The 1954 Plantings Shiraz: Francis Levi Burgess
“Francis Levi Burgess — a respected viticulturalist — enlisted in 1916 with the 3rd Australian Light Horse and survived the Battle of Beersheba, remembered as one of history’s last great cavalry charges.”
When we purchased the land now home to our Watervale Gardeners wines, the entire property was defined by three historical land titles. Our research into these titles led us deep into the stories of the people who tended this soil before us — ordinary men and women whose hard work and resilience shaped this vineyard’s character long before a single vine was planted in our care.
For 38 years, from 1909 through 1947 — spanning two World Wars — much of this land was farmed by the local Burgess family. Title records from this era consistently list father Francis Burgess and his sons Francis Levi, George Leslie, and Edward William, each described simply and proudly as “Watervale, Gardener” by trade. Their dedication inspired the name for our Watervale Gardeners wines.
We honour the eldest son, Francis Levi Burgess, on The 1954 Plantings Shiraz — a fitting tribute to a man whose life embodied the region’s pioneering spirit.
Tracing the Burgess lineage leads us back to rich farming roots in Dorset, England. Francis Levi’s grandfather, Levi Burgess, was born on 4 June 1823 in Purse Caundle, a village known for centuries of agriculture and bustling market trade. Though records do not tell us how Levi arrived in South Australia, his son — Francis A. Burgess — was born at Stanley Flat, just north of Clare, on 11 April 1863.
Francis A. Burgess settled in the area, married local Stanley Flat resident Mary Ellen Dack (whose family emigrated from Norfolk), and together they welcomed their first child, Francis Levi, on 25 November 1889.
The Burgess family quickly became known for their contributions to local viticulture and horticulture — especially through community pruning competitions and fruit shows. In 1909, when Francis Levi was just 20 years old, his father acquired part of Thomas Myatt’s original “57 acres or thereabouts,” continuing a chain of dedicated land stewardship stretching back to the 1860s.
Like many young men of his generation, Francis Levi answered the call of duty in World War I. On 3 October 1916, he enlisted with his friend Harold Percival in the 24th Reinforcements of the 3rd Australian Light Horse Regiment. After training, he embarked from Outer Harbor on 5 February 1917 aboard HMATClan Maccorquodale, bound for Egypt.
There he joined the campaign in the Middle East, seeing action at the Second Battle of Gaza before participating in the legendary Battle of Beersheba on 31 October 1917. This decisive engagement, part of the broader Third Battle of Gaza, is remembered for its dramatic mounted charge by the 4th Light Horse Brigade — a manoeuvre that turned the tide of the campaign and secured vital water wells for the exhausted Desert Mounted Corps.
After Beersheba, Francis Levi took part in the advance towards Jaffa, then briefly rested at a camp in Jerusalem before rejoining his regiment for the final push to Amman, where he was wounded. He recovered in Port Said as hostilities ceased with the Ottoman surrender in October 1918. He returned to Australia in March 1919, having survived influenza and malaria en route, and was officially discharged in August that year.
Back home in Watervale, the community gathered in Foresters Hall — still standing today — to give Francis Levi and Harold Percival a hero’s welcome. Soon after resettling, Francis Levi married local Watervale resident Doris Jean Hordacre on 2 September 1923 at Penwortham. Doris, notably, was the sister of Clarence Kimberley Hordacre, whose own story is commemorated on our 1938 Plantings Grenache.
The post-war decades marked the Burgess family’s prime as caretakers of this land. In 1936, Francis senior transferred ownership to his sons Francis Levi, George Leslie, and Edward William, consolidating the family’s holdings to more than 366 acres spanning the Hundreds of Clare and Upper Wakefield. In 1939, they subdivided a portion for George Leslie — a piece later sold to Clarence Hordacre in 1947, and now part of our vineyard once more.
Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, “F. Burgess & Sons” earned acclaim at local fruit shows and pruning competitions — testimony to their skill, dedication, and deep roots in the Watervale community.
After a lifetime of hard work, service, and stewardship, Francis Levi retired to Gawler, where he passed away on 5 May 1973 at the age of 83.
His remarkable story — of tending vines, serving his country, and returning home to nurture both family and land — epitomises the enduring spirit of the Watervale Gardeners. It is an honour to share his legacy through our 1954 Plantings Shiraz.
