In 1901 a young Herbert Austin, who had been manufacturing shearing machines for Wolseley — the sort found in wool sheds all over New Zealand — had finally persuaded his employer to enter the fledgling car manufacturing business. Under Austin’s management Wolseley quickly became the UK’s largest vehicle manufacturer. Even so, Austin and the Wolseley owners were often at loggerheads.
A few years later, Herbert was sure enough of his own ideas to set up the Austin Motor Company in Longbridge, Birmingham, so that he could do things his way. That was in 1905. For the next 82 years cars wearing an Austin badge were sold in the UK and around the world.
The first Austins were good-looking cars that were marketed to the upper echelons of the British market. Before long, the payroll had grown to 400 employees who had turned out more than 100 Austins. From 1905 on, Austin’s business made good progress. Less than a decade later he had sold several thousand cars and trucks. By now, there were more than 2000 people on his payroll.
In 1914, Britain was taking part in ‘the war to end all wars’ and for Austin, business was booming. The British Government ordered Austin cars, trucks, utility vehicles, guns, ammunition, and even aircraft — ammunition shells by the million and even aircraft by the thousand. This connection with aviation persevered
