Matthew Flinders and George Bass, two young men from Lincolnshire who had arrived in Sydney in 1795, were determined to achieve greatness. Flinders wanted to be an explorer ‘like Cook’, Bass a naturalist, like Sir Joseph Banks, and a wealthy Sydney trader. For eight years, these two pursued their destiny. Their voyages changed the map of our country. Particularly pertinent is that Flinders placed on his map of this continent the name Australia – the first time the term of our nation appeared.

In 1802, Matthew Flinders was charting the southern coastline of Australia when he entered a big bay, and as we know it, as Port Phillip Bay. He charted Port Phillip Bay from late April to early May. His journal clearly describes the You Yangs, Arthurs Seat, views of Western Port from Arthurs Seat in the distance…

What is it about pioneers? From our perspective, they push the boundaries to advance an idea, overcome significant challenges, are strong-willed and generally help develop something new. Above all, they inspire others. All of this can be said of the Bass and Flinders distillery in Dromana – the Mornington Peninsula’s first distillery, established in 2009.

It is also a first for Holly Klintworth (Head Distiller), following in the footsteps of her founder father, Wayne. She becomes one of a very select group of second-generation distillers in Australia, let alone women master distillers. The original inspiration for the family was drawn from a love of classic brandies produced in France. Using many of the same traditional production techniques, they set out to create a premium aged spirit.

Their Ochre brandy has proven just how good Australian brandy can be. That is followed by other award-winning brandies, like The Distiller’s Selection Single Cask.