Edwards Family Vineyard

The history of Australia's development and progress contains innumerable instances of the pluck and enterprise of the hardy pioneers, who went into the bush, blazing trails for future generations.

They faced the hardships and difficulties that were encouraged during the pioneering days of our country's development, and won out, through sheer grit, enterprise. George Edwin Edwards, of Sawyer's Gully, near Weston, and his sons deserve such a place of honour among the records of our pioneers...' 

Brian J Andrews, The Kurri  Kurri / Weston Pioneering Days No.4, Dec., 1999, pp. 136-138:

Some readers might recall the first Cessnock Shire Council election on 1906, when 'Bull Frog' reduced the event to the equivalent of a horse race, providing a form guide for all candidates, even rating their chances in the big race. One starter in the B Riding Cup was 'Vineyard' who, he felt, would be hard to beat. Vineyard got up to run second, and therefore became a foundation councillor of Cessnock Shire, representing Weston, Sawyer's Gully and Bishop's Bridge.

Vineyard was none other than George Edwin Edwards, a wine producer of Sawyer's Gully. His son's wine shop can still be seen today on the Weston side of the railway overhead road bridge.

Seventy-two years ago, in January, 1927, George Edwin Edwards provided his pioneering reminiscences for the Kurri Kurri Times newspaper. The following story traces part of his story.

The history of Australia's development and progress contains innumerable instances of the pluck and enterprise of the hardy pioneers, who went into the bush, blazing trails for future generations.

They faced the hardships and difficulties that were encouraged during the pioneering days of our country's development, and won out, through sheer grit, enterprise. George Edwin Edwards, of Sawyer's Gully, near Weston, and his sons deserve such a place of honour among the records of our pioneers.

One hundred and five years ago, in 1894, they went out into the hilly and heavily timbered country at Sawyer's Gully, and commenced clearing the forest in preparation for the planting of a vineyard.

They were the first residents of that district, which was then in its virgin state. George Edwards noticed that the soil was of a nature suitable for the cultivation of the grape vines, and with foresight and judgement, which the passing of time fully vindicated, visualised the great future of the Australian wine industry, saw the opportunity to establish a vineyard that would prove a highly profitable undertaking.

George Edwards and his sons had a stiff uphill fight right from the outset. They had to fell with the axe and the cross-cut saw, all the heavy timber on their selection. The timber was dense, and the scrub very thick, but they set to work with a will and slowly, but surely, cleared acre after acre. As each acre of land was cleared it was sown with the vines, and this work continued until they had 40 acres under cultivation. In addition, they erected all the buildings on the land, wine cellars, etc.

A visit to the Edwards' vineyard, at Sawyer's Gully, in 1927, provided a lasting impression of the enterprise and pioneering work of Mr Edwards and Sons.

The vines made a fine picture, spreading out as they did over a large area of land, laden down with large, luscious bunches of grapes. Some of the grapes, of a special variety, were of a golden hue, other black, and some were white.

On the top of the hill, in the centre of the vineyard, stood the family residence, a fine roomy bungalow of a modern design for its time. Surrounding the residence were the out-buildings where the work of converting the grape juice into wine was undertaken.

Arthur Leslie Edwards managed the vineyard during the absence of his father, whilst another son, Charles E. Edwards, ran Weston's well known wine saloon, whilst a third son conducted a similar establishment at Bishop's Bridge.

GRAPE PICKING FOR LOCAL KIDS

'The grapes,” commented Arthur Edwards, “will reach their full maturity about the beginning of February, and about the 10th or 12th of that month the picking commences. Boys and girls, aged between 10 and 12, are employed at the work of picking the grapes.

“Casks that are capable of holding three hundredweight (150 kg) are placed on drays and these are run between the rows, and the grapes are thrown into them as they are picked. There are three casks to each dray. The pickers are paid at the rate of eight shillings per hundred buckets (about a penny per bucket).

“The grapes are then drawn to the cellar. A hoist is fastened to them and they are drawn up to the loft where they are then landed onto a trolley and run along into chutes.

“A separating apparatus separates the grapes from the stalks, the crushed grapes coming through one end and the stalks through another. They are then conveyed into vats and allowed to stand in order to ferment.

“After fermenting for two or three days they are taken from the vats and placed in presses, where all the liquid is extracted. The liquid is called musk, which is poured away into casks, allowed to settle, and then again run off. It is then called wine.

“The presses hold about four or four and a half tons of grapes, and are worked with hand power on the double ratchet principle.”

WINE SALOON AT WESTON

Charles E. Edwards, proprietor of the well conducted wine saloon at Weston, said, again in 1927, that the wine industry suffered to some extent due to the practice of some firms appointing managers to run their branch shops. These manager do not know the trade, and have no judgement of the quality of the wines they sell. Inferior wines therefore reach the market which have no right to be there.

All of the wine which was produced at the Edwards' vineyard, at Sawyer's Gully, was allowed to mature for three years, before it was placed on the market, and was also subjected to rigorous tests as to its quality.

[Transcribed for the Weston History and Heritage website by Mélissa Martin]