THE HISTORY OF 1837 BAROSSA THE HISTORICAL GROUND WHICH COMMEMORATES THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE BAROSSA VALLEY
Colonel William Light, founder of Adelaide and first Surveyor-General of South Australia, traversed the ground of our estate on 13th December 1837, when exploring the north-east of Adelaide. On this historic occasion he bestowed the name of our township Lyndoch and the entire hill range Barossa.
The Barossa Colonel Light Monument, a life-size bronze monument of Colonel Light on horseback, and the iconic Barossa Manor commemorate the birthplace of today's world-famous Barossa Valley on our estate.
Generation after generation of our winemakers dedicate our wines to this grand tradition and embody our history of outstanding wines.
The BAROSSA COLONEL WILLIAM LIGHT MONUMENT which has been erected on this historic site on our estate to commemorate the birthplace of the Barossa Valley and Lyndoch of December 13th 1837.
The minutiae of the discovery
On Monday December 11th 1837 Colonel William Light, founder of Adelaide and first Surveyor-General of South Australia, accompanied by his retinue, commenced his discovery and exploration of the Barossa Range leaving Adelaide at 11.45 am. After travelling for two days the party left the camp on the South Para River on December 13th 1837 and travelled in North East direction on to the plains near Rosedale where they rested. At 2pm the party started to cross over the hill range which separates Rosedale and Lynedoch Vale.
According to the construction of the exploration track by historians* Colonel Light and his retinue traversed the ground of the monument in the late afternoon of December 13th 1837. From the location of the Barossa William Light Monument, the explorers would have been able for the first time on their journey to have an unobstructed view of the breathtaking vista over the Barossa Range at Lyndoch and the entire Barossa region.
On that day of December 13th in the summer of 1837 when Colonel William Light camped for the night in Lyndoch, he wrote in his diary; "At length about 5 p.m. we came to a beautiful valley which I named Lynedoch Vale after my much esteemed friend, Lord Lynedoch.” The beauty of Lynedoch Vale is beyond question and it is perhaps justice that it should bear the name of a great man, General Thomas Graham, later Lord Lynedoch, famous Lieutenant-General and glorious victor of the Battle of Barrosa in the Peninsula Wars (Wellington vs Napoleon) of 1811 in Spain in which Light participated as a young officer. On this same journey Light consequently bestowed on the entire range the name of the victorious grounds of the battle of Barrosa in Spain. The town of Lyndoch was established three years later in 1840 and is only minutes away from this monument.
Based on this historic moment of December 13th 1837 the Barossa William Light Monument commemorates the birthplace of today's world-famous Barossa Valley and Lyndoch as they have been discovered and named on this ground. The equestrian statue has been unveiled by the The Lyndoch and District Historical Society in January 2016.
* See accompanying map of “The Discovery and Exploration of the Barossa Range by Colonel William Light 1837” by John A. Lienert, The Lyndoch and District Historical Society, 1987
