On returning home for both World Wars, soldiers were offered small plots of land to farm by the Australian government. Known as the Soldier Settlement Scheme, this was a chance to make a new start and leave the turmoil of battle in the past.
Today, many of the original Soldier Settlement vineyards have been removed and replanted, as have the memories and stories that made these vineyards so special.
The SOLDIERS' LAND ORCHARDIST SHIRAZ pays respect to returned Soldier, Lance Corporal Berthold Oscar Wilksch of 2nd 148th infantry battalion, whose occupation on his military records was listed as 'orchardist'. Today, the vineyard that berthold planted is owned by the Zadow family, who have been farming in the Blanchetown region since 1891.