Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

Frédéric Guillaume de Pury (15 December 1831 – 11 November 1890) was a Swiss Australian winemaker, farmer, statesman, and diplomat who served as the Swiss Honorary Consul to Australia in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

from 1875 to 1890 (his death) as well as justice of peace. De Pury owned several vineyards in Australia ( Yering) and exported his vines to England, France, and other European countries. He was the founder of the Australian branch of the

De Pury family The de Pury (respectively Pury) is a Swiss noble family from Neuchâtel. The family, part of the Neuchâtel patriciate, were ennobled by Henri II d'Orléans, Duke of Longueville in 1651. In 1785 they were elevated to the Prussian nobility by Fr ...

Biography

De Pury was born on 15 December 1831 in

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

to Baron Edouard Charles Alexandre de Pury, a member of the Grand Council of Neuchâtel, and his second wife, Julie de Sandoz-Travers. His family had been ennobled by

Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself '' King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prus ...

. De Pury was the granduncle of

Roland de Pury Roland (; ; or ''Rotholandus''; or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. The historical Roland was milit ...

. In 1851 he moved to England to study English and agriculture. On 6 May 1852, de Pury left England for

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

. He first worked tending cattle on a property in Yering that was owned by

Paul de Castella Paul Frederic de Castella (22 May 1827 – 14 March 1903) was a Swiss-Australian grazier and winemaker, the pioneer of viticulture in Victoria. Early life De Castella was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, second-eldest son of Dr. Jean Franço ...

. In 1855 he and

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 w ...

purchased Dalry, a former out-station of Yering. They were joined in business by de Pury's brother, Samuel, who had recently arrived from Switzerland. In 1858 he sold Dalry and rented land near Darlot Creek to graze sheep and breed horses. In 1860 de Pury purchased land near Lilydale and named it Cooring Yering, planting a vineyard and building a house and wine cellar there. In 1863, along with George Langdon, he purchased nine-hundred acres in Yering from de Castella's creditors, which he named Yeringberg, starting a vineyard there. In 1869 he bought out Langdon. Yerinberg was later enlarged to 1,160 acres and produced over 90,922 litres of wine annually. The wine was exported to Europe. De Pury was a leader of the Swiss community in Lilydale. He became a justice of the peace in 1862 and was a member of the Upper Yarra District Roads Board for twenty-one years. When the

Shire of Lillydale The Shire of Lillydale (note spelling difference from the suburb of Lilydale) was a local government area about northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1856 until 1994. ...

was established in 1872, he served as one of its first councilors and later as its president. From 1875 to 1890 he served as an honorary consul for the

Swiss Confederation Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerlan ...

. A devout

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, de Pury supported the construction of an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church in Lilydale. He had an interest in

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

and was an adviser of

William Barak William Barak ( March 1823 – 15 August 1903), named Beruk by his parents, the "last chief of the Yarra Yarra tribe", was the last traditional ngurungaeta (elder) of the Wurundjeri-willam clan, the pre-colonial inhabitants of present-day Melbo ...

. In 1881 he served on a government inquiry into the condition of the Aboriginal station at

Coranderrk Coranderrk was an Aboriginal reserve run by the Victorian government between 1863 and 1924, located around north-east of Melbourne. The residents were mainly of the Woiwurrung, Bunurong and Taungurung peoples, and the first inhabitants chose ...

Personal life

On 2 February 1869 he married Adelaide Augusta Ibbotson at St James Cathedral. They had two sons; * George Alphonse de Pury (1 January 1870 – 14 September 1956) * Montague Edouard de Pury (20 March 1873 – July 1960) He was appointed as a commissioner of the International Exhibition in Melbourne. He died on 11 November 1890 in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

, Switzerland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Pury, Frederic Guillaume 1831 births 1890 deaths Australian pastoralists Australian justices of the peace Australian winemakers German barons Consuls for Switzerland in Australia

Frédéric Frédéric and Frédérick are the French versions of the common male given name Frederick. They may refer to: In artistry: * Frédéric Back, Canadian award-winning animator * Frédéric Bartholdi, French sculptor * Frédéric Bazille, Impr ...

People from Neuchâtel Swiss emigrants to Australia Swiss farmers Swiss Protestants Swiss winemakers 19th-century Australian businesspeople