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On June 28, 1960, the first Australian-built XK Falcon rolled off the
production line at Broadmeadows, launching the longest continuous model line in
Australian motoring history.
Since then, Australians have bought more than 3 million Falcons, making the
iconic brand the biggest selling in the history of Australian motoring.
Ford Australia President Tom Gorman said the Falcon had a unique place in
Australia's social history.
"Over the years, the Falcon has established itself as a brand name synonymous
with Australian innovation in design and engineering," he said.
"It has spearheaded the charge by the Australian motoring industry to become
a world class player with a car featuring the latest in engineering technology,
and personifying the changes in styling tastes of Australians over more than
four decades.
"In the sixties, the Falcon was all chrome and white wall tyres, while in the
seventies we had burnt orange soft top Falcon coupes to go with our flares and
platform shoes.
"Today, the BA MkII Falcon reflects Australia's growing sophistication in the
world of the 21st century."
Mr Gorman said most Australians had a special memory of a Falcon.
"It might have been watching Moffat, Johnson or Ambrose greet the chequered
flag on their way to another race win, their first set of wheels after securing
their driver's licence or loading up the Falcon wagon for the traditional family
holiday," he said.
The Falcon has been part of Australian life longer than colour television,
decimal currency, maternity leave, the jumbo jet, the pill, Four Corners and the
Opera House.
During its lifetime, the Falcon has seen ten prime ministers, five popes, ten
Olympic Games and two national anthems.
The BA Falcon is the 21st model designation for the Falcon. It is estimated
that Australian Falcons have collectively covered more than 450 billion
kilometres since they first hit the road in 1960.
Pictures
Today, the XK Falcon lined up alongside the latest BA Falcon MkII at the Ford
Discovery Centre in Geelong to mark the occasion.
Also on hand were two Ford employees who – like the XK Falcon – started their
careers in 1960.
Giorgio Torcia began work as a maintenance fitter in July 1960, and has
continued to work in the body build department of the Broadmeadows plant ever
since.
Torcia has seen every iteration of the Falcon go down the line in his time.
"When I started there it was all manual labor and we lifted every part of the
car to put it together.
"There were no robots, all the welding was done by hand.
"The way we build cars today is 300 per cent better than how we did it then,"
he said.
Allan Jones began work in production control in Ford Geelong and went onto a
career in product engineering that has also spanned every version of the Falcon.
"Back then we didn't have computers, it was all manual labor.
"Everything we do now is just so far advanced from the way did things then."
Captions
Picture 1 – The old and the new. One of the very first XK Falcons lines up
alongside a current Falcon BA MkII XR8 to mark 45 years since Ford Australia
started assembling Australia's longest running and biggest selling nameplate –
the Falcon.
Picture 2 – Ford Australia workers Giorgio Torcia (left) and Allan Jones were
on hand to commemorate the 45th anniversary since Ford started assembling the
Falcon. Both men started their long running careers with Ford the same year as
the first XK Falcon rolled off the assembly line in 1960 and have seen every one
of the 20 different models that have been built in Australia since then.
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