Eileen Hardy OBE: Resilience, Bubbles & Family Legends
This week was a special one. Twenty of us from the Hardy clan gathered at the State Library of South Australia for the unveiling of a portrait by Robert Hannaford of my great-grandmother, Eileen Hardy OBE. The painting was donated by her daughter, my great aunt Pamela Yule (née Hardy), and it was a proud and moving moment to see her depicted so gracefully - pearls around her neck, steady gaze, and the quiet strength she was known for throughout her life.
Eileen Vera Hardy (née Ponder) was born in 1893 in Nuriootpa, right in the heart of wine country. She married Tom Mayfield Hardy, who was running the family wine company, Thomas Hardy & Sons. Life was busy and full, with four children ranging in age from 5 to 14 until 1938, when tragedy struck: Tom was killed in the Kyeema air disaster, when the plane he was travelling on crashed into Mount Dandenong on the way to a wine conference in Melbourne. Incredibly, that single flight carried the heads of the three biggest wine companies in South Australia, an unimaginable loss for the industry. Out of that disaster came sweeping changes to Australia’s air navigation systems.
Where most people might have retreated, Eileen stepped forward. She became the face of Thomas Hardy & Sons, charming people everywhere she went and earning the nickname “Auntie Eileen” in wine circles. To celebrate her 80th birthday in 1973, her four children honoured her by naming the company’s best wine of the vintage after her; the Eileen Hardy Shiraz. A few years later, she was awarded an OBE for her contribution to wine, though those who knew her best probably remember her more for her warmth, quick wit, and love of a good glass of bubbles.
In her later years, Eileen lived with my parents, Geoff and Fiona. They were technically meant to be “looking after her"… but the truth is, most nights they’d get home to find the house full of people, music in the background, and Eileen in the middle of it all, champagne already flowing. Looking after her? More like trying to keep up with her!
Eileen passed away in 1980 at the age of 87, but her legacy is alive and well. Her name still graces some of Hardys finest wines, and her story continues to inspire - a reminder that resilience, generosity, and a splash of bubbles can carry you through just about anything.
Before the portrait was moved to the Treasures Wall Gallery in the Library of South Australia, it had hung in Pamela’s apartment on South Terrace in Adelaide. I remember one evening Aunt Pam invited Richard and me to dinner with a few family members, including Sir James and Lady Joan Hardy. The first thing he saw when he walked in the door was Eileen Hardy looking right at him from that portrait. Later in the evening, I noticed a photo of Queen Elizabeth II in the corner and commented on how interesting it was to have it there. Only then did Richard realise it had been signed by the Queen, a funny little detail that made the evening feel even more memorable. After seeing Eileen’s portrait that night, Richard later said it felt like a few more bricks had been added to his shoulders - a weighty, amusing reminder of her presence and the legacy she carried.