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William Henry Beetham (10 August 1837 - 14 December 1925) was a farmer, wine pioneer and landowner of the early New Zealand colony. [1] In 1883 Beetham was recognised as being the first settler to plant Pinot Noir and Hermitage (Syrah) grapes in New Zealand at his Lansdowne vineyard. In 1895 the expert consultant viticulturist and oenologist Romeo Bragato was invited by the NZ government's department of Agriculture to investigate winemaking possibilities and after tasting Beetham's Hermitage he concluded that the Wairarapa and New Zealand was "pre-eminently suited to viticulture". Beetham was supported in his endeavours by his french wife Marie Zelie Hermance Frere Beetham. Their partnership and innovation to pursue winemaking has formed the basis of modern New Zealand's viticulture practices. [2]

Biography

William Henry Beetham was the 2nd oldest son of the noted portrait painter William Beetham. He was born in Hexthorpe, Yorkshire and arrived in New Zealand on 1st December 1855, aged 18 years, aboard the William and Jane steamship. Upon his arrival in New Zealand he joined his brother Richmond working on the Rimutaka track where he was put in charge of building the bridges. William Henry learnt Te Reo Māori language and along with his brothers Richmond Beetham, George Beetham and Hugh Horsley Beetham became a driving force in the development of the Brancepeth Station run in the Wairarapa when joined by Thomas Coldham Williams to set up the Mssrs Beetham-Williams partnership. During a tour back to England WHB travelled to France and met his future wife Marie Zelie Frere Hermance - a french citizen and daughter of Charles Francois Denis Frere of Moreuil, L'Oise - who he married in 1882. Beetham purchased vines in Picardy, France and planted these at his Towcett homestead, named after his ancestral homeland in England and in greater quantity at Lansdowne, New Zealand. The development of Masterton as a top wine region was halted by the prohibition movement, which in 1908 voted 'no license'. Winemakers went out of business and the vines at Lansdowne were pulled out.

In 1997 the oldest bottle of New Zealand wine dated 1903 from Beetham's Lansdowne vineyard sold at auction in Wellington for $14,000 a New Zealand record price. [3] Bragatto's input to the industry is still recognised in a New Zealand wine competition named in his honour. [4]

William kept a diary which became a valuable resource for the Victoria University of Wellington Professor Lydia Wevers when compiling her book Reading On The Farm first published in 2010. [5]

References

  1. ^ http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/Person/54908
  2. ^ http://www.geoffkellywinereviews.co.nz/index.php?ArticleID=124
  3. ^ http://www.docstoc.com/docs/105687002/HOSPICE-WAIRARAPA-WINE-AUCTION-AND-FOOD-FIESTA
  4. ^ http://www.bragato.org.nz
  5. ^ http://vup.victoria.ac.nz/reading-on-the-farm-victorian-fiction-and-the-colonial-world/
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