Ford Australia Celebrates History In The Making – A Century In Australia & 100 Years Of Innovation

This post is courtesy of Ford Australia.

One hundred years ago this week, the Ford Motor Company of Australia Pty Ltd was founded in Geelong, Victoria.

The story of how Ford Australia came into being started in 1923 when North American Ford executives visited Australia to seek out a base to set up an operation to direct all Ford activities in the country.

Two senior Ford executives were part of a six-person advanced party scouting Australian locations: Hubert Charles French and P. W. Grandjean, the then secretary of Ford of Canada. After their visit, Grandjean wrote to Edsel Ford in 1924 that "the time is ripe to carry on a business in Australia with our own organisation.”*

Grandjean believed the market deserved a cohesive Ford operation to serve the Australian public. Geelong won out because of its deep seaport, available land, access to nearby railways and good labour force.

By 1925, the Ford Motor Company of Australia Pty Ltd opened in Geelong with Hubert French as the founding Managing Director.

The first car to roll out of the Geelong factory was the legendary Model T Ford, the car that forever changed the landscape of affordable transportation for the masses. Known for its simple design and solid construction, the 1925 Australian Model T cost about 185 pounds, or approximately $18,542.00 in today’s money, as calculated by the Reserve Bank of Australia's pre-decimal inflation calculator.

To mark the Ford Australia Centenary year, a special “History in the Making” centenary event will be held in Melbourne on April 4.

“This is a significant milestone for the Ford Australia team, our Dealers, and Ford fans around the country,” said Andrew Birkic, President and CEO, Ford Australia and New Zealand. “Just about every family in Australia has a Ford story and we love how Ford vehicles are such a part of the cultural landscape of the country.”

The centenary event will showcase a selection of Ford’s own Heritage fleet, including the first 1960 XK Falcon, which was introduced in September 1960, as well as the first Ford ute, the 1934 Coupe-Ute, a groundbreaking vehicle invented in Australia.

As a nod to today’s lineup, Ford will include the Mustang Mach-E EV, Ford Ranger PHEV, Ford Everest, and some key Ford GT sedans and racecars that helped put Ford Motorsport on the map in Australia.

Ford Australia is also supporting the All Ford Day in Geelong on Sunday, April 6, which is expected to be one of the biggest All Ford Day events ever.

Deep Relationship With Geelong Community

Ford’s relationship with Geelong runs deep, with a partnership with the Geelong Football Club that is also celebrating its 100th year. 1925 was also significant for the Geelong Football Club, as it celebrated its win of the club’s first Victorian Football League Premiership.

Geelong also managed to imprint on the Model T. In North America, the car was affectionately known as “Tin Lizzie,” but in 1925 in Australia, it was given the nickname the “Dalgety,” a reference to the Dalgety Wool Store in Geelong, where the first vehicles were assembled.

Eventually, the original factory moved from the old Dalgety’s Wool Store to larger premises in Corio.

Geelong can also lay claim to being the place where the world’s first coupe-ute was designed and built. The original coupe-utility was the result of a request in 1932 from a Gippsland farmer to Ford, requesting the company build a vehicle that could "take my wife to church on Sunday and carry my pigs in the back on Monday."

Ford engineer Lew Bandt was tasked with the challenge of delivering such a vehicle, and in 1934, Bandt and his team delivered what became known as the Ford Coupe-Utility.

Ford Australia’s story is a key part of the historical fabric of the Victorian community, particularly in Geelong, which was home to Ford’s original stamping plant at Norlane, the site of the current Research and Development Centre, and the 900ha You Yangs Proving Ground at Lara, where Ford develops and tests Ford vehicles. Ford’s Campbellfield facility in Melbourne is also home to Ford’s International Markets Group Product Development Centre.

Australian History Accessible Through Ford Heritage Vault

As part of Ford Australia’s 100th year, fans can be part of the action by embarking on a nostalgic adventure through the Ford Heritage Vault, where thousands of Australian archival materials are held.

The Ford Heritage Vault is the online repository for all things related to Ford history and heritage around the world, including Australia. The Vault currently contains over 19,000 digital items, including product brochures, assorted regional issues of the Ford Times magazine, product and concept photography, images of global Ford facilities, and press releases detailing the innovations in historic concept vehicles.

For the first time ever, more than 2,300 brochures and images of Ford models sold in Australia from 1925 are being added to the Vault for visitors around the world to take a look.

The best of Ford’s automotive history in Australia is just a click away. Unique vehicles, like the 1934 Coupe-Utility, 1960 XK Falcon, and the brightly colored XR6 and XR8 of the 2000s will be available for all to see and celebrate.

Ford’s Archives team, led by Ford Heritage Brand Manager Ted Ryan and Senior Collections Archivist Ciera Casteel, have been working with local vendors to digitise thousands of images, brochures, documents, and audiovisual materials to preserve and make this history available to the public.

“It has been a mammoth undertaking, but we’re continuing to add to the online archive with Australian-relevant documents, brochures, and images,” Ryan said. “We want to ensure the collection is made accessible online for the general public, so everyone can relive their favourite moments.”

Among the images and brochures available, there are engaging snapshots of vehicles that provide a walk down memory lane:

Ford delved into the 1970s camping scene with the Falcon Overniter, “the only ute that’s built to take on a camper.”

You can also check out Ford luxury from the 1980s, with the Ford LTD brochure, with a lofty comparison to a Stradivarius violin.

You can check out the Ford Heritage Vault at Hop in the Driver's Seat | Ford Heritage Vault.

*Mira Wilkins & Frank Ernest Hill, American Business Abroad, 1964, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan.

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