The story
The land of which Houghton was part (Swan Location II) was originally 1000 acres (405 ha) assigned by Governor James Stirling to Rivett Henry Bland in 1831. In 1836, a syndicate of three British Army Officers, Houghton, Lowie, and Yule (who had been serving together in India) purchased the northern half of Swan location II. The syndicate named the property Houghton after the senior ranking officer of their group, Lieutenant Colonel Richmond Houghton.
Houghton himself did not come to Western Australia and for the next 23 years, the property was managed and developed by one of the members of the syndicate, Thomas Newte Yule.
In 1859, Dr. John Ferguson purchased the Houghton property for the sum of 350 pounds and in that same year produced the first commercial vintage of wine from the vineyard a total of 25 imperial gallons (110 L).
Moondyne Joe, Western Australia's most famous bushranger, was captured on the Houghton property in the act of stealing wine from the cellars on 25 February 1869. By chance, the owner, Charles William Ferguson had been helping with a police search and afterward invited a group of police back to the vineyard for refreshments. When Ferguson entered the cellar, Joe assumed that he was discovered, and dashed the door into the arms of the police.
In 1950, Valencia Vineyards, a subsidiary of the Emu Wine Company of Morphett Vale, South Australia, purchased the Houghton vineyards, winery, and distillery from the Ferguson family. In April 1976, the South Australian winemaking Hardy family acquired the stock of the Emu Wine Company and with that purchase, became owners of Houghton.
From Wikipedia’s article on Houghton Wines, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4