The Backflip Boys Weblog

Picture 25 - Penfolds Winery:

Today I went all out to get a decent picture for you to look at dear reader and I think I have succeeded. Let me run you throught he entire saga first though. I headed off to Eastern Creek in an attempt to get a panoramic photo of the Lighthorse Exchange between the M4 & M7 Motorways (failed) then I figured that my aunts 40+ Mulberry tree would be just the ticket (fail). At this stage, desperation sets in and I drive over to Rooty Hill and climb the actual hill in an attempt to get something worthwhile (semi fail) but The Rooty Hill is such a long way from anything interesting. My last port of call for the day was at Minchinbury where I was quite surprised to find that the old Penfolds Winery site was smack bang in the middle of suburbia rather than being in the middle of a paddock well out of the way of human habitation.

Once one discovers such a thing, there is nothing left but to wander around the perimeter happily snapping away until such time as a good photo makes an appearance. I think that I managed to get a good overview of the now well and truly derelict site even though I was hampered by a cyclone (that’s a company name) fence and a locked gate:

I remember hearing about Penfolds wines through television ads during the 70’s. What is now a thriving suburb was once a vineyard that provided grapes for one of Penfolds more famous products - Minchinbury Champagne. Their “logo” was a jet plane that appeared to be crashing into the ground and I distinctly remember that it used to sit in the middle of a paddock between the Great Western Highway and the freeway - it now sits at the entrance of the Minchinbury estate.

The fact that the developers of the Minchinbury estate left the winery in at least a recognisable condition amazes me. History is never on the top of the list when it comes to redeveloping land. The Minchinbury estate started out life as Minchin Hills but common sense prevailed and the link between what happened on this patch of land and what it eventually became has been cemented forever (hopefully).

I am often fascinated by the local history of the general area I live in. There is nothing out my way that is particularly interesting to tourists from a historical point of view, but it seems to me that in a lot of cases, if it wasn’t for the actions of people with a bit of foresight, a lot of what was taken for granted in the first century of the spread of the population into the west would never have had an impact on this countries history.

I live 10 about minutes away from an important part of my states history. That’s something amazing in  my opinion.

Later days.

Trivial fact number 179:- Iceland is the world’s oldest functioning democracy - not bad for a country that isn’t actually famous for its ice.