Anna Pavlova

Curious Tales

As part of the Heritage Interpretation for the former Eastern Creek Quarantine Station site, in Eastern Creek, Western Sydney, Curio Projects wrote several short histories about the site, for publication on the Blacktown City Council’s Website ‘Blacktown Memories’.

One of the stories about the site that we decided to focus on was its history as part of the original Minchinbury Wines Estate, from 1819 through to 1978.  While scurrying through the archives, we stumbled upon a curious tale.

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By the 1920s, Minchinbury Wines had apparently reached such levels of fame, that they warranted a visit by famous Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova during her 1926 Australian tour, who was publicly quoted as saying “The greatest of my many surprises in Australia, is Penfold’s magnificent wine. I congratulate you heartily on the excellent quality”.

Anna Pavlova in "La Fille mal gardée", 1912

Source: Wikipedia

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Link to news article on trove: https://bit.ly/2KABgtC

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Link to full history on Blacktown City Council website: https://bit.ly/2vPfBsh

by SAM COOLING

Senior Archaeologist & Heritage Specialist

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