Holden

'She's a Beauty', Prime Minister Ben Chifey famously declared in 1948, admiring the frst Holden as it rolled of the production line. More than a mere car, Holden became a national symbol, a status that General Motors-Holden's took care to cultivate. While their advertising sixty years later claimed that 'Holden means a great deal to Australia', things had changed. Declining sales coupled with Prime Minister Tony Abbot's cessation of subsidies for the manufacturer in 2013 revealed that Holden no longer meant the same thing to Australians. Te rise and fall of this Australian symbol tells us as much about Australia as it does about Australia's relationship with the broader world - notably the United States. So how did an American-owned company manufacture an Australian national symbol? Te answer lies in a combination of international connections, fortuitous timing and, above all, shrewd marketing.