The Holden Collection is held within the Archival Collections of the State Library of South Australia as record group BRG 213 GM Holden Ltd. It comprises the records of GM Holden Ltd and Holden's various iterations of J.A. Holden & Co, Holden & Frost Limited, Holden's Motor Body Builders Limited (HMBB), General Motors-Holden's Limited (GMH), General Motors-Holden's Automotive Limited, Holden's Motor Company and Holden Ltd. It includes company papers and records, correspondence, photographs including slides, negatives and transparencies, brochures, editorial cartoons, plans, engineering design and tooling drawings, film, video, sound recordings, collectables and memorabillia, artefacts, newspaper cuttings, press releases and advertising material including product releases.
BRG 213 is the main holding of Holden related material in the State Library’s archival collections, although various small items such as photographs may be scattered throughout the broader archival collection holdings.
To see archival records and listings for the Holden Collection, click on the link below to navigate to the main summary record, where two finding aids consisting of a series list and a series by car models and productions are available to guide your journey.
Or alternatively, do an ARCHIVAL NUMBER search on BRG 213 to view all current catalogue records for holdings.
If you would like to search for archival material about Holden that is held separate from the Holden Collection records, try an ADVANCED KEYWORD search on 'Holden' and change the location to 'Archives & Manuscripts'.
Digital copies of selected holdings are viewable from links within catalogue records.
Archival material can be requested from storage at the Information Desk or by phone.
Some items can be requested via the catalogue, using your State Library membership (look for the red Request button).
Material (or facsimile copies, if the original is fragile or valuable) will be sent to the Somerville Reading Room for access.
We have a wide and varied collection of published items in our collection, such as books, newspapers, magazines, journals, pamphlets, maps, films, and much more. Our collection contains several books published about Holden's in Australia, including workshop repair manuals, and histories of the company itself and the various models. The collection also holds journals, posters, films, menus, and even the program for a play!
We house over 100 Holden workshop manuals covering nearly 60 years of models, from the 1953 FJ to the 2012 Commodore VE. These technical resources cover the F & E series, Torana, Gemini, Commodore, Camira, and other models.
Our collection includes numerous historical publications documenting:
Beyond books, our Holden collection features:
For those interested in Holden history:
For restoration enthusiasts:
For broader automotive context:
The easiest way to find any published material in our collection is to perform an Advanced Keyword Search. Simply search any keywords of interest (i.e., 'Holden' or 'Holden Commodore'). This will then provide a list of results of any material in our collection that relates to your area of interest.
Sometimes a SUBJECT search may also be helpful (i.e., Holden automobiles -- History). You can then filter the results by the following categories; 'Books & Pamphlets', 'Magazines, Journals & Newspapers', and 'Ephemera'.
For more information on how to search our catalogue, request material, and access items in our collection, click here.
General Motors-Holden’s was a cornerstone of Australia’s industrial identity and remains deep in the country’s psyche. Holden was established as a saddlery in Adelaide during the 1850s. It later moved to automobile assembly and motor body building before merging with General Motors in 1931.
From those early days through to the launch of Australia’s own car in 1948 and to the company’s closure, Rear Vision: the Holden Collection exhibition delves into Holden’s early years, manufacturing history (including during wartime), the role Holden played in shaping Australia’s post-war identity and, of course, cars.
Visit the Rear Vision exhibition website
The website tells stories of employees, the people who made the vehicles: those who pressed, bent and welded the metal, moulded the bumpers, cut and sewed the fabric trim, applied the paint, and much more.
