waved off by Bev Brock, wife of the late racing legend Peter, and attracted about 25,000 Holden fans.

All the well-known nameplates – Torana, Sandman, Monaro, Commodore and Kingswood – were correct and present.

The procession included an immaculate version of Holden’s first model, the 1948 48-215, driven by Holden boss Mark Bernhard.

Further back, former Holden driver Mark Skaife piloted one of the last-hurrah Commodore V8s through the 10km drive.

“Adelaide does hold a very special place in our hearts. It’s where we started our business back in 1856, so we do have a long history here,” Bernhard told media.

“Today is about Dream Cruise. It’s about how we honour the legacy of our manufacturing employees, past and present, our suppliers and supplier community but also our fans and the hundreds of cars that we have here today.”

Holden will shutter its manufacturing operations on Friday, following in the wheel tracks of Ford and Toyota, which closed their operations last October and earlier this month respectively.

Like its competitors, Holden will close off the event to media, holding a private ceremony for factory workers and other Holden employees.

The move marks a big identity shift for Holden, which has been deeply ingrained in the domestic market since its humble beginnings as a saddle maker in 1856.

Holden, which will become an import-only sales and distribution company from next week, raised $807,000 for charity at the event, including $307,000 from the sale of three special-edition swansong Commodores.

They included a Director for $130,000, a Motorsport edition for $93,000 and a Magnum ute for $84,000.

Including a $500,000 contribution from Holden, a total of $742,000 was donated to The Smith Family, while $65,000 (50 per cent of the #5 Director’s sale price) went to The Lighthouse Foundation, a charity supporting the homeless represented by Bev Brock.