In April 1902 Lebanese immigrant Assid Abraham Corban (b.1864) purchased 10 acres of land in Henderson with the intention of starting a vineyard. Many people questioned the wisdom of attempting such a venture, and so far out of Auckland. But AA Corban was a farsighted, enterprising man and he knew exactly what he was looking for. The name Corban speaks for itself – his vision turned the land into one of the largest and most successful wineries in New Zealand.
Despite the success of his business, AA Corban was still looking for the ideal lifestyle for his family and, prompted by the ill-health of his wife and their doctor’s advice to take her to live in the country, he set his sights on buying land on which to build a winery and vineyard. Eventually he found what he was looking for in Henderson, then a very rural town consisting of only a few shops, farms, barren gum fields and young orchards. It was pioneering territory. AA chose this site for a number of reasons: its proximity to the rail line and access to the Auckland market; the fact that it was surrounded by a stream; and the land itself, which was ideally situated to grow grapes. He purchased the 10 acre property for £320, and named the site Mt Lebanon Vineyards, starting what was to be a long term commitment to the land, and playing a major role in the development of the fledgling New Zealand wine industry.
AA immediately began to plant grape vines, fruit trees and other crops and was harvesting within a few years. Many ingenious ways were implemented over the next few years to make the most of their limited resources.
In 1923, once the family had established itself firmly as a leader in the winemaking industry, work began on the family Homestead. This two-storied 21-roomed building covers 5000 sq ft, took a year to build and cost £5000. AA Corban had always wanted to build in brick, but the cost was too great. Instead, he settled for a brick arch across the entry way, which was subsequentially removed when Corbans Wines Limited converted the Homestead into offices in the early 1980’s.
December 2nd 1941 saw the end of an era with the passing of the head of the family. Assid Abraham Corban had suffered a stroke on the way home after a day working on their newly acquired property in Henderson Valley Road. He was in a coma for seven days before finally passing away. His body was held in state at the Homestead for a week while visitors streamed past to pay their respects, and Mr Massey, the Henderson Postmaster, flew the flag at half-mast above the Post Office.
In 1963 the partnership of the five Corban brothers had converted into a company, Corbans Wines Limited and a minority shareholding sold to wine and spirit merchants throughout New Zealand to increase wine distribution. By the early 1970’s the Corbans had a wide distribution network for their greatly increased production. As well as providing for the local market, small but regular shipments of fortified and table wines were also being sent to America and Australia.
Over the years, the Corban family have pioneered many of the winemaking techniques that are commonplace today. Among these: the use of cultured yeast (1949); refrigeration; stainless steel tanks (1958); pneumatic presses (1958), and temperature controlled fermentation (1962).
The cache is a 250ml round screwtop container with black tape, containing logbook, pencil and small trading items.