Mary Penfold

Mary Penfold
Born Mary Holt
circa 1820
England
Died December 21, 1895(1895-12-21)
Brighton, Victoria
Resting place St George's Cemetery, Magill
Nationality Australian
Occupation winemaker
Known for Winemaking; co-founding Penfolds winery
Spouse(s) Christopher Rawson Penfold
Children Georgina Ann Penfold Hyland

Mary Penfold was an early agriculturalist and entrepreneur of South Australia's wine industry who, with her husband Christopher Rawson Penfold, established Penfolds winery.

Early life

Not much is known of Mary Penfold's early life. She married Christopher Rawson Penfold in 1835.

Mary Penfold, née Holt, emigrated to Australia with her husband who was a physician, their young daughter Georgina, and their employee Ellen Timbrell, who is recorded to have served not only as the family's maid and Georgina's nurse but also as assistant winemaker.[1] They arrived in the colony of South Australia on 18 June 1844 on board the baroque Taglioni in the first decade of the colony's establishment.[2]

Christopher and Mary Penfold purchased 500 acres of land at Magill then known as Mackgill.

Career as a vintner

The Penfold family had brought vines sourced from France on the journey from England and both Christopher and Mary planted these out on their land at Magill.[3] Penfold kept many records, including a diary and a daybook, that outlined her work managing the farm and developing the Magill Estate; however, historically, the development of the winery has been attributed solely to her husband.[4] Similarly, many historical records suggest that upon her husband's death in 1870, their son-in-law, Thomas Hyland, took control of the business; however, the records Mary Penfold left behind demonstrate her control of the company.[5] When Mary Penfold retired in 1884, the company had grown in size and success; it was responsible for a third of the state's wine production.[1] In 1874, The Register reported on a visit to:

the winehouses and vineyard belonging to Mrs. Penfold. of Magill, ... Mrs. Penfold makes but four varieties of wine, namely, sweet and dry red, and sweet and dry white. The work is done under Mrs. Penfold's personal direction, not in conformity to any fixed or definite rule, but according to her judgement and taste.[6]

The article also indicates the "large market for her wines in Victoria, Tasmania, and New Zealand" and even India [6]

An obituary in The Adelaide Advertiser indicates that Mary Penfold died in 1895 in Brighton, Victoria at the home of her daughter, Georgina, and son-in-law Thomas Francis Hyland, with whom she had lived in the last few years of her life.[7] Penfold's body was transported back to Adelaide to be buried at St George's Cemetery in Magill, near her former home of The Grange, the original site of Penfolds vineyard.

References

  1. 1 2 Matasar, Ann B. Women of Wine: The Rise of Women in the Global Wine Industry. Univ of California Press, 2006.
  2. ↑ "Shipping Intelligence.". The Southern Australian. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 21 June 1844. p. 2. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  3. ↑ D. I. McDonald, 'Penfold, Christopher Rawson (1811–1870)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published in hardcopy 1974, accessed online 25 April 2014
  4. ↑ Alston, Margaret. "Women in Agriculture: The 'New Entrepreneurs'." Australian Feminist Studies 18.41 (2003): 163-171.
  5. ↑ Port, Jeni. Crushed By Women: women and wine. Arcadia, 2000.
  6. 1 2 "FIFTY YEARS AGO.". The Register. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 13 June 1924. p. 9. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  7. ↑ "MISCELLANEOUS NEWS.". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 3 January 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 25 April 2014.

Further reading

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