Samuel Smith (1812–1889) was an early vigneron and winemaker in the

colony of South Australia A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

. The winery he founded,

Yalumba Yalumba is an Australian winery located near the town of Angaston, South Australia in the Barossa Valley wine region. It was founded by a British brewer, Samuel Smith, who emigrated to Australia with his family from Wareham, Dorset in August ...

, is now the oldest family-owned winery in Australia. Smith was born on 17 July 1812 at

Wareham, Dorset Wareham ( ) is a historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parishes in England, civil parish, in the England, English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome, Dorset, River Frome southwest of Poole. Situa ...

in England. He became a brewer, married and had five children in England. The family migrated to South Australia on the ''China'' in 1847 and initially settled at Klemzig. By 1849, he had moved to Angaston and worked as a gardener for

George Fife Angas George Fife Angas (1 May 1789 – 15 May 1879) was an English businessman and banker who, while residing in England, played a significant part in the formation and establishment of the British colonisation of South Australia, Province of South ...

. Smith bought of land and established a vineyard and orchard at night, while still working for Angas during the day. Smith and his son Sidney joined the

Victorian gold rush The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia, approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony and an influx of population growth and financial capi ...

in 1852. After four months and 16 shafts, they returned to South Australia with £300. He bought more land which he let out, two horses with harness and a plough, and saved the rest for cellars and a new house. By 1862, he had planted to

shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...

grapes. He also gave cuttings to his neighbours and bought grapes from them. In 1863 he produces 60

hogshead A hogshead (abbreviated "hhd", plural "hhds") is a large Barrel (storage), cask of liquid (or, less often, of a food commercial Product (business), product) for manufacturing and sale. It refers to a specified volume, measured in either Imperial ...

s of wine. Smith was a member of the Angaston

Congregational Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

. He died of chronic

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine. It was frequently accompanied ...

on 15 June 1889.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Samuel 1812 births 1889 deaths Australian winemakers People from Wareham, Dorset