Ford didn’t let the milestone pass unnoticed, staging a lavish celebration on April 4 at the Melbourne Showgrounds which was attended by William Clay Ford Jr (Bill) Ford, great grandson of Henry Ford I and the current executive chairman of the Ford Motor Company.

“For 100 years, Ford and Australia have grown together. Australia was one of the first markets we established outside North America,” Bill Ford said. “It was a key moment in making Ford truly global. It has been a centre of innovation, from the first truck or Ute, to the Falcon and Ranger, and always a pipeline of talent.

“Ford Australia may be 100 years old, but the road ahead is what excites me the most. Built on ingenuity, determination, and world-class innovation, the team in Australia is not just shaping the future, they are redefining what is possible.”

Ford took the opportunity to globally unveil the new Australian-developed higher-capacity Ranger model, the Ranger Super Duty, as well as announcing a $1.5-million, three-year partnership between Ford Philanthropy and the Australian Red Cross. The relationship between Ford and Red Cross goes back to the early days of the Ford Motor Company, when Henry Ford supplied converted Model Ts to serve as battlefield ambulances during World War One. Ford Motor Company has been a partner of the Red Cross for the last 75 years.

In addition, Ford also celebrated the continuation of its 100-year partnership with the Geelong Football Club. It's a sponsorship which literally dates back to the birth of Ford Australia; today it's the longest-running commercial partnership in world professional sport.

Those celebrations continued later that night at Geelong, where the Geelong Cats defeated the Melbourne Demons in front a packed crowd at Kardinia Oval that included Bill Ford himself.

Geelong was the original home of Ford Australia, the site chosen to for the headquarters and assembly plant for Ford models when the decision was taken that the company would establish an Australian Ford operation. 

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