Irrawang Vineyard & Pottery. East Australia.

Very rare early etching of the Irrawang Vineyard and Pottery established in 1833–56 by James King in the lower Hunter Region of New South Wales (the site is now known as the Grahamstown Dam).

James King (1800-1857), merchant, manufacturer and vigneron, was the son of James King, a substantial farmer in Hertfordshire, England. His father suffered during the agricultural slump after the Napoleonic wars and in 1825, claiming a capital of £3000, applied for a land grant on one of the islands off Van Diemen’s Land for the purpose of breeding rabbits. Nothing came of this application although he had already sent a shepherd and some prime merinos to the colony. James, who had spent some years ‘in the most respectable wool-stapling houses in Leeds’ arrived in Sydney in 1827 and set up as a merchant. Soon after arrival he obtained a grant of 1920 acres (777 ha) near Raymond Terrace on the Williams River; he called it Irrawang, built a homestead, grew wheat, and raised cattle,

About 1835 he settled at Irrawang, where he manufactured pottery and was praised by Governor Sir George Gipps for his ingenuity, enterprise and perseverance. King’s main interest, however, was to develop the wine industry. At Irrawang in 1832 he had planted a vineyard, using Spanish, French and Portuguese vines. In February 1836 he made his first wine and began to extend the vineyard. Realizing that expert workmen were needed, he and twenty-two other producers decided to bring out German vine dressers; three of them came to Irrawang in 1848. From this time his wine gradually made its reputation in the colony; as a result of discriminating selection of vines, proper care and processing, the quality improved under continual supervision by King who rapidly learned the improved techniques. He confined his annual output to 2000 gallons (9092 litres) and took special care in his cellar. In 1850 and 1852 he won the gold medal of the Horticultural Society of Sydney for white wines and light sparkling wines. In 1853 he helped to found the Hunter River Vineyard Association and was elected its first president. At the Paris Exhibition of 1855 he and other producers from the area, notably Mrs Maria Windeyer of Tomago, attracted favourable notice with their wines. King’s entries won him a medal and some of his wine was served at the table of Emperor Napoleon III.

References:
Butler, Printed Images in Colonial Australia 1801-1901, p. 69-70, ill.p.69
Ferguson, Bibliography of Australia, 2390
Kerr, Dictionary of Australian Artists p.134-135

Collections:
National Gallery Australia: Accession no NGA 89.64
National Library Australia: Bib ID 2036170