Features
Gallery 1
Latin linguist’s literary life lampooning Lion lore.
DON Loffler considers himself the “luckiest man alive”. Now 76, he has retired from a distinguished career as a teacher of Latin and German at the prestigious St Peter’s College in Adelaide and now writes books about historic Holdens.
Loffler’s first book, She’s a Beauty: The Story of the First Holdens, was published in 1998 as a comprehensive 246-page history of the 48-215 (aka ‘FX’) and FJ. Laden with facts, pics and tidbits, the green-covered tome was an admirable accomplishment.
“Put it in the bin,” Loffler sighs. “I did my best with that book, with the information available at the time, but quite a bit of it proved to be inaccurate. I got lots of feedback – so many wonderful responses, and lots of extra photos – and in 2006 I republished a complete revamp of that book, the ‘New Enlarged Edition’.”
“There’s all sorts of fictions, like that [PM Ben] Chifley unveiled the first Holden off the line. Total rubbish. The first Holden came off the line on October 1, 1948, under huge secrecy in the factory. Chifley just unveiled a production Holden on November 29.”
Loffler’s obsession with Holden began, as usual, in childhood. “I was nine years old when the Holden came out in 1948. I have the most vivid memories of the drama of that car appearing. I had an instant love affair with the Holden. I was already interested in cars per se, but this affair never left me.
Had he ever been disloyal and owned anything else? After a long pause, he says: “This is almost scandalous. I never owned one! Until 2007, when I bought a barn-find 1953 48-215. I drove that around for five years until I fell in love with an FJ Special. I have that and a Honda HRV.
“But I was totally disloyal. I was madly keen on VW Beetles. I owned five of them, one after the other, then I had a VW 1500 sedan, then a special-import 1500 S Variant twin-carb. But the flame for Holdens never died!”
