Hanwood and the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area
The Barren Jack and Murrumbidgee Canals Construction Act of 1906 saw the construction of the “Burrinjuck” dam and canals to provide water to a NSW Government closer settlement scheme, a plan to establish 7000 settlers on irrigated leasehold land in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. Irrigated farm leaseholds were first advertised in May 1912 around the Yanco No.1 district, near the Narrandera to Hay railway line. This area saw the first plantings of grapes. The “Irrigation Record” of March 15th, 1913 (p57) shows Thompson Seedless grapes on the Yanco Experimental farm planted back as far as 1908. The Mirrool No. 1 district, closer to what is now the town of Griffith, was advertised in November 1912, but was not served by a rail line at that time. Also the water was not to be available until 1913.
JJ McWilliam and his eldest son, Jack (LJR), applied for two adjacent farms on 2nd August, 1913 in the Mirrool No.1 area following an earlier visit in July. On the 12th August, JJ was granted farm leasehold No, 133 (portion 171, Parish of Jondaryan, County of Cooper) of 50 acres (20.5Ha; annual rental 32pds/10/-). Two days later, LJR McWilliam was granted farm No. 130, consisting of 49 acres (20.2Ha; annual rental 32pds/0/3), immediately to the north of farm 133.
Great effort had been required to establish the farms, much of it by young Jack McWilliam (LJR; who left a recollection diary later in his life), carting equipment and around 36,000 vine cuttings (the latter from Junee in casks marked "Wine" to avoid fumigation procedures at the rail siding) from Wilbriggie and supplies purchased from Commission depots. In the first year about ten acres were cleared of timber, ploughed and graded with a single furrow, two-horse plough, channels scooped out and the cuttings planted during September 1913, into a nursery block of around 2000 vines per furrow, each furrow receiving about 400 gallons of water carted from Hamilton's dam before the irrigation channel reached the district in early October. Two horses were brought from Junee along with a single furrow plough. A tin shed was constructed in which a worker, Harry Thomas and his family lived; whilst Jack lived initially in a tent until a 6 roomed hut was erected in January 1914. In the first year, around 10 acres of wheat for hay was planted as a cash crop. Hanwood Cottages
On 14th February 1914, the Irrigation Record reported that "some months ago, Mr. J.J. McWilliam, the well-known viticulturist of Junee, took up two farms on behalf of himself and his son, on the Mirrool Area. A Letter has just been received from Mr. McWilliam in which he states that he has had splendid luck with his vine cuttings. He put in 35,000, and he states that they are all growing splendidly - in fact he thinks there could be no better growth in New South Wales, he himself having seen nothing better. He intends planting out 50 acres of vines during the coming winter, and he is supplying several other settlers with rooted vines, and entering into contracts with them for a number of years. It is pleasant to find Mr. McWilliam's faith so well placed. He is to be congratulated on the energy and vigour displayed, and it is hoped that the venture will be crowned with the success it deserves."
On March 1914, the Sydney Morning Herald reported receiving a letter from the publicity-conscious J.J. McWilliam in which he stated that "he had exceeded a return of more than £40 per acre from an area of between 8 to 10 acres on his farm during the past season. In the first place, he obtained three tons of hay per acre from the area in question, which he chaffed and sold on the ground for 0.10s per ton, equivalent to £21.10s per acre. Immediately the hay crop was off he turned the land over again, and put it down in Sorghum, mixed with a little wheat. On some of the area he obtained as much as 20 tons of green stuff per acre, but, averaging the plot right through, the weight was about 13 tons which dried to between four and five tons per acre. This was sold at an average of about £4.10s per ton, representing about another £20 per acre. Taking this year's operation right through the average gross yield per acre for this portion of the farm is ... £41.10s per acre. This settler has only been in occupation of his block for a short time, and the crop is only a temporary one, his objective being to lay out the whole farm for viticulture.
Planting of the first vineyard commenced in July 1914 and resulted in about 60 acres of grapes, some orange trees and 35 acres of wheat. A crop of Sorghum followed the cutting of the wheat for hay. By 1916, there were at least four buyers of grapes from the new vineyards in the MIA. Graham Bros. of Rutherglen and Lindeman Ltd. were offering 10 year contracts for distillation grapes, mainly Doradillo variety, for delivery to Corowa. JJ McWilliam sent his first grapes, two truckloads (approx 14 tons), along with another one from the Yanco Experimental farm, and also around 6 tons of grapes from local growers Crawford, Day, Pryde and Haines, to his Junee “Markview” cellars by rail from Willbriggie.
Commission records, for both the Yanco and Mirrool areas, indicate around 500 acres of vines for all purposes had been planted by 1914 but had expanded to only 1100 acres by 1917 and that 700 acres were still non bearing. The NSW State’s statistician records the first vintage for wine in 1916 as 650 gallons from only 3 acres but that it had increased to 28,000 gallons by 1918.
In a letter to the then secretary of the commission, George Evatt, following the 1916 vintage, JJ made the following comments.”I made about 200 gallons of wine off my Griffith vineyard this year and a rich port it will make”. The Irrigation record of the 1st April, 1916, also quotes JJ McWilliam as saying his “one block of grapes at Mirrool, of which he is particularly proud, were far richer in sugar than his Junee grapes.”
There is documentary evidence in the commission’s files of winery construction on farm 130 late in 1917. On 1st November 1917, LJR McWilliam (Jack) wrote to the commission requesting urgent delivery of gravel for the construction of concrete structures for his wine making operations.” The original winery building of timber and galvanized iron, commenced in 1916, was supplemented by the construction of a concrete (below ground) receival bin, a number of concrete (1,500 gallon) fermenters, two 1,200 gallon spirit receivers, eleven 3,500 gallon concrete tanks and a 2,000 gallon overhead tank; whilst adjacent to the winery was erected a second-hand wind-mill and steel stand and tank (February 1917) which supplied water for cleaning casks and for other purposes. To the 300 and 400 gallon timber casks, purchased from Peterson in 1915, were added four 1,000 gallon timber casks, and ten 500 gallons casks and a number of hogsheads from Junee. Basic plant consisted of a New-Way petrol engine and a must pump brought from Junee, a Grape Mill/ De-stemmer and a 135 gallon under-fired still which was supplemented by a 400 gallon pot still in 1919. A small boiler and steam engine to drive the crushing equipment and a vacuum pan for making juice concentrate were also added. Some of the best wines were made using this concentrate with one winning “Grand Champion” at the Rutherglen wine show in the late 1920’s.
By the late 1920’s, JJ McWilliam and Sons had become the state’s leading producer. This period saw other new comers to the area such as Penfold’s Wines, as a buyer, in 1920 and established a winery for the 1921 vintage. By 1925 there was a cooperative winery operating in Mirrool, with assistance from the WC&I. Commission, and in 1926, a winery in Beelbangera which became Beelbangera Wines Ltd in 1926. McWilliam’s also established a second winery at Yenda in 1922 which was built and operated by JJ’s second eldest son, Douglas Lyle (DL). In 1924 a continuous still was purchased from the Bundaberg Distillery in Queensland and installed at Yenda and a little later, a new still made by Porters of Sydney, installed at Hanwood. Two Babcock and Brown boilers were purchased from the Temora Power house around 1928 and these provided the steam for the distillery.
The partnership was finally corporatized as McWilliam’s Wines Ltd. on the 6th July 1931.
Between 1933 and 1935, a further 60 hectares of adjacent farms were purchased in JJ’s sons’ names; farm 127 in Douglas Lyle’s name (DL); farm 2354 in Keith Stuart’s name (KS) and farm 128 in Glen Maxwell’s name (GM). New plantings of Semillon, Pedro Ximines, Gordo and Doradillo came into production in 1936. Winery records for 1932 to 1935 show that the Hanwood and Yenda wineries together produced an average of 5600 tonnes (in particular, 4800, 8350, 6600, and 2900 tonnes respectively). The 1935 vintage was decimated by summer rains and mildew.
In 1943, the company took over the Beelbangera Coop winery, (which had been originally established in 1926 by a local named Henry Jones and few years later, became a Coop under the guidance of Leo Buring) plus about 90,000 gallons of stock, which was built up to over 500,000 gallons following next year’s vintage. During this war period from 1943-45, the company made over one million gallons of power alcohol for the federal government, from sugar provided by CSR.
The Barren Jack and Murrumbidgee Canals Construction Act of 1906 saw the construction of the “Burrinjuck” dam and canals to provide water to a NSW Government closer settlement scheme, a plan to establish 7000 settlers on irrigated leasehold land in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. Irrigated farm leaseholds were first advertised in May 1912 around the Yanco No.1 district, near the Narrandera to Hay railway line. This area saw the first plantings of grapes. The “Irrigation Record” of March 15th, 1913 (p57) shows Thompson Seedless grapes on the Yanco Experimental farm planted back as far as 1908. The Mirrool No. 1 district, closer to what is now the town of Griffith, was advertised in November 1912, but was not served by a rail line at that time. Also the water was not to be available until 1913.
JJ McWilliam and his eldest son, Jack (LJR), applied for two adjacent farms on 2nd August, 1913 in the Mirrool No.1 area following an earlier visit in July. On the 12th August, JJ was granted farm leasehold No, 133 (portion 171, Parish of Jondaryan, County of Cooper) of 50 acres (20.5Ha; annual rental 32pds/10/-). Two days later, LJR McWilliam was granted farm No. 130, consisting of 49 acres (20.2Ha; annual rental 32pds/0/3), immediately to the north of farm 133.
Great effort had been required to establish the farms, much of it by young Jack McWilliam (LJR; who left a recollection diary later in his life), carting equipment and around 36,000 vine cuttings (the latter from Junee in casks marked "Wine" to avoid fumigation procedures at the rail siding) from Wilbriggie and supplies purchased from Commission depots. In the first year about ten acres were cleared of timber, ploughed and graded with a single furrow, two-horse plough, channels scooped out and the cuttings planted during September 1913, into a nursery block of around 2000 vines per furrow, each furrow receiving about 400 gallons of water carted from Hamilton's dam before the irrigation channel reached the district in early October. Two horses were brought from Junee along with a single furrow plough. A tin shed was constructed in which a worker, Harry Thomas and his family lived; whilst Jack lived initially in a tent until a 6 roomed hut was erected in January 1914. In the first year, around 10 acres of wheat for hay was planted as a cash crop. Hanwood Cottages
On 14th February 1914, the Irrigation Record reported that "some months ago, Mr. J.J. McWilliam, the well-known viticulturist of Junee, took up two farms on behalf of himself and his son, on the Mirrool Area. A Letter has just been received from Mr. McWilliam in which he states that he has had splendid luck with his vine cuttings. He put in 35,000, and he states that they are all growing splendidly - in fact he thinks there could be no better growth in New South Wales, he himself having seen nothing better. He intends planting out 50 acres of vines during the coming winter, and he is supplying several other settlers with rooted vines, and entering into contracts with them for a number of years. It is pleasant to find Mr. McWilliam's faith so well placed. He is to be congratulated on the energy and vigour displayed, and it is hoped that the venture will be crowned with the success it deserves."
On March 1914, the Sydney Morning Herald reported receiving a letter from the publicity-conscious J.J. McWilliam in which he stated that "he had exceeded a return of more than £40 per acre from an area of between 8 to 10 acres on his farm during the past season. In the first place, he obtained three tons of hay per acre from the area in question, which he chaffed and sold on the ground for 0.10s per ton, equivalent to £21.10s per acre. Immediately the hay crop was off he turned the land over again, and put it down in Sorghum, mixed with a little wheat. On some of the area he obtained as much as 20 tons of green stuff per acre, but, averaging the plot right through, the weight was about 13 tons which dried to between four and five tons per acre. This was sold at an average of about £4.10s per ton, representing about another £20 per acre. Taking this year's operation right through the average gross yield per acre for this portion of the farm is ... £41.10s per acre. This settler has only been in occupation of his block for a short time, and the crop is only a temporary one, his objective being to lay out the whole farm for viticulture.
Planting of the first vineyard commenced in July 1914 and resulted in about 60 acres of grapes, some orange trees and 35 acres of wheat. A crop of Sorghum followed the cutting of the wheat for hay. By 1916, there were at least four buyers of grapes from the new vineyards in the MIA. Graham Bros. of Rutherglen and Lindeman Ltd. were offering 10 year contracts for distillation grapes, mainly Doradillo variety, for delivery to Corowa. JJ McWilliam sent his first grapes, two truckloads (approx 14 tons), along with another one from the Yanco Experimental farm, and also around 6 tons of grapes from local growers Crawford, Day, Pryde and Haines, to his Junee “Markview” cellars by rail from Willbriggie.
Commission records, for both the Yanco and Mirrool areas, indicate around 500 acres of vines for all purposes had been planted by 1914 but had expanded to only 1100 acres by 1917 and that 700 acres were still non bearing. The NSW State’s statistician records the first vintage for wine in 1916 as 650 gallons from only 3 acres but that it had increased to 28,000 gallons by 1918.
In a letter to the then secretary of the commission, George Evatt, following the 1916 vintage, JJ made the following comments.”I made about 200 gallons of wine off my Griffith vineyard this year and a rich port it will make”. The Irrigation record of the 1st April, 1916, also quotes JJ McWilliam as saying his “one block of grapes at Mirrool, of which he is particularly proud, were far richer in sugar than his Junee grapes.”
There is documentary evidence in the commission’s files of winery construction on farm 130 late in 1917. On 1st November 1917, LJR McWilliam (Jack) wrote to the commission requesting urgent delivery of gravel for the construction of concrete structures for his wine making operations.” The original winery building of timber and galvanized iron, commenced in 1916, was supplemented by the construction of a concrete (below ground) receival bin, a number of concrete (1,500 gallon) fermenters, two 1,200 gallon spirit receivers, eleven 3,500 gallon concrete tanks and a 2,000 gallon overhead tank; whilst adjacent to the winery was erected a second-hand wind-mill and steel stand and tank (February 1917) which supplied water for cleaning casks and for other purposes. To the 300 and 400 gallon timber casks, purchased from Peterson in 1915, were added four 1,000 gallon timber casks, and ten 500 gallons casks and a number of hogsheads from Junee. Basic plant consisted of a New-Way petrol engine and a must pump brought from Junee, a Grape Mill/ De-stemmer and a 135 gallon under-fired still which was supplemented by a 400 gallon pot still in 1919. A small boiler and steam engine to drive the crushing equipment and a vacuum pan for making juice concentrate were also added. Some of the best wines were made using this concentrate with one winning “Grand Champion” at the Rutherglen wine show in the late 1920’s.
By the late 1920’s, JJ McWilliam and Sons had become the state’s leading producer. This period saw other new comers to the area such as Penfold’s Wines, as a buyer, in 1920 and established a winery for the 1921 vintage. By 1925 there was a cooperative winery operating in Mirrool, with assistance from the WC&I. Commission, and in 1926, a winery in Beelbangera which became Beelbangera Wines Ltd in 1926. McWilliam’s also established a second winery at Yenda in 1922 which was built and operated by JJ’s second eldest son, Douglas Lyle (DL). In 1924 a continuous still was purchased from the Bundaberg Distillery in Queensland and installed at Yenda and a little later, a new still made by Porters of Sydney, installed at Hanwood. Two Babcock and Brown boilers were purchased from the Temora Power house around 1928 and these provided the steam for the distillery.
The partnership was finally corporatized as McWilliam’s Wines Ltd. on the 6th July 1931.
Between 1933 and 1935, a further 60 hectares of adjacent farms were purchased in JJ’s sons’ names; farm 127 in Douglas Lyle’s name (DL); farm 2354 in Keith Stuart’s name (KS) and farm 128 in Glen Maxwell’s name (GM). New plantings of Semillon, Pedro Ximines, Gordo and Doradillo came into production in 1936. Winery records for 1932 to 1935 show that the Hanwood and Yenda wineries together produced an average of 5600 tonnes (in particular, 4800, 8350, 6600, and 2900 tonnes respectively). The 1935 vintage was decimated by summer rains and mildew.
In 1943, the company took over the Beelbangera Coop winery, (which had been originally established in 1926 by a local named Henry Jones and few years later, became a Coop under the guidance of Leo Buring) plus about 90,000 gallons of stock, which was built up to over 500,000 gallons following next year’s vintage. During this war period from 1943-45, the company made over one million gallons of power alcohol for the federal government, from sugar provided by CSR.
Hanwood winery ,late 1920’s
Yenda winery 1932 (insert photo of Douglas Lyle McWilliam)
GLEN McWILLIAM
Mr. Glen Maxwell McWilliam retired as Production Director and Manager of Hanwood Winery on the 30th September 1981 after completing his fifty-first Vintage at Hanwood. Glen started his career as weighbridge and grape tester during the 1931 Vintage. In the years to follow he gained further experience in Sydney helping his brother Keith in the bottling, and marketing of the company's wines. Glen has not missed a Vintage at Hanwood. In 1943, he was appointed Company Director and accepted the major responsibility of the Hanwood Winery and Vineyards and in the ensuing years took on the role as Production Director. Besides the many improvements to the various McWilliam's wineries in the Riverina, Mount Pleasant and Robinvale, Glen was responsible for the introduction of new grape varieties to the Riverina during the early sixties, introducing such varietals as Cabernet Sauvignon, Rhine Riesling, Chardonnay and Traminer.
1961 saw one of Glen's greatest achievements; the planning and building of the Robinvale winery in Victoria. Robinvale had its first vintage in 1963 and it was Glen’s son, Max, who took over the running of this winery. This winery became responsible for the making of McWilliam’s famous Cream Sherry.
In 1979 McWilliam's crushed 50,000 tonnes, producing in excess of 20 million litres of wine. This of course is a far cry from Glen's first Vintage of 1931 when he helped brothers Jack and Doug crush approximately 5000 tonnes of wine grapes.
The job of Production Director then passed on to Jim McWilliam, son of DL McWilliam, who has resided at the Yenda winery all of his life. Jim has for many years helped his father Doug in the making of Champagnes, Brandy, and Fortified Wines and with the help of his sons Doug and Greg, some excellent varietal table wines. Hanwood’s Branch Manager position was handed to Stuart McWilliam who also maintained control over all the vineyards.
Glen McWilliam