Holden Fishermans Bend Plant

Fishermans Bend Assembly Plant
Map
Built1936
LocationFishermans Bend, Melbourne
Coordinates37°49′29″S 144°55′18″E / 37.824770°S 144.921560°E / -37.824770; 144.921560
IndustryMotor vehicle and driveline component assembly
Products
Employees350 (2014)
ArchitectEric Gibson
StyleArt Deco
Area50 acres (20 ha)
Address171-197 Salmon Street, Fishermans Bend, Victoria
Defunct2020

The Holden Fishermans Bend Plant[1] was an industrial park opened in 1936 in Fishermans Bend, Victoria, as Holden's headquarters.[1][2] The new location was opened due to many issues with its previous City Road facility.[3] The park was also intended to kickstart a Victorian leg of the General Motors subsidiaries Chevrolet and Vauxhall.

In 1948, the plant facilitated the production of the first Holden-branded motor vehicle, the Holden 48-215.[4] In 1956, due to an inability to meet demand, the assembly section of the plant was closed, succeeded by the new Dandenong plant. The Fishermans Bend plant also produced engines and driveline components for all domestic and most exported vehicles up until 2016, when the Australian LFX V6 was discontinued. In 1981, production started of the global Family II engine series - most of which were produced for export to other GM plants around the world.

Since 2020, the area is no longer used by Holden for manufacturing or administration.[5] In 2021, it was announced that the University of Melbourne planned to redevelop the area as the headquarters of its school of engineering, with plans to open in 2024.[6]

  1. ^ "From the Archives, 1936: GMH opens new plant at Fisherman's Bend". The Age. 2021-11-03. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  2. ^ "When General Motors Holden moved to Fishermans Bend - Port Places". 2022-02-18. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  3. ^ Njuguna, Marcus (2021-12-08). "The Rise And Fall Of The Holden Car Company". HotCars. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  4. ^ "Birth and demise of Holden at Fishermans Bend". Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  5. ^ "Holden Retiree's Club - Fishermens Bend". HRC.
  6. ^ "Almost $200M to be spent transforming historic 32-hectare Melbourne site". 7News. 2021-05-17. Retrieved 2022-08-03.