Sketch of the Tintara vineyard, near McLaren Vale, nestled amongst the hills and bush of the district.

Alexander Charles Kelly was born at Leith, Scotland in 1811. He was awarded a medical degree by Edinburgh University in 1832. Kelly acted as a surgeon on the East India Company's ships in 1833. He emigrated to South Australia aboard the Baboo in 1840 and began a medical practice at Port Adelaide. A year later, he was appointed assistant surgeon at Adelaide Hospital. Also a competent artist, this illustration is from an album of sketches by Kelly.

Kelly subsequently bought land at Morphett Vale in 1842 and named the property 'Trinity'. In 1845, Kelly began planting vines on his property, and became a partner in Tintara Vineyard Company in 1862. Kelly was married in 1854 to Annie Worthington (1826-1912). He sold his Trinity vineyard and began planting vines for Tintara at Willunga in 1863. Tintara went into voluntary liquidation in the 1870s. Kelly retired in 1876 and died in 1877.

Tintara Vineyard Company, Mclaren Vale, S Aust, Winery

D. Hall and V. Hankel, introduction to A. C. Kelly, Wine-Growing in Australia Sydney: David Ell Press, 1980

D. Hall and V. Hankel, The Vine in Australia Sydney: David Ell Press, 1980

Heritage of the city of Adelaide: an illustrated guide, editors: Susan Marsden, Paul Stark and Patricia Sumerling, Adelaide: Corporation of the City of Adelaide, 1990

Pitt, G. Index to pioneers arriving in South Australia from overseas ports, July 1836 to December 1845 Archives Department, 1935

Burrows, A. Kith and Kin: Sources for family history Libraries Board of South Australia, Adelaide: 1994

Kwan, Elizabeth. Living in South Australia: a social history, Netley, S. Aust.: South Australian Government Printer, 1987

Migration Museum. From many places: the history and cultural traditions of South Australian people, Kent Town, S. Aust.: Migration Museum (History Trust of S.A.) in association with Wakefield Press, 1995

Kelly papers PRG 628 State Library of South Australia

Australian dictionary of biography onlinesee: Kelly, Alexander Charles (1811 - 1877)