Maranoa council to consult on potential purchase of Romavilla winery

The Maranoa Regional Council is preparing to test the community appetite for a plan for the council to purchase the 1877-78 Romavilla Winery, but it needs to be assured that the public would manage its ongoing operation after that.

The heritage-listed winery closed down following the floods of 2012 and was sold in 2013 to the Fortitude Valley-based Katarzyna Group, which has hospitality venues including Cloudland and The Island Gold Coast.

The organisation announced that it would build a new bar and function room as well as accommodation units, but that hasn't eventuated.

Maranoa mayor Tyson Golder said a desire to see Romavilla open and operating was at the top of most wishlists when people approached him.

"It's still one of the most asked for things to do, that people can't do, when they visit," he said.

"It's been a landmark in the Maranoa since the 1800s, and the feedback we get is that we have very little of our history saved in the region.

"It's in amazingly good condition but it can't last forever - this is an opportunity but the people have to drive it."

The name Bassett is synonymous with Roma and its racecourse, and it was Samuel Bassett who established the vineyards in 1866, with cuttings brought in by bullock dray from Toowoomba.

He then dominated wine production in the fledgling state for many decades.

Grapes were grown successfully on the head stations of pastoral properties in the area in the 1850s, during the first wave of European settlement.

At the peak of viticulture in the Roma district in the late nineteenth century there were 50 local vineyards, the majority of which had been established in the 1870s and 1880s.

Most of the grapes grown were for table fruit, but a small wine-producing industry also emerged.

Grape growing and wine producing remained important local industries into the 20^th century, with Roma being described in about 1920 as being surrounded by "a magnificent fruit and wine growing district".

The Romavilla cellar was capable of holding 30,000 gallons (113,560 litres) of wine, and Bassett usually kept 20,000 gallons or 75,700 litres in stock.

One of the winery's workers was Billy Hughes, who was to serve as Australia's 7^th Prime Minister between 1915 and 1923.

His letter recalling those days has been preserved.

By the 1930s the firm was supplying to wine saloons throughout the state, and Romavilla altar wine was popular in Catholic churches.

David and Joy Wall bought the business in 1975, winning numerous medals, especially for their port, and operated it until 2012.

Mr Wall said although they'd repaired or replaced motors after the flooding of 2010, they were ready to retire when floods damaged engines once again in 2012.

"It would be good if it could be brought back to life," he said. "The heritage listing made it difficult to sell at the time, but it would be good to think the Heritage Council would cooperate with a new buyer."

Cr Golder said being heritage listed was an asset, saying that if a building was the oldest of its kind, new owners wouldn't want to be changing anything.

He said the cost of purchase, which includes acreage that has untended grape vines still growing, as well as the buildings, was well within council's ability to borrow money for, and pay off.

It's the model the council used to construct the 'bigger Big Rig' viewing tower, unveiled in 2022.

"It's a small amount of money to save it for a lifetime," Cr Golder said.

The community proposition would include having a boutique winery operate from the premises, as well as being a public meeting space for locals, and a place for tourists to visit.

Apart from the expense of purchasing the complex, Cr Golder said he didn't expect council would be spending its own money on refurbishment or for operational costs.

"That's what you get grants for, and that's where a foundation or a not-for-profit might take it up, and run it," he said. "There's plenty of models out there that work."

He said he'd been approached by people wanting to contribute financially to saving the winery, such was their desire to retain it.

"People in a project can often do a better job than councils," he said.

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