The Angus Park Brewery was founded in 1858 by John Williams, who brought with him practical brewing experience gained in Devon, England. After settling in South Australia, Williams established the brewery as a modest but well-considered operation, and over time it grew into a significant local enterprise. His sons, Charles and William Williams, would both go on to build successful careers in the brewing industry, extending the family’s influence well beyond Angus Park. By the late 1860s the brewery had been operating for around a decade and had undergone substantial improvement. It consisted of a compact two-storey stone building with an iron roof, fitted with two boilers of seven and six hogsheads capacity. The plant included a mash tun, two coolers, a fermenting tun, and all necessary brewing appliances, carefully arranged so that pumping of wort and liquor within the building was unnecessary. Below ground, a deep cellar capable of holding more than 30 hogsheads was secured with earthworks overhead to ensure cool storage during the summer months, an important consideration in the South Australian climate. On the property stood a detached five-room brick and stone cottage for the foreman, adjoining a two-storey malthouse equipped with an underground kiln for drying malt and a malt mill. Water supply was ample, with a large cemented rainwater tank holding more than 700 hogsheads, supplemented by well water pumped to elevated iron tanks that supplied the boilers and other brewery requirements, including cask washing. John Williams's private residence stood at the front of the property, facing the main road. From its central position in the township, and supported by the strong reputation of its XX and XXX ales, the brewery developed an extensive trade, supplying nearby towns and even sending beer as far as seven or eight hundred miles up the River Darling. Production at its peak reached about 30 hogsheads per week. In 1864 William Williams left to manage the Burra Brewery, leaving Charles to assist his father at Angus Park. John Williams died in June 1876 at the age of 70, and ownership of the brewery passed to his widow, with Charles continuing as brewer. Although the property was offered for sale in 1879, no buyer was found, and in the early 1880s Charles Williams moved to Victoria, bringing the Williams era at Angus Park to a close. A new chapter began in 1883 when August Friedrich Kruger purchased the Angus Park Brewery. Krüger had established a small brewery and distillery at Keyneton in 1880, but increasing demand soon made that site unsuitable. He expanded his operations at Angus Park until his death in 1903. The brewery then passed to his sons, Adolph Heinrich and August Ewald Krüger, who were blacksmiths rather than brewers. As a result, the business was sold in 1906 to Wilhelm (Willie) Hermann Robert Appelt. Willie Appelt, born in Germany in 1877, migrated to Australia with his family in 1889 and later settled in Broken Hill. In 1903 he married Catherine Webber, and by 1906 the family had moved to Nuriootpa, where they would raise three children, Wally, Ethel, and Ronald. Appelt began manufacturing aerated waters, ginger beer, brewed drinks, and bottled ales and stouts in the former Angus Park Brewery. He was soon joined by his younger brother Hermann George Appelt, and the business grew rapidly through strong marketing and consistently high-quality products. Willie Appelt quickly became a prominent figure in the Barossa Valley. Alongside Ludwig Warnecke, he actively supported the campaign to extend the railway from Gawler to the Barossa, a goal achieved in 1912. Taking advantage of the new rail connection, Appelt built a modern factory in Railway Terrace, Nuriootpa, opposite the railway station. Equipment from the Angus Park site was transferred to the new premises, greatly improving distribution throughout the Mid North and Riverland. Around 1915 Alfred Carl Winkler, a trained herbalist, joined the firm and became an integral part of the operation. In 1922 Appelt expanded further, opening a branch aerated water manufactory at Hill Street, Victor Harbor, trading as the Victor Harbor Mineral Waters & Cordial Factory and using the “W.A.” monogram. Willie's Ill health later forced Winkler to return to Nuriootpa, and on 11 September 1923 Willy Appelt died at Victor Harbor from pneumonia. He was buried at Nuriootpa Cemetery, and the Victor Harbor branch was sold in 1925. Control of the Nuriootpa factory then passed to Willy’s brother Hermann and his widow, Katie Appelt. This partnership was short-lived, as Hermann died in September 1927. Katie appointed Alf Winkler as manager until his retirement due to ill health in 1938, after which management was assumed by her son, Walter Oswald Appelt. Under his leadership the business expanded significantly, producing up to 10 tons of ice per day, and by the early 1950s was capable of bottling up to 500 dozen bottles an hour. In 1952 the Appelt family was granted a new licence to brew Australian ale at Nuriootpa, the first such licence issued in the district for many years. Walter Appelt cited strong local demand for beer, particularly as industrial activity increased, even within the heart of a major wine-producing region. The licensing authorities reported the premises to be satisfactory and the applicants suitable, marking a return to brewing at the site after many decades. Walter Oswald Appelt died on 13 September 1957 at the age of 50. Management then passed to long-serving employee Bill Thomas, who had joined the firm as a teenager in 1926, working alongside Violet Waterman, Willy Appelt’s daughter. Katie Appelt remained closely connected to the business until her death in October 1969 at the age of 89. In 1975, after nearly 70 years of operation under the Appelt name, the decision was made to close the factory, bringing to an end one of Nuriootpa’s longest-running and most influential beverage enterprises. Aerated Waters Factory 1946 State Library SA [BRG 397/2/177/4] Aerated Waters Factory 1945 State Library SA [BRG 397/2/101/14]