Carl Lindner's collection of classic Jaguars built on same passion for wine, ancestral Barossa Valley, South Australia
A 1934 SSI Jaguar (top left), imported into South Australia by Eric Hamilton of Hamilton Wines was eventually bought by Barossa Valley wine identity Carl Lindner (top right) to add to his Jaguar collection that grew to be the latest privately-owned in the southern hemisphere, on display at Tanunda in the Barossa Valley.
Images courtesy the Linder Collection and Jaguar Drivers Club of South Australia
The oldest registered Jaguar vehicle in Australia, replica C-Type, D-Type and XKSS vehicles, plus many E-Types and XK models, were in the Carl Lindner Collection, believed to be the largest privately-owned in the southern hemisphere, at Tanunda in South Australia’s Barossa Valley.
Collected over nearly 40 years by Barossa identity Carl Lindner, and passed onto his widow Peg after 2017, the collection had more than 30 vehicles in two showrooms in Basedow Road, Tanunda.
A businessman including property development, Carl Lindner’s passion for Jaguars began with a chance purchase at a local auction in 1981. Keen to outbid a mate “as a bit of fun”, Lindner ended up buying a rare 1932 Jaguar SS1 and became fascinated by the story of Jaguar and its founder William Lyons.
One of the gems of Lindner's Jaguar collection was the 1934 SSI, imported into South Australia by Eric Hamilton of Hamilton Wines two years after being built in England. The 1934 SS1 four light saloon, 2½ litre, 20 horse power, was one of William Lyons' best designs. The car remained in South Australia but had a long line of owners including Dr Cliff Downing, Don Grant, Philip Atkinson, R. O’Malley, Mary Jervis and Ross Ramus. Ramus sold the car to Carl Lindner in 2014, completing the circle of a car that came to South Australia through a South Australian wine company’s family going to another South Australian wine company family.
Born in 1944 in Tanunda as a fifth generation Barossan, Carl Lindner was a descendant of original refugees from Silesia who migrated to South Australia to escape religious persecution. They ended up in the Barossa Valley, north of Adelaide, under a patronage deal sponsored by George Fife Angas.
Carl Lindner left school early to work as a farm hand for brother Mervyn. An extremely hot day cutting fields of artichokes convinced Car Lindner to find his fortune elswehere by owning vineyards. First of those vineyards was St Hallett, started by Lindner’s father in 1944.
Lindner bought into St Hallett vineyard in 1974 and teamed with Bob McLean and winemaker Stuart Blackwell. Lindner paid back debt by pioneering the Collection Series port featuring sporting milestones. St Hallett had significant success with table wines including Old Block Shiraz reaching “excellent” status on Langton’s classification.
In 1996, Lindner and partners bought the defunct Bernkastel Wines, refurbishing the historic winery and reviving the Earth’s oldest shiraz vineyard (planted 1842). The result was Langmeil Winery and its wines like The Freedom, made from a gnarly old vineyard that Lindner and his partners saved. Next was Dandelion Wine, quickly an innovative quality business that won multiple awards including its Red Queen of Eden Valley gaining three trophies at the 2014 Barossa Valley Wine Show.
Lindner’s other passion was fortified wines, with a huge collection at Seppeltsfield Winery. His commitment to the Barossa Valley included being a key factor in reopening The Tanunda Club. He also was instrumental in ensuring the valley’s long-term water supply in the Valley through his commitment to the Barossa Infrastructure Ltd water pipeline scheme.