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In 1850 Thomas Hardy arrived on the shores of South Australia from Devon England
as a 20-year-old. He went to work for pioneer vigneron family friend, John Reynell
at Reynella just south of Adelaide. In 1851 he joined the gold rush to Victoria and
although finding no gold his entrepreneurial flair led him to drive herds of cattle
from south of Adelaide to feed the hungry miners. Over 18 months he made a small
fortune and in 1853 bought land at Bankside on the banks of the Torrens river near
Adelaide, married his cousin Johanna and began his own wine enterprise. By 1894 he
was Australia's largest wine producer.
In the year 2000, 5th generation Thomas K. Hardy, winemaker, wine merchant and
wine author, returned his family to the mainstream wine industry when he founded
Thomas Hardy Wines Pty Ltd, with his son Thomas W. Hardy. On the 6th May 2003,
Thomas J. Hardy the first of the 7th generation of the family was born.
Featured on the label are six generations of the Hardy family in
Australia, left to right, Thomas Hardy of Devon, Thomas Nathaniel Hardy,
Tom Mayfield Hardy, Thomas Walter Hardy, Thomas Keith Hardy and Thomas
William Hardy.