Stations
of Wynyard County Stations
of Wynyard County
Kyeamba
John Smith, widower, with five of
his nine children embarked from
Liverpool on the 'Mountaineer' as an
assisted immigrant, sponsored by the
Diocese of Sydney to construct the
roof of St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral. on
the voyage out he met, and later
married, Ann Wilde, who was herself
under the auspices of a Sydney
merchant who acted as an agent
for immigrants, one W. Morgan. On fulfilment of his contract in
1836, he decided to strike inland,
and journeyed with T. H. Mate in the
search for country on which to
depasture stock. Thomas Mate decided to
allow his cattle to wander ehither,
and to settle upon the country
they preferred, and so came to
Tarcutta, or Umutbee as he then
called it. John Smith remained with him for
nine months, helping to construct his
dwelling [1], before he himself allowed
his stock to lead him on to
Kyeamba. On the 8th December 1839, the
Commissioner for Crown Lands,
Henry
Bingham, called on Smith, and found
that there were slab and bark
hutsto accommodate the twenty-six people
that were living on the property;
that he had 30 acres under
cropping; and was carrying 2 horses
and a further 800 cattle on Gilmore
creek [2].
With the 1840's Depression John Smith
was reduced to being the manager
of his own property on behalf of
his financier, W. Walker & Co. of Dawes Point,
Sydney - a situation he was eventually
able to remedy. The Rev. John Dunmore Lang left an
account of a visit he made in
1845 for the christening of John
and Ann's youngest child: His cottage was a
comfortable bush house, situated on
an
eminence by the wayside. He had
a garden and some ground
in cultivation, to raise grain for
his family, around it [3]. By the latter 1840's, Smith had
moved his establishment across the
hill, away from the traffic of
the Port Phillip Road. This second site
is the location of the present
homestead. At this new site he
employed German vignerons, whom he had
sponsored especially for the purpose,
to establish a vineyard for him.
He also had at least two Chinese
gardeners - documented in the inquest that
was held at Kyeamba during May
1849. One, Assin, attacked another,
Assan. The former was killed when
a third worker intervened with a
vine stake. This incident predates by
two years the first discovery
of
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payable gold; the rushes that ensued have ever been associated with the initial influx of Chinese immigrants [4]. The vineyard proved such a success, that by the time John Smith died, his obituarist in the Wagga Wagga Advertiser of Wednesday 27th August, 1879, could write: |
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Kyeamba wines are known and appreciated in England and on the Continent, they have become of note in India and China, and have met with much favour in all ports of the Colonies. The property remained in Smith family ownership till it was purchased by the Palmer family after World War 2. They in turn sold the homestead portion in 2002 to the present owners, who have undertaken an extensive renovations to the house, restoring it to a more fitting era. As well as running their pastoral pursuits, they have restored the former servants' quarters - which they had been advised were unsalvagable - for use as a B&B. |
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[1]. Later renamed Hambledon, it was destroyed by fire in 1987. The Daily Advertiser. 14th December, 1987. [2]. Carnegie, M. (1973). Friday Mount. Melbourne: Hawthorne Press. [3]. Swan, K. (1970). A history of Wagga Wagga. [4]. Ibid. |
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