Goat Square
Apex Bakery
Chateau Tanunda
Chateau Tanunda
Apex Bakery
Goat Square, Tanunda
Built in the late 1880s, Château Tanunda is Home to some of the earliest plantings of vines in the Barossa Valley, dating back to the 1840s.The Chateau itself is made from beautiful bluestone, quarried at the nearby, Bethany.
The Chateau boasts that it is both Australia’s largest (37,674 square feet) and oldest wine Château still in use.
Château Tanunda’s origins go back to the 1860s and the decimation of Europe’s vineyards by the phylloxera plague. Sensing opportunity in Europe’s pain, the three founders of Château Tanunda built a Bavarian-style Château dedicated to the production of fine quality wines.
For a while this grand vision would become the largest winemaking facility in the Southern Hemisphere.
The resulting wines, made from grapes produced by 560 local growers (paid a pound per gallon – a substantial sum at the time), were transported on company-owned ships to a wine-starved Europe.
Many famous winemakers have worked or studied at Chateau Tanunda including Prof. Soebels, Australia’s first qualified enologist.
In 1994, in recognition of its rich history, Château Tanunda was placed on the Register of State Heritage Places – but by then its glory days were a memory.
Abandoned by its then owner, Australian wine giant Southcorp, the property was a shell of its former grandeur. When John Geber chanced upon it in 1998, and bought it a day later, he embraced the challenge of restoring this magnificent property to its iconic status.
A walk around the Château is a walk around the history of winemaking in the valley, if not the country. On the rafters you will see some of the most famous names in Australian wine history, past and present, all of whom have worked at the Château.
· Professor Arthur J Perkins – Roseworthy College
· Professor Soebels – the first qualified oenologist in Australia
· Bill Seppelt
· Jack Mann
· Peter Taylor
· Grant Burge - Grant Burge Wines
· Geoff Merrill - Geoff Merrill Wines
· Craig Stansborough - Grant Burge Wines
· Robert O’Callaghan – Rockford Wines
· Kevin Glastonbury - Yalumba
Sources:
Chateau Tanunda Website: http://www.chateautanunda.com/
YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watchv=RVZX9tvWXUg&list=PLTCin3TcxEvJmupBiLazqWFZFkrorCq6Z
Apex Bakery was founded in 1924 by Mr Albert Hoffmann.
Two years later Keith Fechner, merely a young boy of 12 at the time asked if there was any work to be done. He began working for Apex Bakery that very day.
When Keith was 33 the opportunity to buy Apex Bakery arose. Begging and borrowing money from where ever he could, Keith, now known as "Chiney", managed to secure the Bakery.
Besides Keith love of baking, he had a family, four children – Briand, David, Jonny and Marie, as well as a love for greyhound racing.
Keith’s three sons have worked at Apex since the 1960’s. Brian began working alongside his father at the age of 15 and David a couple years later. Jonny somewhat wisely ventured a little further away (the family home was situated next door to the Bakery) and wound up down the road at Orlando wines. This was just a stop gap though, as the allure of the Bakery was hard to resist and Jonny returned to work at the Bakery a few years later.
The business remains in the three brothers hands to this day but Keith "Chiney" Fechner at 98 years old still knows best.
It is only through Chiney's stubbornness that things have rarely changed around Apex Bakery. The majority of the products and their recipes date back to the 1800's and the bakery is still operating with the original Wood Fired Scotch Oven to bake our products.
Sources:
Apex Bakery Website: http://www.apexbakery.com.au/
YouTube Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92SXyoINbGU
'Goat Square, also known as 'Der Zeigenhart', was laid out in the centre of the town of Tanunda by Charles Flaxman, to whom the land was granted on the 30th of May, 1842.
Tanunda was central to the villages of Bethanien (Bethany) 1842 and Langmeil (1843) which were established by Prussian Lutherans.
According to tradition the square was used by the early pioneers as a meeting place and for the bartering of goods.
Initially it creates the impression of just being a crossroads, which is located at the corner of John and Maria Street, but on closer inspection it is recognisable as a small square with tiny single storey cottages on each side of the square.
Keeping the tradition and relevance of Goat Square alive, each Vintage Festival (held bi-annually in the Barossa Valley) the Ziegenmarket takes place. The event goes back to the roots of what Goat square was, a place to meet and sell/barter produce. The schools and local producers get involved and a breakfast is put on also.
Sources:
Goat Square Cottage Website: http://www.goatsquarecottages.com.au/history.html
Sydney Morning Herald Website: http://www.smh.com.au/news/South-Australia/Tanunda/2005/02/17/1108500204711.html
Tanunda
Tanunda was developed by a progressive merging of Langmeil and Bethany, other nearby villages.
The name Tanunda means watering hole, adapted from the aboriginal word.
Bethany was settled in 1842 by Prussian immigrants with their Pastor, Gotthard Frtizsche.
The settlement of Langmeil followed in 1843, by Prussian Immigrants who relocated from Klemzig with their Pastor, August Kavel. Klemzig was originally settled earlier in 1938.
Tanunda was settled sometime later.
As the development of Tanunda continued, the villages of Langmeil and Tanunda were eventually joined.
During the First World War Langmeil, as with many other German names was translated or renamed, to Bilyara. The name more widely recognised today with the existence of Bilyara Road.
More Info Coming Soon....
Sources:
Barossa Valley Heritage Study, Lester Firth and Murton Pty Ltd, May 1981.