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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-03-04 Daily Xml
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Grievance Debate

THUMM, MR H.

Mr VENNING (Schubert) (15:10): I begin with these words:

For my father and tutor, who taught me to respect the vine and its products; for my wife, who has had such infinite patience; for my sons and grandsons, who have added so much satisfaction to my life's work; and for my business competitors, who have challenged me so much and so often. H. Thumm-1996.

Mr Thumm passed away two weeks ago, aged 96. Today, I pay tribute to a man whom I have known for a long time and who was a true Barossa legend. Mr Thumm was born in Georgia, Russia, and was the youngest of 10 children. After fleeing the Stalinist regime, he started a small soap-making business in the late 1930s in Persia. He then migrated to South Australia in 1946, after being sponsored by Pastor Theodore Herbert from Langmeil Lutheran Church. Hermann later married the pastor's daughter, Inga, and together they began building their business and their family, with their two sons, Dieter and Robert.

Following his arrival in South Australia, Hermann followed in his father's footsteps and went into the wine business. In 1947, after being in South Australia for only one year and working very hard, he bought an old flax mill on the North Para River, which became Chateau Yaldara and which has won many awards, including several national tourism awards.

In 1999, more than 50 years after forming Chateau Yaldara Pty Ltd, Hermann Thumm sold the famous Barossa Valley chateau and the winery that bears its name. He turned his attention to developing the nearby Barossa Park Motel into Chateau Barrosa, incorporating a baroque-style chateau surrounded by 30,000 roses and filled with one of the world's great collections of Meissen porcelain, antique furniture, tapestries and paintings.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited the rose garden—one of the biggest rose gardens of its kind in the southern hemisphere—during her 2002 visit to South Australia, planting a Queen Elizabeth rose and unveiling a plaque to formally open the rose garden before attending a lunch with 70 guests in the chateau.

We as MPs have lots of memories in this job, and I have a great vision of seeing Hermann—this lovely man, this statesman for whom I had so much time—in deep conversation with Her Majesty. They strolled along like old mates, not a nerve in his body, and she was obviously quite taken by him. The Queen also enjoyed some of Hermann's famous old Yaldara whites.

In 1980, Mr Thumm received a Centenary Medal in recognition of his contribution to the success of Australia's first 100 years as a federal nation and specifically for his innovative approach to winemaking. He also had a street in the Barossa named after him in honour of his service to business—Hermann Thumm Drive in Lyndoch—and he was one of the first Barons of the Barossa.

A few years ago, Hermann saw the problem of oversupply of wine grapes was causing, and he set about finding a solution to the problem. The solution he came up with was to make other products with wine grapes, and that is exactly what Hermann did: he created grape beer, and he also had an idea to help save our water supplies. Hermann also developed numerous other food products from wine grapes, of which grape spread is but one, and these were and still are extremely well received.

Hermann was a wonderful family man, entrepreneur and innovator. I thank Hermann Thumm very much for being part of the reason that the Barossa is what it is today. He had been in the region for over 80 years. We talk about Barossa wine and food but, more importantly, we have Barossa people. Throughout his life in the Barossa, Hermann was extremely supportive of the community and made donations to all sorts of events and various organisations throughout the Barossa. He was a very generous man.

Hermann will be missed very much by the Barossa community, and I am proud of what he achieved. I am proud to have known him, and I was proud that I could be part, albeit a small part, of his life. I send heartfelt condolences to his sons, Dieter and Robert, to his grandchildren, to their families and to their loyal staff. We are often told that no-one is indispensable but, in relation to Hermann John Thumm AM, I very much doubt it. Glory to Barossa!

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