By Danielle Kutchel
The iconic Holden lion has greeted Berwick motorists for over 30 years from its place at Barry Bourke Holden on Princes Highway.
But as Holden’s time comes to an end, the silver and red livery is being removed with the main sign at the site taken down on Tuesday 27 October.
In the days leading up to its removal, visitors had streamed to the dealership with their beloved lion-badged vehicles to get one last photo to remember the brand by.
According to Rebecca Tantram, marketing manager at Barry Bourke Holden, at one point visitors were queuing for up to an hour to get that precious shot.
Berwick resident Cam was one of the lucky ones who was able to get in for some photos, even bringing his own cars down to star in the pictures.
Over the years he’s owned about eight Holdens with two of them bought from Barry Bourke.
He also gets all his servicing and parts from the Berwick dealership and praised their service and knowledge of the brand.
Cam said while he was “a bit emotional” about Holden’s exit from the market, he was glad Barry Bourke had allowed fans like him the chance to come down for one last look.
“It was good to see other people there, obviously there is a lot of passion for the brand,” he said.
The focus for Barry Bourke now turns to renovations as the site prepares for its new brand, which is yet to be announced.
Holden servicing and parts will remain at the site for existing vehicles, and used car sales will continue, however no new Holdens will be sold.
“There’s certainly an air of excitement with the new brand and opportunities,“ Ms Tantram said.
“But some of our staff have been here for 20 years and there is some sadness that the brand they love is gone.“
For the die-hard fanatics eager to get their hands on what is likely to be a significant piece of memorabilia, there’s no good news: a decision on the fate of the sign hasn’t been made yet.
