Historical information

The FJ Holden is iconic in Australian motoring history. It was made in Australia by Holden from 1953 to 1956. During the 1950s, Holden dominated the Australian car market and by 1958 sales accounted for over 40 per cent of total car sales in Australia.
The Redex Reliability Trial 1953 -The first Redex round-Australia reliability trial covered of 6,500 miles (10,500 km), and had a first prize of £1,000. It attracted both amateur and professional drivers in a variety of cars. The route passed through Brisbane, Rockhampton, Townsville, Darwin, Alice Springs, Adelaide and Melbourne before returning to Sydney and attracted much public interest. At the time the idea of driving huge distances around the country in ordinary cars was novel and the logistics were challenging. In many parts of the country there simply wasn’t adequate accommodation or suitably located refuelling stops. The Shell Company facilitated the race by placing petrol dumps along the 5000 km route between Townsville and Adelaide. The race began at the Sydney Showground on 30 August when 192 cars left at three-minute intervals. Of the twenty top finalists, two thirds were sponsored. Ken Tubman and John Marshall won the trial in a Peugeot 203.

Physical description

A black & white photo taken from near 688 Whitehorse Road. It includes 2 FJ Holdens - one is probably a passing car; the other is covered with labels and can assume to be competing in the trial. On the far side of the road are onlookers of men, women and one child standing on a wide nature strip. One man is taking photos. The houses behind are obscured by high hedges, but appear to be Californian bungalows, one with a large palm tree in its front garden.