During the early 1950s, Frankston was briefly home to the Hartnett Motor Company. Following his resignation as managing director of General Motors-Holden (GMH) in 1948, Laurence Hartnett was approached by then Prime Minister of Australia the Rt. Hon. Ben Chifley to establish an Australian-owned car company to compete with American-owned GMH in Australia. At GMH, Hartnett was "the father of the Holden"—the first Australian-made car. 70 acres between Seaford and Frankston was selected for the site of the factory with the support of the Victorian state government in 1949. The Hartnett Tasman was a front-wheel drive two door sedan based on a design by Jean Grégoire. The company planned to produce 100 cars a month at its Frankston factory. However, due to the delayed delivery of parts from the Australian federal government's Commonwealth Engineering Company, production was also severely delayed. The first Hartnett Tasman was dispatched from the factory in March 1952. 125 Tasmans and its convertible version, the Hartnett Pacific, were dispatched before the company went into receivership due to its delays in September 1952. The rare Frankston-made cars are now collector's items.