Commonwealth government involvement in the wine industry has been concerned mainly with the regulation of the industry, the provision of research and development grants, and the marketing and promotion of wine for export.

The earliest Commonwealth involvement was through the Department of Trade and Customs, which was established in 1901. Its functions included the collection of revenue, the development and protection of the industry, and the encouragement and regulation of overseas trade.

In 1929 the Wine Overseas Marketing Board was constituted under the Overseas Marketing Act 1929. The Board regulated wine and brandy intended for export and was empowered to handle, market, store and ship Australian wine. From 1936 until 1981 it was known as the Australian Wine Board and since 1981 has been known as the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation. The Corporation is the controlling organisation for the industry and currently has its head office in Adelaide.

Most records relating to wine held by the Archives in Adelaide were created by the Corporation or its predecessors, but the records of other relevant agencies are also held. These include records created by: the Australian Customs Service, the Australian Industrial Property Organisation, and the now defunct State Deputy Prices Commissioner.

For more information

You can obtain more information about the record series listed above (and the items within the series) fromRecordSearch, the Archives database. Searches may be undertaken using keywords (such as 'wine', 'winery', 'viticulture' or 'grapes'), or the CA (Commonwealth Agency) or series number shown in the table above. Follow the links in the series lists to go directly to information on that series. You can also use RecordSearch to find out about the agencies that created the records and to locate more records on your subject. You might also explore PhotoSearch to find out if there are photos pertaining to your subject.

RecordSearch and PhotoSearch are available online or in all Archives reading rooms. Reference staff are available in the reading rooms to help you, or email ref@naa.gov.au.

Other sources of information about wine

The main non-government wine industry groups include

• the Winemakers' Federation of Australia (established 1990)
• the Australian Wine Foundation (established 1988)
• the Australian Council of Viticulture (established 1991)
• the Australian Society of Wine Education (established 1990)

The Archives does not hold the records of these bodies.

The organisations listed below are also valuable sources of information on the wine industry in South Australia.

Comments or other feedback can be sent to archives@naa.gov.au

updated December 2004