Claudio Alcorso

Claudio Alcorso (1913–2000), industrialist and winemaker, was born in Rome. In 1938 he emigrated to Sydney and established Silk and Textile Fabrics. Despite enlisting in the RAAF, he was interned as an 'enemy alien' during the Second World War. He successfully transferred his factory to Derwent Park in 1947. Alcorso was a pioneer of the Tasmanian winemaking industry, planting 90 riesling vines at his property Moorilla in the 1950s. He championed the arts through his involvement with Australian Ballet, Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust, Tasmanian Arts Advisory Council and as chairman of Opera Australia. He was also a crusader for the environment who took an active stance in 1982 in the Franklin River protest. The Claudio Alcorso Foundation has established an annual Australia–Italy exchange fellowship in his honour.

Further reading: C Alcorso, The wind you say, Pymble, 1993.