International Exhibition Victoria, 1873 medallion awarded to Wilhelm Greiffenhagen

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Type: Medallions
Date: 1873
Place: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Materials: Silver
Collection: Wilhelm Greiffenhagen collection
Accession number: 2006.0006.0003

Description

Silver medallion presented as a prize to Wilhelm Greiffenhagen, with features on both sides. Face - woman in classical dress in landscape with motto below "DITISSIMA TERRA" and text in border at circumference "INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION VICTORIA / 1873". Reverse - cast text at centre framed by laurel wreath "PRIZE / MEDAL" and engraved text on edge of medallion "HEINE & GREIFFENHAGEN, WINE".

About the collection

The Wilhelm Greiffenhagen collection consists of three prize medals and a silver prize cup for winemaking awarded to Greiffenhagen's Victorian vineyard. Greiffenhagen emigrated from Germany with his cousins and together they established what would become the largest vineyard in the Bendigo region. Eventually becoming the sole proprietor of the vineyard, Greiffenhagen's wines won prizes at many national and international exhibitions, contributing greatly to the establishment of the wine industry in Victoria. This collection illustrates the contribution Greiffenhagen made to the establishment of the Australian winemaking industry. The prize medals and cup are evidence of the high quality his wines achieved, which thereby enhanced the reputation of Australian wines internationally. Greiffenhagen's experience of being drawn to Australia by the lure of the goldfields and then establishing a local enterprise echoes the experiences of many colonial free settlers of the period. The vineyard's history mirrors that of the winemaking industry in the Bendigo region, which was flourishing in the 1880s only to be devastated by a Phylloxera infestation in 1893. The collection also demonstrates the industry of German immigrants in the nineteenth century, illustrated through the Victorian Heritage registered 'Hercynia Winery and Homestead' designed by important German immigrant architects Vahland and Getzschmann to realise Greiffenhagen's expanding aspirations. Greiffenhagen also employed many innovations in the production of his wine, learning how to draw the best results from the land.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 5:02:12 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2025-02-17. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.