STENCIL, CRATE - RICHON VINEYARDS ARMADALE

This stencil was used to mark barrels and crates at the Richon Vineyard in Armadale between 1919 and 1955.
In 1919 Gerald McCarthy purchased the Slavonian Vineyard from Anton Marion, which was located on Southwestern Highway, just south of Armadale. Gerland had just returned from serving with the AIF during World War I and had spent a lot of time in Egypt and Palestine. While in Palestine he must have visited the town of Richon LeZion which was well known for its vines and wine. McCarthy renamed the vineyard Richon. He ran the vineyard to 1955 when he sold it, and the new owner cleared the vines for farming but left the cellar in place which was a local landmark. The cellar was demolished in 1989 when the land was sold for a new housing development. The development later became the suburb of Mt. Richon in the City of Armadale.
The Slavonian Vineyard had been started in 1901 by Joseph Marion and his nephew Anton. Joseph and Anton had come to Australia from Croatia which at the time was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Unlike other wineries which focused on making fortified wines Slavonian Vineyard produced casks of wine which were popular with Eastern Europeans working in WA. In 1913 the vineyard was producing 36,000 liters of wine. Joseph passed away in 1914 age 77 and the vineyard was passed onto Anton and his family. The Marion family returned to Croatia in 1919 following the end of World War I, the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the creation of the new nation of Yugoslavia. Most of the family returned to Western Australia after World War II when Yugoslavia came under the influence of the Soviet Union.