Wine industry pays tribute to ‘trailblazer’ Hazel Murphy
Hazel Murphy, a “great friend” to and trailblazing champion of the Australian wine industry, has died.
Murphy, who spent more that 20 years working with producers in Australia, is credited as one of the sector’s leading lights and helped to raise the reputation of the nation’s wineries on an international level, particularly in the UK.
Murphy became chief executive of the Australian Wine Bureau in Europe, part of what was then called Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation (now Wine Australia), in 1985. In her 17-years at the helm, she ran promotions, press trips and events that had a significant impact on the country’s exports. She opened the first Australian Wine Bureau office in London in 1986.
Her ‘glass in the hand’ promotion contributed to a steady increase of Australian wine exports, growing from AUS$1.4 million in the 12 months to June 1985, to $897.1 million by 2002, when she her intention to leave the bureau and become the European consultant and director of Chapel Hill Winery in McLaren Vale.
Murphy was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1996, and also received the Maurice O’Shea Award for her outstanding contribution to the industry. She passed away on 1 January 2020.
Former Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation Chief Executive Sam Tolley said her “originality and tenacious energy brought the English wine trade together behind the fledgling Australian wine presence in the UK during the early eighties.
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“Winemakers could not have asked for a stronger champion with her inimitable powers of persuasion. Hazel was a “force majeure” and much loved by the very broad church of those who brought Australia to be the leading wine country in the UK. Hazel will be sadly missed.”
Wine Australia CEO Andreas Clark said exports “would not be where they are today” without Murphy’s contribution.
“She was a passionate, tireless advocate for Australian wine and a trailblazer for Australia wine exports to the UK and Europe. Our wine exports would not be where they are today where it not for Hazel. We will miss her.”
Wine Australia’s UK-based Regional General Manager EMEA, Laura Jewell MW, said: “I am very privileged to have followed in her footsteps and will always remember her as a friend and inspiration. She will be sorely missed both here in the UK and by all the wineries in Australia. She is an integral part of the history of Australian wine on the global stage.”
I remember Hazel well, she was a HUGE character in a small body, she helped me a lot in the early days of my Chilla company and I have the upmost respect for what she did with the Australian Wine Industry in the UK, she will be sadly missed but well remembered by all who worked with her or knew her
What a desperately sad start to 2020! Hazel was for those critical years of Aussie Wine growth in the UK, the face of Australia. Always personable, approachable and down to earth.
We in the UK and of course the Australian wine industry will be forever in her debt.
Rest in peace and thank you Hazel. We will all wish to raise a glass of fine Aussie nectar to your memory.
Hazel was an outstanding person who gave everything to put Australia on the map. She helped me so much in the 1980’s when I focused heavily on Australian wines. She will be fondly remembered and sadly missed. Talk about glass half full to overflowing, she brought the best out of people, ever smiling, ever positive. Thank you Hazel.
Hazel was brilliant. Her energy was incredible, and Australian wine would not be the familiar presence it is in Britain without her. They should put up a statue to her.
Very sad news. Hazel was precious and unique, wonderfully direct, humorous and good-spirited as well as having an acute vision for what might be: the ideal person for the role she filled. Sad too to reflect that we have now lost both her and the no-less-gifted Yvonne May, a successor in that role.
What dreadfully sad news. Hazel was a great inspiration to us all. My first trip to Australia was with the first Wine Flight she organised, which led to a lifelong respect and friendship. I shall miss her boundless energy, good company and her invaluable advice on pretty well everything, not just wine.
We all benefitted hugely from Hazel’s energy, passion, determination and powers of persuasion particularly at producer level right from the beginning in 1985, when we in the Institute of Masters of Wine were the beneficiary of her enthusiastic support with our first ever official visit to experience at first hand the “New” Australian wines. This was I believe the forerunner of her many trips. Remember back then the market share of Australian wine in the UK was zero…that’s correct….zero. Her impact the UK market cannot be overstated.
It has been a privilege for me to work closely with Hazel to develop and promote Italian wines of Cantina Cortecchia on the international market.
Hazel was a huge inspiration and a mentor not only for me but for all who met her.
Cantina Cortecchia will remember Hazel forever.
“Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis”, a. m. „Adj nekik, Uram, örök nyugodalmat és az örök világosság fényeskedjék nekik”
Szovenyi Viktoria
Rest in Peace dear Hazel, your legacy is there for all to see. Thank you for your friendship over many years and your leadership of an incredibly dedicated team.
I am a long standing personal friend of Hazel and our friendship goes back 50 years. She was one of the most inspiring women I have ever met. Her drive, dedication to her love of Australia and promoting Australian Wine was legendary. She loved to talk about the industry and the wine business even when off duty on a gruelling hill climb! However, work for Hazel was not really a duty it was a love, a love for all the people she met, a love for the opportunities it gave her to travel the world, a love for the success of the industry and the total enjoyment she had sitting around a table with work colleagues and dear friends raising a glass in whichever Continent she was in at the time. She was unique, brave, and dedicated to making a success of whatever she did. We will miss you so much dear Hazel.
So very sorry to read this. Was delighted to catch up with Hazel again a few years ago and be reminded of her warm and bubbly character. Such a lovely person and so dedicated to Australian wine for so many years. Her belief, passion and hard work have left a remarkable legacy.
What a shock. I was lucky enough to join Hazel on five of her trips to Australia, including the infamous first “Wine-flight” which led almost directly to me joining the wine trade full-time. Her legacy for me is her dynamism, determination, but above all, an album of happy memories.
It was my privilege to have shared some time with you in a country you loved Hazel.
I remember Hazel from the early days in the mid-eighties when she would be at all the important, and not so important, wine exhibitions around the UK …. Hazel was always friendly, positive and enthusiastic. A sad loss to all of us ….. RIP Hazel.