THE AUSTRALIAN ARK – Federation to the Modern Era | 1900–1982
later marry the grazier and wine collector Malcolm Fraser, who would hold the office of prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983.) Following his death in 1934, it was reported by Melbourne’s The Age newspaper that Sir Joseph Symon directed the executors of his will to wind up ‘the vigneron business of Auldana Ltd of which he was the principal shareholder’. Protracted court proceedings caused by complications of the will post-probate delayed settlement. A son Oscar Sturt Symon, well supported financially by his father during his lifetime, but probably suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after his World War I service, had made an application in 1935 for further provision for his maintenance and advancement in life. Soon after, Auldana went into receivership and was finally liquidated by Adelaide administrators Annells, Tilley, Wiltshire in 1942, and the assets and brand acquired by Penfolds, Auldana’s neighbour, in 1943. The outbreak of war in 1939, reduction of manpower, family disharmony, and dwindling export sales would not have provided much confidence in Auldana’s future as a going concern. Meanwhile that same year, Penfolds produced the book An Empire Achievement: From 1844 to 1934 . It boasts an extraordinary collection of vineyards and wineries in South Australia and New South Wales and cellars in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide. An accompanying map pinpointing each winery and cellar illustrates the massive distances between each place. Penfolds also shipped wine between its wineries using trucks and the rail network. Bulk fortified wine crossed the Nullarbor to Perth quite regularly for bottling in that market. An Empire of Achievement also marks the zenith of Penfolds as a post- colonial family brand. A new era was about to begin, with massive worldwide political upheavals and social change. Many of the vineyards and wineries would succumb to urban encroachment as Australia’s cities expanded. In 1935, after showing some aptitude for winemaking in general, Max Schubert was transferred to Magill Cellars to further his education in practical winemaking with Albert Vesey. In the same year, the brilliant young research scientist Ray Beckwith was hired by Leslie Penfold Hyland to help tackle the emerging technical challenges of the day. Ron Haselgrove joined Mildura Winery in 1934. This was the business that had been founded by the Chaffey brothers around 1891. It had a chequered career and went into receivership in 1921 before being reformed again to take advantage of the export market for fortified wines. But after the death of WB Chaffey in 1927, it fell again into difficulties. Haselgrove had first come to notice a few years earlier because the company was having technical problems. In 1932, the chairman, Hurtle Pegler, originally a butcher and then a significant grazier and landholder, had been seeking advice
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