Thomas Hardy (winemaker)

While on the voyage he acted as schoolmaster to the boys on board, while one Mrs. J. Gillard is reported as having taught the girls,[1] however that name does not appear on passenger lists.

In 1853 he purchased a property of 46 acres (18.6 ha)[1] on the River Torrens which he called "Bankside", now Underdale, near the present Hardys Road.

He purchased "Brookside" of 24 acres (10 ha) at Marion, South Australia in April 1862, planted it with grapes and put John Western in charge.

[3] In 1874 Hardy, with A. M. Bickford and Sons, W. N. Crowder and others founded a bottle works in Chief Street, Brompton which began production in 1875, and eventually became the South Australian Glass Works Co. Ltd.[4] The Tintara winery at McLaren Vale was built by Dr. Alexander Charles Kelly and purchased by Hardy in 1877[5] and was used for wine production until 1927.

[1] In 1881 he built a four-storey warehouse, head office and bottling cellars "Tintara House" (demolished 1961) at 87–89 Currie Street.

[6] Hardy planted specimens of various grape varieties at Adelaide Botanic Gardens, but these were subsequently removed to provide more open space for recreation purposes.

[11] Hardy Street, Goodwood, South Australia, was named in his honour, as he had purchased a portion of the suburb in May 1838, and sold it to his son Arthur in 1841.