SAFarming
Reynella
The winery came first, and the town was cut from its farm.
1839John Reynell takes up land
WHAT STARTED IT
John Reynell farmed south of Adelaide beside a never-failing creek on the main road south. In 1854, short of money, he sold 40 acres of the farm as a township straddling the Great South Road.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Reynell made his first wine in 1844 and dug a cave cellar in 1845, and the winery grew into a major producer under his son Walter and grandson Carew. The township already had a four-storey steam mill when it was sold, with a hotel under way for travellers heading south.
TURNING POINTS
1839John Reynell takes up section 524 and begins fencing and planting crops.
1844Reynell makes his first vintage.
1845The cave cellar is dug at Reynella Farm.
1854The township of Reynella is auctioned on 12 April, on both sides of the main south road.
1982Thomas Hardy and Sons buys the Reynell winery.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A southern Adelaide suburb of housing and shops beside South Road and the Southern Expressway. The 1845 cellar and Reynell’s house survive in Old Reynella, the original township.