The Australian Ark: 1850s – Great Expectations

by Andrew Caillard MW

The Gold Era of Victoria
The colony of Victoria was founded in 1851. The population around this time (1850) was 77, 345 people. By 1853 it had swelled to 300,000 settlers and represented Great Britain’s largest export market by far. The vigneron Robert Caldwell observed “it thus appears that Victoria alone is nearly equal to all the other colonies of the British Empire (not including the other Australian colonies) and is equal of itself to all of India,” Wine imports also increased.

From £19,486 by value to £353, 529 between 1851 and 1853, illustrating the extraordinary rush of prospectors to Victoria during that time. One in three settlers in the colony were at the diggings with the hopes of finding a fortune. By the end of the decade (1859) the fledgling colony had increased to a population of 530, 262.

The fortunes of a small but highly aspirational wine industry were aligned to the discovery of gold in the same year as the colony’s foundation and the huge influx of immigrants. Gold finds at Beechworth, Ballarat and Bendigo sparked gold rushes of extraordinary magnitude. Around two tonnes of gold per week flowed into the Victorian Government’s coffers. Melbourne expanded at a rapid rate and railway networks radiated to regional towns and ports. The discovery of gold during the 1850s was a major turning point for Australia, but it almost ruined the new wine industry in Victoria.

“The vine has been cultivated to some extent in Victoria, and thrives well. The grapes are delicious; and the wine produced from them, although wanting body, may be fairly expected to improve.” Robert Caldwell, author and later vigneron. Scarcity of labour, a result of gold fever, saw a rapid increase in wages and costs of production. A surplus of imported wine (Melbourne became the largest importer of Sauternes in the world), made Victorian wine uncompetitive. The Reverend John Bleasdale, a strong advocate for colonial wine, said in a speech to the Royal Society in 1867 “I need not advert to the causes which subsequent to 1851 made vineyards more profitable for fruit than wine until perhaps as late as 1858.” The demand for fresh fruit was much higher than wine. The shortage of supply ensured wine grapes for eating was more lucrative and less riskier than winemaking.

The rise of Hunter Valley
Geologist and civil engineer William Keene, who served as the inspector of coal mines in the Hunter District played an active role in the development of viticulture in the Hunter Valley.

For a short while he was the president of the Hunter Valley Vignerons Association (1865- 1866). His experience and observations encouraged vignerons to alter their methods of vineyard management. When he moved to the Hunter Valley in 1852, he joined the Hunter Valley Vignerons Association, where his impact was greatly felt. Born at Bath, England to the owner of the Bath Journal around 1798, he had studied medicine and geology before moving to France.

While working as a geologist in coal and salt mining from around 1827 he cultivated a small vineyard at the foot of the Pyrenees near Bayonne in South West France (close to the Spanish border). In 1836 he moved to Bordeaux and worked as a civil engineer but continued to show an interest in viticulture. But the revolution of 1848 diminished his career prospects and probably the safety of his family. After learning that his son William Thomas had moved to Victoria in 1851, lured by the gold rush, he found work with the New South Wales Government as a geologist, keeper of records and mining inspector. But his practical knowledge and longstanding experience with growing grapes in France was unique at the time.

According to the New Castle Chronicle “Mr Keene was a constant advocate of the southern French treatment of the vine, as distinguished from the German treatment in use in New South Wales, as being more suited to the warm climate of Australia and to the strong growth of the vine in this country. As advocated by hm, there was not only a technical difference in the French system but there was also this broad general distinction that the French plan allows more bearing wood, and a larger quantity of grapes, than is permitted under the German system, in the celebrated. Rhine vineyards.”

Keene’s advocacy was well received by Hunter Valley vignerons, but he was not alone in the recommendation of French techniques. Even William Macarthur, who brought German vine dressers to Australia to assist in managing his Camden Park vineyard, had adapted vineyard management techniques to suit the Australian climate. One of the challenges had been securing French labour. It was almost impossible to find working class French vine dressers willing to take the journey and settle in New South Wales. In a letter dated 1857 to William Macarthur Bordeaux negociant Pierre François Guestier, regretted his failure to find immigrants blaming the massive investment in public works and the expansion of the French army, both instigated by Emperor Napoleon III. But when William Keene died in 1872, around 80 leading citizens based in Newcastle chartered the steam tug-boat Southland to carry them to Raymond Terrace where his funeral was held; illustrating the high regard in which he was held by the local community for his contribution to viticulture, mining and charitable works.

Nonetheless the ongoing French and German experiences, at varying levels, continued to influence viticultural practices in the Australian colonies.

The Australian Ark follows the story of Australian wine from its earliest beginnings in 1788 to the modern era and reveals a fascinating story that has to date been mostly untold. 

The book has taken over a decade to write, and covers three illustrated volumes by Andrew Caillard, renowned wine auctioneer, taster, and writer. It truly is an incredible read, telling the economic, political and social history of Australia through the evolving progress of the Australian wine industry.
Volume 1: 1788–1900: The Colonial Era
Volume 2: 1901-1983: Federation to the Modern Era
Volume 3: 1983–present day: Contemporary Times – Recollections and Perspectives

To purchase in the UK/Europe, contact the Académie du Vin Library.