Adelaide mate!
Adelaide has a population of 1.2 million and despite its size feels like a rural city. It felt like being at home in Franklin, but on a larger scale. We didn’t get a feel of lots of people even at ‘peak time’. We have been visiting primarily to attend the Royal Agricultural & Horticultural Society of South Australia’s State Show. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Adelaide_Show)
Adelaide has been developed from scratch to the carefully conceived plan of Col. Light. The city is inland with the centre planned on a mile square grid with parklands surrounding. The city then stretches out from the corners of that grid.
The first settlers came from what was the then Prussia where many were escaping persecution, especially Lutherans.
Arriving on Sunday 5th we needed to change quickly to attend the Inter State Presidents luncheon. Our room was not ready however staff of the BreakFree on Hindley (www.breakfree.com.au) without hesitation upgraded us to an apartment with their compliments and made sure a taxi was waiting to get us to the Show Grounds.
The President, Charlie Downer formally welcomed us at lunch. We sat with Geoff and Fay Phillips (Geoff is on the Board of the Royal Melbourne Show); Mike and Jenny Parry and Walter Duncan (an Adelaide director). Mike Parry is a photographer and had been involved with the Launceston Show, one of the oldest A & P Shows in Australia. Apparently their show has the largest poultry section of all the shows with 800 – 1,000 birds. His forefathers were amongst the early settlers of Melbourne.
After lunch we headed off to the ram auction. There has been some conversation in our various farming newspapers about Australian farmers getting a better price for their lamb than their counter parts in New Zealand. The fact that our sheep and beef industry can’t collaborate to get their act together may be a factor...but I digress.
The sheep pavilion was vast. Border Leicester rams were being auctioned. An August 1st drop ram, 126.5kgs, by a champion ram sold for $3,000. It is obvious to an observer of the hundreds of sheep they were generally bigger, stronger, and better covered.
The agricultural economy is based around grain, cereal and citrus growing. 40% of Australia’s apples are grown in the state. Residential growth has expanded the city at the expense of a market gardening, primarily potatoes.
A GrayLine Tour (http://www.grayline.com.au/about-us.aspx) took us to the Barossa Valley for a day. Our driver/guide had deep family roots in the Valley which made for an informative insight into the area.
George Angus brought the first 28 families in the ship the Prince George in 1839. He owned 28,000 arces and sold the first families their holdings. Because they had no money he let them take their holding to start their new life and pay him off over time. He had faith they would do that and of course his faith proved to be well founded. These families worked hard creating the wine industry the valley is known for today.
Today there are around 500 families growing grapes and around 72 cellar doors. The nature of the industry here has changed as corporates have taken over larger operations and focused on massive production. That production and their marketing machines have certainly done a great deal to develop Australian wine throughout the world.
Research shows that most wine purchased through retail outlets is usually consumed within 48 hours. The traditional grape growing and wine production methods have changed to sustain this new production. For example traditional grape growing was not irrigated. At Langmeil, the site of one of the early 8 family villages, they still make wine from 167 year old vines which are not and have never been irrigated. They also make their wine by hand. Their 2008 vintage of the 1843 Freedom Shiraz from those grapes, shouts a quality difference from the quaffable massed produced wines.(www.langmeilwinery.com.au)
Wolf Blass is a name many in NZ will know. He has just turned 73. He began making wine in his own right back in the early 70’s with a borrowed $2,000. (http://www.newworld.co.nz/inspire-me/wine-sublime/moment-wolf-blass) Recently he sold his business for hundreds of millions of dollars. His personal philosophy for wine making is that, ‘last year’s vintage doesn’t count no matter how good it was. Each new vintage has to be approached afresh and in its own right.’
This worthwhile lesson in life was repeated in research on funds management referenced in the business section of the NZ Herald this morning. In an article headed, “Last year’s winner has already bolted”, Christopher Worthington notes, “...there is no persistence in a fund’s ability to outperform their peers...the top performing funds managers from last year are no more likely to have good performance this year than a manager selected at random.” http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10674929
In my view, all those who invested chasing the promise of inflated returns might have been better off having a glass of wine in the Barossa with Wolf Blass.
Adelaide has been developed from scratch to the carefully conceived plan of Col. Light. The city is inland with the centre planned on a mile square grid with parklands surrounding. The city then stretches out from the corners of that grid.
The first settlers came from what was the then Prussia where many were escaping persecution, especially Lutherans.
Arriving on Sunday 5th we needed to change quickly to attend the Inter State Presidents luncheon. Our room was not ready however staff of the BreakFree on Hindley (www.breakfree.com.au) without hesitation upgraded us to an apartment with their compliments and made sure a taxi was waiting to get us to the Show Grounds.
The President, Charlie Downer formally welcomed us at lunch. We sat with Geoff and Fay Phillips (Geoff is on the Board of the Royal Melbourne Show); Mike and Jenny Parry and Walter Duncan (an Adelaide director). Mike Parry is a photographer and had been involved with the Launceston Show, one of the oldest A & P Shows in Australia. Apparently their show has the largest poultry section of all the shows with 800 – 1,000 birds. His forefathers were amongst the early settlers of Melbourne.
After lunch we headed off to the ram auction. There has been some conversation in our various farming newspapers about Australian farmers getting a better price for their lamb than their counter parts in New Zealand. The fact that our sheep and beef industry can’t collaborate to get their act together may be a factor...but I digress.
The sheep pavilion was vast. Border Leicester rams were being auctioned. An August 1st drop ram, 126.5kgs, by a champion ram sold for $3,000. It is obvious to an observer of the hundreds of sheep they were generally bigger, stronger, and better covered.
The agricultural economy is based around grain, cereal and citrus growing. 40% of Australia’s apples are grown in the state. Residential growth has expanded the city at the expense of a market gardening, primarily potatoes.
A GrayLine Tour (http://www.grayline.com.au/about-us.aspx) took us to the Barossa Valley for a day. Our driver/guide had deep family roots in the Valley which made for an informative insight into the area.
George Angus brought the first 28 families in the ship the Prince George in 1839. He owned 28,000 arces and sold the first families their holdings. Because they had no money he let them take their holding to start their new life and pay him off over time. He had faith they would do that and of course his faith proved to be well founded. These families worked hard creating the wine industry the valley is known for today.
Today there are around 500 families growing grapes and around 72 cellar doors. The nature of the industry here has changed as corporates have taken over larger operations and focused on massive production. That production and their marketing machines have certainly done a great deal to develop Australian wine throughout the world.
Research shows that most wine purchased through retail outlets is usually consumed within 48 hours. The traditional grape growing and wine production methods have changed to sustain this new production. For example traditional grape growing was not irrigated. At Langmeil, the site of one of the early 8 family villages, they still make wine from 167 year old vines which are not and have never been irrigated. They also make their wine by hand. Their 2008 vintage of the 1843 Freedom Shiraz from those grapes, shouts a quality difference from the quaffable massed produced wines.(www.langmeilwinery.com.au)
Wolf Blass is a name many in NZ will know. He has just turned 73. He began making wine in his own right back in the early 70’s with a borrowed $2,000. (http://www.newworld.co.nz/inspire-me/wine-sublime/moment-wolf-blass) Recently he sold his business for hundreds of millions of dollars. His personal philosophy for wine making is that, ‘last year’s vintage doesn’t count no matter how good it was. Each new vintage has to be approached afresh and in its own right.’
This worthwhile lesson in life was repeated in research on funds management referenced in the business section of the NZ Herald this morning. In an article headed, “Last year’s winner has already bolted”, Christopher Worthington notes, “...there is no persistence in a fund’s ability to outperform their peers...the top performing funds managers from last year are no more likely to have good performance this year than a manager selected at random.” http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10674929
In my view, all those who invested chasing the promise of inflated returns might have been better off having a glass of wine in the Barossa with Wolf Blass.
