Person

Hartnett, Laurence John (1898 - 1986)

Kt CBE HonFIEAust

Born
26 May 1898
Woking, Surrey, England
Died
4 April 1986
Frankston, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Mechanical engineer and Business executive

Summary

Sir Laurence Hartnett was Managing Director of General Motors-Holden's Ltd Australia 1934-1947 and a director of the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation Pty Ltd, Melbourne 1935-1947. He was Director of Ordnance Production within the Munitions Department and presided over the first meeting of the Optical Munitions Panel. Hartnett was a guiding influence over the Panel's work. He was also involved with many external bodies including a stint as Chairman of Ferro Corporation (Australia) Pty Ltd and John Hart Pty Ltd. Hartnett completed a mechanical engineering apprenticeship with Vickers Ltd., before joining the Royal Navy Air Service and the Royal Air Force. After the war he joined General Motors and worked at many of their branches all over the world, before coming to Australia in 1934.

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Details

Chronology

1917 - 1919
Military service - Trained as a pilot with the Royal Navy Air Service and the Royal Air Force
c. 1926 - c. 1933
Career position - Senior Executive, General Motors in India, Ceylon, Malaya, Singapore, Sweden, Finland, USA, UK
1934 - 1947
Career position - Managing Director, General Motors-Holden's Ltd Australia
1935 - 1947
Career position - Inaugural Director, Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation Pty Ltd
1938
Career event - Member (MIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
1940 - 1945
Career position - Director of Ordnance Production within the Munitions Department
1942 - 1946
Career position - Chairman, Army Inventions Directorate
1 Jan 1945
Award - Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) - Managing Director of General Motors Holden
1945 - 1971
Career position - Council member, Museum of Applied Science, Victoria
1949 - 1986?
Career position - Chairman and Managing Director, Hartnett Holdings Pty Ltd
10 Jun 1967
Award - Knight Bachelor (Kt) - Services to industry and government
1974
Award - Public Service Star, Republic of Singapore
1983
Award - Doctor of Laws (LLD), honoris causa, University of Melbourne
1984
Award - Honorary Fellow (HonFIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia

Related Corporate Bodies

Archival resources

The University of Melbourne Archives

  • Laurence John Hartnett - Records, 1934 - 1986; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details

Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions

Books

  • Hartnett, Laurence, Big wheels and little wheels (Hawthorn (Vic.): Gold Star Publications, 1973), 278 pp. Details

Book Sections

Conference Papers

  • Scott, D. R., 'Laurence J. Hartnett and the Holden Car', in Engineering Heritage Matters: Conference Papers of the 12th National Conference on Engineering Heritage, Toowoomba, 29 September to 1 October 2003 edited by Sheridan, Norman (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Engineers Australia, 2003), pp. 152-163., https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.339152638265643. Details

Edited Books

  • Gold, Ergad; Greener, Rosalie (Ed) ed., Inventive Vics Exhibition (Melbourne, Victoria: Australian Scientific Industry Association, 1985), 58 pp. Optical Munitions. Details

Journal Articles

  • 'Four new Honorary Fellows named [Bryan Kelman, Brian Loton, Arvi Parbo, Laurence Hartnett]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 56 (13) (1984), 40. Details
  • Hartnett, L. J., 'Some observations on an overseas trip, with particular regard to aircraft manufacture', Some observations on an overseas trip, with particular regard to aircraft manufacture, 11 (8) (1939), 280-282. Details
  • Rich, Joe, 'An Edwardian Childhood: Sir Laurence Hartnett and the search for identity', Australian Historical Society, 24 (1990), 252-266. Details

Resources

Resource Sections

See also

Gavan McCarthy; Ken McInnes

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 22 July 2026

EOAS ID: biogs/P001344b.htm

This Edition: 2026 May - New Office
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