A Historic Brew... Johnston's Oakbank Brewery: In the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia

It's an institution. The Oakbank Easter racing carnival is the biggest picnic race meeting in Australia, and if you want to go back to how it- and the whole district- started, we'll head for a little brewery that you see on as you cross the Onkaparinga on your way into the course. An air of faded glory there may be, but it's still the proud home of Australia's oldest family business.

J and AG Johnston is the legacy of James and Andrew Johnston, who came into this pretty Adelaide Hills vale in the traditional home of the Permerangk people as members of the first pioneer family. The Scottish name still adorns their famous cordials, but this dynasty was built on a different beverage. Their first barley crop made a good home brew beer... a very good one, according to their neighbours.

Fifth generation descendant ,Chris Johnston is keeping the tradition alive, and clearly loving it. He gave us a tour , starting in the old flood prone cellar where they made the first drop. As Chairman of the modern day company, he's steeped himself in a story that took a serious turn 160 years ago. In 1845, they built the first section dedicated to brewing. Over time, they needed more room for malting their barley, sending it down by horse and cart load to colonial brewers in Adelaide. The beer was also in demand through the hills.

"It was in the 1860's that they made a very big decision and built the big stone brew tower which is still dominant here now."

Climbing the well worn narrow stairs to the top chamber, Chris warmed to the task of explaining that all the ingredients had to come up by the bagful before they went in.

"They'd come flying up on a rough clutch sling device...whoop whoop... through the old trapdoors still in the floor and the fellow on the narrow platform would grab them and heave the contents into the giant brewing kettle that almost filled the space under the galvo roof.

The influence of James and Andrew Johnston stretched much further, however, than the view from the Oakbank Ale Tower. Like Scottish lairds, they presided over abundant land holdings and dispensed generous gifts to the growing communities. Woodside was laid out on their holding in 1850, and the subdivision for the Oakbank village came soon after. James' grand home "Oakbank House" at the end of an avenue of stately gums is still an imposing feature of the town.

And Oakbank's hillside race course is even better known as the home of the Great Eastern Steeplechase. Andrew Johnston was a founding committeeman of the club and a steward. The track across the river from the brewery was, predictably, on Johnston land for many years until it was sold to the racing club. As late as the 1980's, the SA Mounted Police took over the old stables for the Easter meeting.

The now defunct "tied house" rules made it good business to acquire a string of hills hotels, thus guaranteeing a market for their beer. Early in the twentieth century, however, the family brewery was to cease its steaming and clanking for good, and decades of dust slowly settled on the still waiting bottles and wooden crates.

"Brewing ceased here in 1914. One of the main reasons was the advent of lager beer which proved very popular, but which also involved a lot of capital investment."

But the name was not to disappear. For well over a century now, the the historic premises have turned out a regular supply of Johnson's Oakbank Cordials. Brothers Roelie and John Kats have been preparing the traditional flavours by hand for thirty years. And so, where the original ale once matured in giant wooden kegs, now it's cordial in cardboard cartons that is stored in the old maturing cellar.

Meanwhile, in the heritage stone storehouse next door, the fruits of a 1990's step into Adelaide Hills grapegrowing now bear the the family name. One of the high trellis vineyards is just up the hill from the Onkaparinga and the riverside buildings. A stylish sign notes it is called the Galbraith. He was the canny Scot who made a special purchase of land in this newfangled colony, and it was the Johnstons who came out to settle it. They called it Oakbank because that was where Galbraith had his cotton mill near Glasgow.

An old colonist name it is, then, that sits proudly on the labels of wines born in anew century. The Johnston family firm lives on.

J and AG Johnston
18 Oakwood Road
Oakbank
South Australia 5243
08 83884263

Brewers and Hoteliers
The Johnstons of Oakbank
author Alison Painter
Wines, cordials and new book
available at selected outlets , at the office in Oakbank or on line.