Showroom

The Smith Street workshop and service centre in Chatswood was the mechanical arm of Sundell Motors Pty Ltd, the company that held Holden dealer code 610 for the area. While the Pacific Highway showroom handled new vehicle sales until its demolition in 1987, Smith Street was where the work happened: servicing, repairs, the day-to-day business of keeping Holden vehicles running across Sydney's North Shore. Sundell Motors Chatswood Pty Ltd was registered with ASIC on 5 January 1967. Over the following decades, the company grew into a multi-branch dealer group, with confirmed entities at Chatswood and Pittwater. By 2018, four Sundell entities had consolidated under the single name Sundell Motors Pty Ltd. The end came with the wider collapse of the Holden franchise. General Motors announced on 17 February 2020 that the Holden brand would be withdrawn from Australia and New Zealand. Of the 185 Holden dealers operating at the time, at least 120 accepted compensation packages by the deadline of 30 June 2020, with total compensation across the network close to $150 million. The ACCC intervened and the Senate launched an inquiry into the conduct of the withdrawal. The Holden brand ceased trading in Australia on 31 December 2020. The Smith Street building, photographed in 2015, was already vacant and carrying layers of street art across its walls by the time Brett visited. Signage remained on the interior surfaces, dust gathered on the bare floor, and the workshop stood open to whoever came through. Willoughby City Council approved a development application for the site in March 2021, following a Land and Environment Court challenge. The building was demolished c. 2021. Woolworths Chatswood East opened on the site on 26 October 2022. This photograph is what remains of the workshop.