 The first vines arrived in Australia in 1788 with Captain
Phillip on board one of the ships of the First Fleet.
It is understood that these vines were first planted
out at Farm Cove - the site of the present Sydney Botanical
Gardens. Unfortunately, the vines did not bear as expected,
and were soon transplanted to a new location at Parramatta.
In 1791, Governor Phillip reported that he had established
a three acre vineyard at Parramatta, and that a seller
named Schaffer had also planted one acre of vines.
In following years, many others attempted to establish
winegrape growing and wine-making ventures in various
regions of the colony.
Notable amongst these were the pioneering efforts of
Captain John McArthur, to whom a grant of land some thirty
miles from Sydney was made, and which he named Camden
Park. This property played a major part in the development
of all manner of primary industries in Australia, being
particularly well-known as the home of the development
of the merino sheep breed.
Another important figure was Gregory Blaxland, who in
1822 shipped 136 litres of wine to London where it won
the Silver Medal of the Society for Encouragement of
Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, now known as the Royal
Society of Arts. Five years later, a larger shipment
of 1800 litres of Blaxland's wine won the Gold Ceres
Medal.
The first export excursions of the fledgling Australian
wine industry were certainly successful and showed great
promise for the future.
As European settlement spread over the Australian continent,
so did the planting and propagation of the vine. By the
turn of this century, Australian exports to the United
Kingdom had developed to the stage where annual shipments
reached almost one million gallons (4.5 million litres)
of mainly full-bodied, dry red wines.
By the end of World War II, Australia was producing almost
26 million gallons (117 million litres) of wine per year.
It was however the rapid influx of post-war migrants
from continental Europe who brought with them their well-established
wine culture which pushed the Australian wine industry
into the next phase of growth.
The annual production of wine for 1994-95 stood at 502
796 million litres, of which some 36% is now exported
to over 77 countries throughout the World.
Winegrape growing and wine-making are now carried out
in every State and Territory of Australia.
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