Joseph Gilbert was a pastoralist and winemaker in South Australia from 1839 until his death. Gilbert was born in Puckshipton, Wiltshire, England, in the Vale of Pewsey. The second of four sons, his father was Joseph Gilbert and his mother, Jane. He studied at Marlborough College in Wiltshire and learnt about vine-growing and winemaking on the European mainland. He migrated to South Australia in 1839 on the Buckinghamshire and immediately erected his prefabricated two-roomed Manning cottage on an Adelaide allotment. He acquired a property on the South Para River and stocked it with sheep purchased from Van Diemen's Land. He later moved his flock to a selection near Lyndoch, which he named "Pewsey Vale" and developed into an ideal country home. In 1847 he established Pewsey Vale winery in Eden Valley, the same year Jacob's Creek winery was established in the neighbouring Barossa Valley, with substantial cellars, and Pewsey Vale clarets, burgundies and hocks achieved considerable success. He married Anna Browne in 1848. Her brothers Dr. William James Browne and Dr. John Harris Browne made a wedding present of the property "Wongalere" near Williamstown. Joseph's brother William emigrated to South Australia and leased Wongalere for ten years, after which it was managed by Joseph's son, also called William. In 1872 he acquired leases 3-5 in the Northern Territory, just north of Oodnadatta. His son William, in company with James Churchill-Smith and E. M. "Ted" Bagot drove 1,000 head of cattle from Adelaide to the MacDonnell Ranges. Gilbert was a member of the South Australian Jockey Club and raced several good horses, notably Ace, Ace of Trumps, Skylark, Lapdog and Poodle. Joseph and Anna Gilbert and several of their descendants were buried at the Pewsey Vale Anglican Cemetery built on land excised from their property in 1861; around half the graves or memorials are for members of the Gilbert family.
Family
Joseph Gilbert married Anna Browne, sister of Dr. W. J. Browne, at "Wongalere" on 21 January 1848. They had three children:
William Gilbert born at "Pewsey Vale", married Mary Young Clindening on 22 July 1879; further developed the Pewsey Vale Estate. For details of their large family, see his article.
