The 1954 Plantings Riesling: Thomas Myatt

“Thomas Myatt was the original colonial land title holder of this property, arriving on the ship that brought the first sheep to South Australia.”

When researching the historical timeline of the land parcels that now make up the Watervale Gardeners Vineyard, we traced the earliest record to Lands Title Volume 53 Folio 239, which shows that on 12 July 1862, Thomas Myatt, a farmer from Watervale, purchased 57 acres (Section 471) in the Hundred of Upper Wakefield, County of Stanley.

Through extensive research, we believe ourWatervale Gardener Landholder, Thomas Myatt, to be the same Thomas Myatt who was convicted at the Stafford Quarter Sessions in 1832 for stealing pigeons and sentenced to seven years’ transportation to Australia. The Court of Quarter Sessions, established in Staffordshire, England, in 1362, dealt primarily with criminal cases until 1971.

Thomas Myatt, listed as a labourer and quarryman, was transported to Van Diemen’s Land aboard theSurrey 3in 1833. On 25 August 1837,The Hobart Town Courierpublished a list of convicts granted early release to mark His Majesty’s Birthday — among them, Thomas Myatt.

Following his release, records next mention Thomas marrying Ellen Megan (also recorded as Magan, McCann or McGann) at Watervale, South Australia, on 10 April 1855. Ellen was a free settler and domestic servant from County Clare, Ireland, who arrived in Port Adelaide aboard theThomas Greshamin March 1854.

An obituary published inThe Express and Telegraph(Adelaide) on 26 November 1891 notes Thomas’s death at his residence, Spring Creek Farm, Georgetown, on 19 November 1891. He is described as the beloved husband of Ellen, father of eleven children, and a colonist of 53 years. It also records that he arrived on the ship that brought the first sheep to South Australia and that he was born in Shropshire, England, in 1809.

Historical accounts confirm that the first sheep landed in South Australia included six rams brought by theJohn Piriein 1836, followed by a further 70 head from Van Diemen’s Land that same year (The History of Sheep Scab in South Australia, W. Stephen Smith). This supports the likelihood that Thomas travelled from Van Diemen’s Land to South Australia aboard one of these early livestock ships after his early release.

After their marriage, Thomas and Ellen lived in County Stanley, purchasing their Watervale property on 12 July 1862 and selling it on 4 October 1876 before moving to Georgetown in South Australia’s Mid North. Records indicate the couple moved around the Stanley region — Skillogalee Creek, Penwortham, and Clare — before settling in Georgetown in 1874.

One parcel of the land that now forms part of the Watervale Gardeners Vineyard was thus settled by an English convict granted early release for good behaviour and his Irish settler wife. With eleven children, the Myatt family would have brought life and energy to this corner of Watervale — a legacy that continues through these vines today.