LUMEN Summer 2020 - Flipbook - Page 10
This sentiment of support was echoed at the
Roseworthy campus, with staff coordinating
the distribution of medical supplies, collecting
donations, and volunteering on Kangaroo Island
alongside South Australian Veterinary Emergency
Management, as well as at the Koala Triage
Centre treating Adelaide Hills koalas.
Beyond supporting recovery efforts, the
University was also innately linked to the
devastating fires by the members of its alumni
communities on the ground, including Bachelor
of Agricultural Science (Oenology) alumnus
David Bowley and Doctor of Veterinary
Medicine alumna Dr Liberty Hogg.
David Bowley
Owner and Winemaker,
Vinteloper
“It was a horrible day in our history, the
darkest day.”
David Bowley first learned that fire had ravaged
his Adelaide Hills vineyard after seeing an image
of his burning property on a news website.
The 72 acres of land situated at the corner of
Cudlee Creek and Berry Hill Road was home to
Vinteloper, a venture that first began as a virtual
winery in 2008.
For the past 12 years, David had grown the
business from a sole-trader “side hustle” of 300
cases to a twentyfold increase in production.
8
THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
For David, purchasing the Cudlee Creek property
in 2018 “was our skin in the game”. But by
December 2019, it was destroyed.
With just five per cent of the vineyard considered
viable, Vinteloper lost its crops for at least the
next five years. The house had also burnt down
and was home to two of his employees – fellow
University of Adelaide alumni – as well as
Vinteloper’s office.
A careful planner, David said he was devastated
when his property was burnt, despite the
protective measures in place.
“I’d ticked every box, I’d crossed every t and
dotted every i and this is still what happened.
It makes you feel pretty small in the scheme of
things,” he said.
It was enough to cause the winemaker to
momentarily contemplate throwing in the towel,
but a tight-knit Adelaide Hills community fueled
David to carry on.
“I was completely crushed by what happened,
and if I said I didn’t think about packing it in I’d
be lying,” he said.
“But those kinds of thoughts subside pretty
quickly when you start receiving the support that
we’ve had.
“Even though it’s a risk to continue, we’ve been
shown so much love through the support of the
community and the support of those who buy
our wine or want to share our story, that we’d be
doing ourselves and them a disservice not to.”
