Alexander Charles Kelly (1811 - 1877)

Born 5 Jun 1811 in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom

Husband of Ann Frances (Worthington) Kelly — married 1 Nov 1854 (to 9 Oct 1877) in Morphett Vale, Province of South Australia

Died 9 Oct 1877 at age 66 in Norwood, South Australia

Biography

Alexander was born in 1811. He passed away in 1877.

Sources

• South Australia Marriages 1842-1937 (FindMyPast, https://www.findmypast.com ; accessed 7 June 2021) database entry for Kelly, Alexander Charles (Age: 43, Status: Not Recorded, Father: not stated) and Worthington, Annie Frances (Age: 28, Status: Single, Father: not stated) on 1 November 1854 at Church of Scotland Morphett Vale, Reference: District: Adelaide, Book/Page: 18/78.

• South Australia Deaths 1842-1972 (FindMyPast, https://www.findmypast.com : accessed 7 November 2020) database entry for Kelly, Alexander Charles (Death Date: 9 October 1877, Marital Status: Not recorded, Age: 66y, Residence: Norwood, Death Place: Norwood) Reference: District: Adelaide, Book/Page: 83/56.

• http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/kelly-alexander-charles-13020

• South Australian Register, Adelaide, SA, 3 November 1854, page 2, column 4, Family Notices. (Trove, National Library of Australia, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/?type=newspapers : accessed 7 June 2021)

• South Australia Deaths 1842-1972 (FindMyPast, https://www.findmypast.com : accessed 7 June 2021) database entry for Kelly, Ann (Death Date: 21 April 1912, Marital Status: Widowed, Age: 86y, Relative: Alexander Charles Kelly (Deceased husband), Residence: Semaphore, Death Place: Semaphore) Reference: District: Port Adelaide, Book/Page: 365/58.

• https://adelaideaz.com/articles/dr-alexander-kelly-leaves-early-adelaide-medicine-for-wine-growing-and-making-at-mclaren-vale-from-1845

Tintara in McLaren Vale was another early South Australian winery founded by a doctor (Christopher Penfold and William Angove were others). Tintara was established by Scottish medical physician Alexander Kelly in 1861 – the same year that he published his book The Vine in Australia.

Kelly emigrated to South Australia aboard the Baboo in 1840 and was appointed to Adelaide Hospital as honorary medical officer. In 1846, he was sent to London to lecture on emigration to the colony and then settled at Morphett Vale.

Intrigued by McLaren Vale’s grape growing potential, Kelly planted in 1845 at his Trinity vineyard that took over from his medical practice.

In 1854, he married Annie Frances Worthington; their son John George Kelly would become a noted winemaker. In 1863, Kelly sold Trinity to concentrate on Tintara, one of the first commercial wineries in the McLaren Vale area. It had been backed the year before by Tintara Vineyard Company with prominent South Australian investors Thomas Elder, Samuel Davenport and Walter Hughes.

The initial planting included 210 acres and was followed with a second wave of plantings in 1864. Among its grape varieties were mataro (mourvèdre), shiraz, grenache and carignan.

Around 1871, Kelly entered a three-year contract with English wine merchant P.B. Burgoyne to import and bottle Tintara wines for the British market, working from offices and cellars at 50 Old Broad Street, London.

By 1877, Tintara was bankrupt and for sale. Thomas Hardy bought the property and its 27,000 imperial gallons of wine. He sold the wine, covering the cost of the purchase.