LAURENCE J.

HARTNETT Laurence Hartnett died at the age of 88 on 4 April 1986, having been knighted in 1967 for services to the motor industry, and until he was knighted there was general feeling that he had not been given the credit due to him as the father of the Holden. Laurence J. Hartnett was born in Britain, attended Epsom College, with the ambition to become a doctor, but left school at the age of 16 and joined Vickers as an apprentice. When the Great War broke out, Hartnett joined the RFC and became a pilot. After the War, Hartnett purchased a small motor garage, but yearned for greater things, and when he saw a job advertised in Singapore by the importers, Guthrie and Co. For an engineer, he applied for, and was given the job. Guthries were initially importers of National engines for stationary units as supplied to rubber plantations, but he then persuaded the company to become Buick car importers as well, and such was his success that he came to the attention of James Mooney. After three years in Singapore, Hartnett joined General Motors Export Company in charge of S.E. Asia handling and administration. He excelled in his positions, and rose through the General Motors ranks. By 1927, he was appointed General Manager at General Motors Nrdiska, SA in Stockholm Sweden, and then in 1929 a Director of Vauxhall Motors Limited, appointed presumably by Mooney to re-organise Vauxhall, joining the Product Study Group set up by Mooney. In 1930, Hartnett was appointed Export Director of Vauxhall Motors with a brief from the parent company! General Motors World September 1930, referred to the Vauxhall Motors Limited announcement that there were new Vauxhall models launched in September, the VY and VX models. The specifications for export had been determined largely in a report by Laurence J. Hartnett after being sent on an extensive tour on behalf of G.M. Overseas Operations of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia which was made with a view to finding out the requirements of these overseas markets. However, it is clear that although ostensibly sent out as Export director of Vauxhalls, he was in fact on a much more serious commission from James D. Mooney, and he obviously came into contact with A.N. Lawrence, ensconced in Adelaide. The first G.M.-designed Opels were the late 1930 1.8 litre with a 6-cylinder 1,788 c.c. engine of L-head design which closely followed Oldsmobile and Pontiac styling, and then in early 1931, the 1 litre with a 995 c.c. engine. G.M. AND HOLDEN MERGE Negotiations between Edward W. Ted Holden of Holdens and General Motors in New York about a merger of his company with that of General Motors (Australia) had started in 1929 and continued to the middle of 1930. These reached a peak when Graeme K. Howard, by then the General Manager of General

Motors Export Division [having been promoted from Asian General Manager in September 1930 replacing L.M. Rumely] met Edward W. Ted Holden in Cairo, presumably after an inspection of the GENERAL MOTORS NEAR EAST LIMITED plant in Alexandria, Egypt, for the return journey through the Suez Canal to Australia [it appears that Graeme K. Howard may have been a Director of G.M. (Australia) at that time]. The merger was spurred on after Ford had talks with Edward W. Ted Holden, whether Edward W. Ted Holden used Ford as a lever is unknown but General Motors could not afford to lose its main body plant to the opposition. Having said that, Autocar December 5 1958 stated that in 1931, Australian car sales were at an all-time low, and Edward (later Sir Edward) Holden as managing director of Holdens Limited arranged a meeting with James D. Mooney as President of G.M.O.O. This then resulted in the merger of Holdens and General Motors (A.) Limited though this must in fact have been in 1929 in New York, and then again into 1930, and the decision was given when Howard met Holden in Cairo. It was agreed, and this arrangement must be viewed on a global basis with the Vauxhall and Opel export drives, and the success of the Chevrolet-derived Bedford commercial chassis, that Holdens Motor Body Builders Limited and General Motors (Australia) Pty. Ltd. were to be merged at last, which was achieved in April 1931 using General Motors (Australia) funds amounting to 1,111,600 which had been earned but not repatriated to New York because of currency restrictions then in force. Autocar 5 December 1958 stated that Holdens [the Holden family?] received 6% Preference Shares which normally carried no voting rights, in the new company, and the rest of the Capital was American. In its first year, the new company showed a record loss of A561,000. The 1931 General Motors Corporation Annual Report comments For the purpose of better controlling the manufacture of its products, and also having in mind the nationalization of its Australian operation, Holdens Motor Body Builders Limited was consolidated with General Motors (Australia) Pty. Ltd., as of May 1 1931, forming General Motors-Holdens Ltd. The new company was entitled, as just mentioned GENERAL MOTORS-HOLDENS PROPERTY LIMITED, with an headquarters in Melbourne, and ultimately assembly Plants in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and finally Perth, plus the Woodville body Plant. Edward W. Ted Holden was appointed Chairman and also joint Managing Director with A.N. Lawrence, plus Sir Wallace Bruce, and A.G. Rymill of Holdens, and Sir John Butters of General Motors (Australia). A.M. Lemon, Holdens Secretary, continued in his position with the new company. The South Australian Government imposed a stipulation on their agreement to the merger that the Woodville Plant was to continue to be able to make bodies, but for the industry at large. All chassis assembly at this stage was concentrated on the South Melbourne General Motors (A.) Plant where the Head Office was located.