Antique Collection

HermannThumm, fleeing war torn Europe, arrived in Australia and founded Chateau Yaldara in 1947. He bought the dilapidated ruins of an old flax mill and turned it into one of the Barossa Valley’s iconic wineries.

Ten years later, with the winery firmly established and the construction of the Chateau well underway, Hermann and his wife Inge turned their attention to their second love, art. It was their intention to establish a collection of antiques to be housed in the winery and open to public viewing.

They began the process of researching and collecting antiques, at first primarily from local auctions in Adelaide. As the years passed and the collection grew, Hermann and Inge began frequenting auction houses in Melbourne and Sydney, and regularly travelling to England, France and Germany in search of new pieces for the ever-growing collection.

The core of the collection was put together over 35 years. It is considered one of Australia’s best collections of 19th century porcelain, and includes pieces from the great porcelain houses of Meissen, Sevre, Worchester, Chelsea and Stinton.

In 1999, with the sale of Chateau Yaldara, Hermann (at the age of 88) and Inge embarked on a new project, Chateau Barrosa. The Chateau was built to house the collection and now stands as their legacy to the valley, and as a monument to Hermann and Inge, two pioneers with a heartfelt connection to the Barossa Valley.