Rootes Australia
Rootes Australia was the Australian affiliate of the Rootes Group, a British motor vehicle manufacturing company.[2]
The company was formed immediately after the Second World War[2] initially operating as an importing and distribution firm.[3] It began assembling Hillman Minx vehicles at Port Melbourne in Victoria in 1946.[4] This was the first instance of a British motor manufacturer establishing a production line in Australia.[5][6] By 1954 the company had gained a 5.4% share of the local market and subsequently announced plans to create a full local manufacturing facility.[2] A 35-hectare site was acquired for this purpose at Harrisfield (now known as Noble Park), near Dandenong in Victoria. However, the proposed plant was never built.[2]
Hillman, Humber and Singer models were assembled successfully for a number of years. The company also produced models which were hybrids of the three makes.[3] By the mid-1960s, falling sales and an ageing model line-up meant the Rootes Group was in trouble both in Britain and Australia.[7] In December 1965, Rootes Australia was merged with Chrysler Australia.[2] Assembly operations were continued at the Port Melbourne facility [8] and Hillman cars, Humber cars and Commer trucks were now sold by Chrysler dealers.[8] Chrysler was quick to phase out the Humber brand,[9] however assembly of the Hillman Arrow and Hunter range was commenced in early 1967.[9] Chrysler Australia also utilised Port Melbourne for assembly of the Dodge Phoenix from 1968 and Mitsubishi's Galant from 1971.[9] The last Hillman Hunter was produced in November 1972,[10] and, with Dodge Phoenix and Galant assembly transferred to Tonsley Park in South Australia at the end of 1972, the Port Melbourne facility was closed.[10]
Significant models produced by Rootes Australia included the following:
- Hillman Minx - assembled from 1946.[3]
- Humber Super Snipe - assembled from 1953.[11]
- Sunbeam Mk III - assembled circa 1955 [12]
- Sunbeam Alpine - assembled circa 1955 [12]
- Humber Hawk – assembled to 1964 [13]
- Singer Gazelle - assembled from 1957 to 1961[14]
- Hillman Super Minx [15]
- Humber Vogue - assembled from 1962 to 1965.[11]
- Hillman Imp - from 1964[16]
References
- ^ Gallery at Hillman Owners' Club of Australia Inc
- ^ a b c d e The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, page 413
- ^ a b c The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, page 216
- ^ Pedr Davis, Wheels Across Australia, 1987, page 208
- ^ Shaun Birney, A Nation on Wheels, 1987, page 187
- ^ Rootes Group at Motoring Weekly (UK)
- ^ Shaun Birney, A Nation on Wheels, 1987, page 188
- ^ a b Gavin Farmer, Great Ideas in Motion, A History of Chrysler in Australia 1946-1981, Ilinga Books, 2010, page 428
- ^ a b c Gavin Farmer, Great Ideas in Motion, A History of Chrysler in Australia 1946-1981, Ilinga Books, 2010, page 280
- ^ a b Gavin Farmer, Great Ideas in Motion, A History of Chrysler in Australia 1946-1981, Ilinga Books, 2010, page 282
- ^ a b The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, page 226
- ^ a b Advertisement for Sunbeam Mk III and Alpine "Produced in the factory of Rootes Australia Limited", Modern Motor, March 1955, page 34
- ^ Australian Humber History Retrieved from web.archive.org on 23 January 2009
- ^ .The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, page 436
- ^ Gavin Farmer, Great Ideas in Motion, A History of Chrysler in Australia 1946-1981, Ilinga Books, 2010, page 365
- ^ Gavin Farmer, Great Ideas in Motion, A History of Chrysler in Australia 1946-1981, Ilinga Books, 2010, page 273
External links
- http://www.sa.hillman.org.au/BV_ADLbrochure01a.htm Hillman Minx Series IIIC Special (1962)sales brochure - Retrieved on 21/6/08
- http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/tazydevilbear/hmhumbervogue.html&date=2009-10-25+22:39:25 Humber Vogue Mk2 image - Retrieved on 21/6/2008
- http://www.sa.hillman.org.au/RootesFactory.htm Rootes Australia Factory - Retrieved on 22/6/08
- http://www.sunbeam.org.au