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The idea of breeding grape cultivars specifically for Australia is almost as old as Australian viticulture itself.
The Macarthurs, more famous for their activities with sheep, also grew grapes and believed that they should raise vines from seed to allow selection of types suited to local conditions.
Busby (3) records that William Macarthur had 250 such seedlings, out of a much larger number raised from seed in 1824, under trial.
None of these appear to have survived and this may be because they were not the result of deliberate crosses but raised from open-pollinated
Plant Breeding with a Woody Perennial – The Grapevine
1980, International Plant Propagators’ Socierty Combined Proceesings, vol 30, pages 570-575
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