Abercorn has been farmed for almost 150 years, and home to a vineyard and winery for 50 years. After European settlement of the Mudgee area in the 1830s, the land along Pipeclay Creek, one of Abercorn’s boundaries, was divided into small lots ranging in size from 30 to 100 acres (12 to 40.5 hectares) and sold around 1859. Abercorn now sits on land which was first bought by Joseph Hooth and M.H. Lyons and recorded in the 1884 Parish map (NSW Land Registry Services, Parish and Historical Maps). Abercorn is close to the childhood home of the Australian poet and short story writer Henry Lawson (1867 – 1922), who moved to the Eurunderee area with his family in 1873 and settled on land further west along Pipeclay Creek. Many of Lawson’s stories and poems were set in nearby places and were inspired by the lives of people trying to create a life on the land. Grapes were grown in the Mudgee area for winemaking from the 1880s and after a long period of decline the wine industry re-emerged in the 1960s and 1970s. Shiraz and Chardonnay grapes were planted on Abercorn in the 1970s and the vineyard has produced wine under a number of owners since then. Sara and Matthew bought Abercorn in 2014 and repurposed and extended Abercorn’s former cellar door to create a country house for the family and guests. The house design and interiors are a blend of old and new, filled with an eclectic collection of furniture bought at country antique shops and auctions, and fabrics designed and hand-printed in Australia.
Abercorn has been farmed for almost 150 years, and home to a vineyard and winery for 50 years. After European settlement of the Mudgee area in the 1830s, the land along Pipeclay Creek, one of Abercorn’s boundaries, was divided into small lots ranging in size from 30 to 100 acres (12 to 40.5 hectares) and sold around 1859. Abercorn now sits on land which was first bought by Joseph Hooth and M.H. Lyons and recorded in the 1884 Parish map (NSW Land Registry Services, Parish and Historical Maps). Abercorn is close to the childhood home of the Australian poet and short story writer Henry Lawson (1867 – 1922), who moved to the Eurunderee area with his family in 1873 and settled on land further west along Pipeclay Creek. Many of Lawson’s stories and poems were set in nearby places and were inspired by the lives of people trying to create a life on the land. Grapes were grown in the Mudgee area for winemaking from the 1880s and after a long period of decline the wine industry re-emerged in the 1960s and 1970s. Shiraz and Chardonnay grapes were planted on Abercorn in the 1970s and the vineyard has produced wine under a number of owners since then. Sara and Matthew bought Abercorn in 2014 and repurposed and extended Abercorn’s former cellar door to create a country house for the family and guests. The house design and interiors are a blend of old and new, filled with an eclectic collection of furniture bought at country antique shops and auctions, and fabrics designed and hand-printed in Australia.
