Working at Holden in the 1970’s we were working on the HQ – the biggest selling Holden, the shape became the standard Aussie car.

They had races for the Holden HQ then and even today. I was part of the tool and die makers, specialized engineers in the manufacturing industry where jigs, fixtures, dies, molds, machine tools, cutting tools were all part of the daily workplace.

It was a remarkable working environment with all the new immigrants. They did not speak perfect English but that was never an issue. We loved to see what they had for lunch all wrapped up in newspaper, mortadella sandwiches with bell pepper. They would tell us it was horse meat, but we were never sure. The home made Italian bread was so fresh and stuffed peppers in olive oil looked so “exotic”. We ate pasties and pies.

Soon after I left Holden, the factory closed.

It was such a fantastic place to work and mix with the most remarkable and interesting new Australians.