Claudio Alcorso (1913-2000), an industrialist and winemaker, was born in Rome, Italy. In 1938 he emigrated to Sydney and established Silk and Textile Fabrics. He enlisted in the RAAF but was interned as an 'enemy alien' during World War 2. He transferred his factory to Derwent Park, Hobart in 1947. Alcorso was a pioneer of the Tasmanian Winemaking industry growing grapes at his property Moorilla Estate. He was a patron of the arts, involved in the Australian Ballet, Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust, Tasmanian Arts Advisory Council, Sullivans Cove Development Authority and charirman of Opera Australia. He was also an environmentalist taking an active stance in 1982 in the Franklin River protest.