History
Holden FC Panel Van Hearse
Hearses were originally horse-drawn, but silent electric motorised carts were introduced when horses began to be phased out as transportation became more popular, till now the Australian hearse industry remain as a modified car built by a third party manufacturer.
For this FC Holden Hearse,the major modification was a raised floor with three rollers to push the coffin in and out and a cut out front bench seat so longer coffins fit. Whilst Gloss Black was unique to the hearse’s exterior paint the interior / rear compartment was painted white to highlight the coffin. The side supports where cut out for windows for natural light and better viewing.
This Holden FC Panel Van Hearse was delivered on 2nd of March 1960 and the body work conversion by Athol Hedges commenced soon after.
Vehicle Info: FC Panel Van Hearse:
• Body Type: FC Panel Van - 10,089th manufactured in Adelaide, SA
• Vehicle Assembly: assembled on October 1959, was the 25,432nd FC (in any body style) assembled in Brisbane, Queensland.
• Exterior trim: Single-tone High Gloss Black
• Interior trim: Fall Red
Body Work Converted by Athol Hedges:
Athol Hedges PTY LTD was a Queensland leading commercial body builder located on Melton Road, Northgate in Brisbane. Austral was originally formed as Athol Hedges and it was later renamed Domino Hedges then Domino before becoming Austral in 1982, when purchased by the Australian Manufacturing Group. The company originally bodied buses diversifying into integral buses and coaches (body and chassis) in the 1970s. Other known conversions where also done on cars, car canopies and caravans.
Original Vehicle Owner was the Shire of Bauhinia 1960 to 1987:
The selling GMH Dealer that sold this hearse was Springsure Motors located in Springsure. Springsure is a small town in Queensland, 66 km south of Emerald on the Gregory Highway. It is 765 km northwest of Brisbane.
The Shire of Bauhinia was a local government area in Central Queensland, Australia. The Shire, administered from the town of Springsure, covered an area of 23,649.6 square kilometres (9,131.2 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1879 until 2008.
• 2nd owner, Roy Rogers 1987 to 1989
Roy purchased the FC Hearse at auction for $4000 which came directly from Springsure. When purchased Roy recalls the car only having 2000 miles on the odometer.
• 3rd owner, Unknown (lived on the Gold Coast)
Whilst the owner is still unknown it was said the person drove the FC Hearse from Brisbane to the Gold Coast. The original hearse fittings where removed and the rear interior of the vehicle was painted black to cover the white.
• 4th owner, Bruce Wilson from Melbourne
Bruce purchased the FC hearse in the mid to late 1990's with less than 8,000 on the odometer from a car show room on the Gold Coast, and had it trucked down to Mornington where it remained in storage with very little use. The original hearse fittings where shipped down separately and had remained separated from the car for over 23 years.
• 5th owner, Joe Galea
Joe has owned this vehicle since March 2013 and has since meticulously detailed the entire vehicle, refitting the original period Athol Hedges Hearse conversion equipment back into the FC hearse. The interior of the hearse conversion has been re-painted using period colour tones (acrylic white) and the exterior of the vehicle (gloss black) has only been polished.
This very unique low mileage FC Holden Panel Van Hearse with an odometer reading of 8,700 original miles is in remarkable condition for its age and is certainly a unique piece of Australian history. Now only used for club events and personal use, it's not often vehicles of this sort remain intact with their original period fittings. Credit must be given to its past owners for their interest in keeping the hearse fittings together for all to admire today.
You can go and see this vehicle on display at the National Holden Motor Museum in Echuca: http://www.holdenmuseum.com.au/
Memories
Original 9,000 miles on clock. Lowest mileage FC in the country.
