Paul Frederic de Castella (22 May 1827 – 14 March 1903) was a Swiss-Australian
grazier and winemaker,
[
]
the pioneer of viticulture in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
.
Early life
De Castella was born in
Neuchâtel, Switzerland, second-eldest son of Dr. Jean François Paul de Castella, and his second wife Eleonore, ''née'' de Riaz.
[ He was a descendant of the ]Seigneur
''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (or ...
s de Castella, a noble family from Gruyère.[ Paul's eldest brother was ]Hubert de Castella
Charles Hubert de Castella (27 March 1825 – 30 October 1907) was a Swiss-Australian writer, artist and winemaker.
Early life
De Castella was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, eldest son of Dr. Jean François Paul de Castella, and his second ...
.
Australia
De Castella emigrated to Victoria, arriving in Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
on 28 November 1849 aboard the ''Royal George''.[ In the following year he purchased the Yering cattle station, where in 1856 he planted the first vineyard in Victoria.][ He later entered business with ]Frédéric Guillaume de Pury
Baron Frédéric Guillaume de Pury (15 December 1831 – 11 November 1890) was a Swiss-Australian winemaker, farmer, statesman, and diplomat. From 1875 to 1890 he served as the Swiss Honorary Consul to Australia in Melbourne and was also a just ...
. Castella in 1859 imported plant necessary for the cellar and ten thousand vines, half of which were Sauvignon and two thousand La Folle (the grape used for making the best Cognac), the latter of which were all failures. The produce of the Yering vineyard is now well known in the Australian wine market.[
De Castella won a Grand Pix for his wine at ]Paris Exhibition of 1889
The Exposition Universelle of 1889 () was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 5 May to 31 October 1889. It was the fourth of eight expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937. It attracted more than thirty-two million visitors. The ...
.[
In 1856 he married Elizabeth Anne "Lilly" Anderson, the daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel ]Joseph Anderson
Joseph Inslee Anderson (November 5, 1757 – April 17, 1837) was an American soldier, judge, and politician, who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1797 to 1815, and later as the First Comptroller of the United States Treasur ...
.[
De Castella died in ]South Yarra, Victoria
South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the Cities of City of Melbourne, Melbourne and City of Sto ...
, on 14 March 1903.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:DeCastella, Paul Frederic
1827 births
1903 deaths
Australian pastoralists
Australian winemakers
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
Nobility of Neuchâtel
Swiss winemakers
Swiss emigrants to Australia
Swiss farmers
19th-century Australian businesspeople