ProvenanceObject from the shed of Paul Clark, owner of Kersbrook Hill winery, which was completely burnt down during the Sampson Flat bushfire (2015) that also threatened his house and severely affected his business.
Paul, who is also a former county cricketer in England and an amateur musician, had many of his trophies and musical equipment stored in the shed adjacent his house, which until recently had been set up to house his elderly father who passed away last year. All of the contents of the shed were lost, but despite being only a few metres away from it, his house was spared (the decorative grapevine on the edge of his veranda is singed, showing just how close the fire got). Paul’s wife and two children evacuated Kersbrook during the fire, but Paul stayed, sleeping on the floor of his cellar door, to fight the fire. He said that when he woke up the morning after, Kersbrook seemed completely deserted.
Kersbrook Hill Wines is a successful local business, and Paul said his customers have been very supportive in the wake of the fire and that he has experienced a particularly busy trading period since then. Paul’s vineyards were insured but only for the infrastructure costs; his grapes were smoke-damaged and unusable to make wine, so that future vintages have been compromised (for the near future, Paul has struck a deal with Adelaide University to swap his smoke-damaged grapes for some of their good ones). He has estimated the financial damage to his business to be of several hundred thousand dollars.SignificanceCollected as part of the History as it Happens project, conducted by History SA, in response to the Sampson Flat bushfire in the Adelaide Hills in January 2015. The object was donated by Paul Clark, owner of the local business Kersbrook Hill Wines. The glass was stored in a shed, which was completely burnt down during the Sampson Flat bushfire that also threatened his house and severely affected his business.
This melted wine glass is representative of impact on small business (wineries, in particular, are very typical of the Adelaide Hills area) and on personal life, as Paul lost a lot of treasured possessions and a place that held memories associated with his late father.DescriptionChampagne style flute made from glass which has been melted in a fire. The stem remains in tact and the flute of the glass is distorted in shape.Creator (person)Creator (organisation)AcknowledgementKeywordsbadgesmembership badgesprotestpolitical badgesunion badgesDate of CreationBetween 2nd October 2015 and 9th January 2015Date of UsageMaterialglass DimensionType: object
Height: 153
Width: 65
|Type: External box
Height: 100
Width: 220
Depth: 120 Accession NumberHT 2015.1164
