Lynedoch Valley

Plate 14: Lynedoch Valley, looking towards the Barossa Valley. Featuring a shepherd with his dog and sheep overlooking wheatfields, the accompanying text states, Between twenty and thirty miles from Adelaide, in a N.N.E. direction is situated Lynedoch Valley, a rich agricultural tract of land extending towards the Barossa Range. A considerable portion of land under cultivation is the property of the South Australian Company, producing some of the finest wheat in the world.

Now known as Lyndoch, the area today is better known for viticulture than wheat-growing.

This is one of 60 coloured lithographs found in the 1847 edition of 'South Australia Illustrated' by colonial artist George French Angas, together with a descriptive passage for each. The lithograph was created by J.W. Giles from Angas' original painting. The date assigned is assumed to be the approximate creation date; the original paintings were done in earlier years.

The artist George French Angas - son of George Fife Angas, one of the founders of the South Australian Company - travelled throughout the fledgling colony, painting some of the earliest European views of South Australia.

George French Angas (1822-1886), naturalist and painter, was born on 25 April 1822 at Newcastle upon Tyne, England, fourth child and eldest son of George Fife Angas and his wife Rosetta, née French. He sailed for Australia in 1843 on the Augustus, reached Adelaide in January 1844, and remained in South Australia until July when he left for New Zealand. He returned to South Australia in January 1845 and remained for six months. During these visits to South Australia Angas went with William Giles to the area in the vicinity of the mouth of the River Murray, and with Governor (Sir) George Grey to the south-east of the province, Kangaroo Island and Port Lincoln. These journeys Angas recorded in water-colour drawings which were shown in Adelaide in June 1845 in the Legislative Council chamber.