One hundred and fifty years ago, Mary Penfold put Australia’s winemaking on the world stage.
Story Grantlee Kieza Photo State Library of South Australia
Mary Penfold and her husband Christopher were still unpacking their belongings at their new farm at Magill near Adelaide when the great colonial artist S.T. Gill took his pencils and watercolours to begin documenting Charles Sturt’s overland expedition.
In 1844, they had set off on their own grand adventure, leaving Brighton, England for life as farmers in the new colony of South Australia, bringing with them their baby daughter Georgina and vine cuttings they had sourced from Portugal and the south of France.
They planted the vine cuttings in a gully behind the five-room cottage they called ‘The Grange’ and three years after arriving, Mary made her first batch of wine – about 45L – on her kitchen table. A century later, the name ‘Grange’ would become synonymous with Penfolds’ finest wine.
Chris wanted the first vintage produced by Penfold grapes as an ingredient for tonics he dispensed from his home-based medical practice and for many years the wine was just a sideline to the Penfolds’ main business – growing wheat at the foot of the Adelaide Hills for the lucrative export market to Britain.
This story excerpt is from issue #165
Outback Magazine: Feb/Mar 2026
