Location
Tomago is a combined industrial/semi-rural suburb of the Port Stephens local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located just north of the Hunter River and west of the body of water known as Fullerton Cove. Tomago means “sweet water” in the local Aboriginal language. (wikipedia)
History
In February 1838, Richard Windeyer bought his first land at Tomago in the Hunter Valley, not far from his father’s farm at Tillegrah on the Williams River.
By 1842 he held about 30,000 acres. Windeyer spent vast sums of money on draining extensive swamp lands in the vicinity of Graham’s Town and building a homestead at Tomago and other improvements, though with little return.
He planted thirty acres of vines and imported a German vine dresser from Adelaide. Windeyer made his first wine in 1845 and received permission to import seven vine-dressers and one wine cooper from Europe.
The vineyard was established with plantings from James King of Irrawang, who was known to be producing good wines by 1840. Windeyer was one of the first successful vignerons on the Hunter.
At Tomago, Windeyer ran cattle, horses and pigs and tried growing sugar cane and wheat.
In 1846 with a Mr Reynolds, then president of the local agricultural society, he imported the colony’s first reaping machine from South Australia.
Despite all his expensive improvements and mechanized farming, he won one prize for pumpkins.
However, after his death, wine from Tomago won a certificate of merit in Paris in 1855.
Progress on Tomago House was slow and hampered by the 1840s depression and it seems likely that the house was fit for habitation by 1847. tomareemuseum.org.au
Places of Interest
