Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/567

The Smith Family (Yalumba) ADELAIDE AND VICINITY 54' unyoked. Mr. Smith and family sought refuge in a cottage hard by. The shepherd who owned the cottage with its neighboring plot of land received the benighted travellers with that cordial hospitality so characteristic of early colonists, and treated them to mutton chops and damper. There was a hut near at hand in which the host directed them to make themselves comfortable. This structure was built on the slope of a hill, and during the night a heavy rain brought the flood waters rushing into the hut. ilr. Smith and family when they awoke just at daylight were astounded to see their hou.sehold gods floating round them. Such was their first experience in the Angaston district, and after scrambling out, damp and miser- able, they resumed the journey. It is worthy of note that the old hut still stands, and about it flourishes one of the best kept vineyards in South Australia — owned by the Smith family. When Mr. Smith arrived at Angaston the town contained but lo or 12 houses, and these were occupied mostly by people con- nected with the estate of the late Mr. George I-^ife Angas. In 1849, Mr. Smith took up a piece of land, which he planted with vines and orchard trees. This spot was a |)retty one, and such as lent itself to the purposes of a charm- ing i.ustralian home. Great gum trees grew over the land, and these the pioneer and his family had to hew down. The vines grew ; but the outlet for their produce was so limited, that when the Victorian goldfields were discovered, Mr. Smith went to Ballarat and Bendigo. He sank FriMing fhoto 16 holes without getting the color of gold, but he persisted, and in the seventeenth struck the precious metal. With him in these adventures were men who afterwards passed quiet and useful careers in the Clare and Kooringa districts. After his return, Mr. Smith enlarged the orchard and vineyard, and the trees made excellent growth. He called his place Yalumba, a native name, signifying "all the country around," and it is of interest to record that the nucleus of many of the gardens which now flourish in the neighborhood of Clare, Penwortham, and Donnybrook, was obtained from the Yalumba orchard. The first wine was made in 1853, in a small cellar, and from the start it was of good quality, Mr. Smith's knowledge of fermentation being such that he made no mistake. The MR. SIDNKY SM[TH