Exhibition launch – Rear vision: the Holden collection
Simon Froude
Director-General, National Archives of Australia
Parkes, ACT
12 June 2026
Yuumma (hello). Welcome to National Archives of Australia.
My name is Simon Froude, and I’m the Director-General at National Archives of Australia. Thank you for being here this evening to celebrate the opening of Rear vision: the Holden collection.
First, it is my privilege to introduce Ms Arika Errington who will offer the Acknowledgement of Country.
Arika is the Assistant Director of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement team here at National Archives.
Arika is a Wakka Wakka Wulli Wulli woman whose work is grounded in cultural responsibility, systems transformation and the belief that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples must be present in every conversation shaping Australia’s future.
Please join me in welcoming Arika Errington.
Thank you, Arika.
I would like to take a moment now to welcome some special guests:
- Members of the ACT legislative assembly.
- Members of the National Archives of Australia Advisory Council.
- Colleagues from our national collecting institutions.
- Our esteemed members of the diplomatic community:
- His excellency Mr Xiao Qian, Ambassador from the Embassy of China.
- Mr Guillaume Dabouis, Chargé d'Affaires from the Embassy of France.
- Ms Erika Olson, Chargé d'Affaires from the Embassy of the United States of America.
- Mr Luis Cardona, Chargé d'Affaires from the Embassy of the Republic of Guatemala.
- Our partners and exhibition lenders, particularly those who travelled from interstate.
- And of course, our members and friends… welcome!
For many generations, the Holden name has been synonymous with Australia. To some it is iconic; to others the name Holden is woven into the fabric of everyday life – from washing the car on a Sunday, to family road trips or backyard debates about Holden versus Ford.
But tonight, you will see that Rear vision takes us beyond the brand and nostalgia. It tells the story of how the business evolved from a small Adelaide saddlery in the 1850s.
Over time it grew to a major manufacturing powerhouse whose efforts were pivotal in arming Australia during the Second World War.
It later established Australia’s car industry, eventually owning its pride of place with one of its models described as ‘Australia’s Own Car’.
Rear vision was inspired by an Australian Research Council Linkage partnership that brought Adelaide University, the State Library of South Australia and National Archives together for the project Assembling for war: General Motors Holden.
When the exhibition first opened at the State Library of South Australia last year, it brought critical and public acclaim. And now, for a limited season, we’ve brought Rear vision right here to our nation’s capital.
The exhibition includes collections from the State Library of South Australia, National Archives of Australia, the Holden Manufacturing Heritage Association, the Australian Federal Police Museum, and especially for tonight, the Canberra Classic Holden Club, who have generously provided the remarkable cars at the front of the building.
For us here at National Archives, this exhibition is an exemplar of our commitment to connecting Australians with records that tell the story of how our nation came to be and continues to evolve.
The story of Holden offers more than the history of a car manufacturer. It presents a slice of social history that reveals the foundations of contemporary Australian society, a citizenship of diverse communities contributing to the future success of the nation.
Within the industrial history embedded in this exhibition, narratives about gender equality and the transformation of the Australian workforce during and post the Second World War co-exist.
These stories – shared through archival records – will resonate with today’s audiences and demonstrate how archival collections illuminate ongoing national conversations about equity, work and social change.
This exhibition includes:
- early patents from Holden and Holden’s Motor Body Builders
- the original bronze lion designed by Raynor Hoff around 1930 for the Elizabeth Plant main gate entrance
- the first and last Holden engines, from the De Havilland Gipsy Major aeroplane engine manufactured in 1941 to the last VF Commodore engine produced in 2017.
There’s also a cutaway Holden Monaro trimatic gearbox. This was used by the ACT Police and Australian Federal Police for driver training sessions during the 1960s.
This brings us to the 1948 Holden FX you might have noticed in the foyer. This wonderful classic was kindly loaned to us by Tony and June Pryce who are also with us tonight.
You will no doubt appreciate that our heritage building was never designed to accommodate a Holden car. This feat was achieved through a truly spirited cooperation across our organisation, from the exhibitions team to facilities, from governance to security.
Now, it is with great pleasure that I invite our guest speaker Mr Richard Ferlazzo to the stage.
Richard is a highly regarded product and transport design consultant who, in a previous life, spent more than 30 years working in the General Motors Holden Design Department.
He began at Holden as a Senior Designer, moved on to Chief Designer and then for his last 7 years was its Design Director.
He led a creative team of more than 150 people developing production design, advanced design and concept cars – not only for General Motors Holden, but also for the General Motors Global Vehicle Programs.
During his time at Holden, Richard was involved in the conception and design of some of our most iconic cars, including Holden’s ‘Billion-Dollar Baby’, the VE Commodore and the EFIJY Concept Car.
Richard will speak about Holden’s place in Australian culture. He has a real passion for cars, loves talking about them and has many great stories about his time at Holden, so I know you will enjoy his remarks tonight.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Richard Ferlazzo.
Thank you, Richard, for sharing your remarkable stories and making our opening so memorable.
Before I officially open the exhibition, and on behalf of the entire National Archives team, I want to thank the State Library of South Australia and Adelaide University for making this exhibition possible.
I particularly thank Associate Professor Paul Sensziuk, Program Director of the School of Humanities at Adelaide University, and Mark Gilbert, the Exhibitions, Media and Marketing Librarian from the State Library of South Australia, who are here this evening.
I also extend this thanks to the many institutions, people and organisations who have contributed to the development of the content and have enabled us to share their stories.
The exhibition is open until 11 October, and we hope that you will take advantage of not just the exhibition, but our talks program, our classic car display on community day in September, and the school holiday activities that we have programmed.
But tonight, please enjoy the entertainment, the arcade games and the hospitality! Rear vision: the Holden collection is now open!
Media contact
National Archives of Australia Media Team
Phone: 0417 247 157
Email: media@naa.gov.au