Dr. Charles McKay purchased the property in 1859 and developed it into vineyards and cellars. Over the next 2 decades, Dr. McKay bought many neighbouring properties and in 1881, he put all of his land up for auction. At this time, the land did not sell and it wasn’t until 1895 that James Angus bought all of McKay’s properties.

Penfolds Pty. Ltd. purchased the winery and vineyards in 1912. Most of the existing buildings at the winery were probably added while under the ownership of Penfolds. In 1898, during Angus’ winemaking years, the vineyards suffered a viral disease that destroyed the vines. New vines were planted and grew until 1962 when soil erosion made them useless. New vineyards were established on other properties around the area to supply the fruit for the winery.

Minchinbury Winery became famous for its champagne. Penfolds stopped operations at the winery in 1978. The land did not go to waste and was used as a runway for small planes in Sydney’s West. Short after the land was sold in the 1990’s and is currently surrounded by homes. The main winery cellar still stands in the center of Minchinbury. Modern homes surround this historic piece of heritage. The councils are currently attempting to preserve the building, but it has been a pending project for quite some time.

The winery has been said to be haunted from the time Maria Matilda and the remaining family had died lost in sea. It has been a myth that she had cursed the owners for trespassing on her land. She may have been lost at sea, but her spirit returned to claim what belonged to her? Her fathers gift. We have interviewed a few of the residence, and allot of them claim the site being haunted. There have been cases that a woman would be standing and looking from the top floor window. Loud crying could also be heard.

We at The Apparition Hill have been to the winery, but have not fully investigated yet. We have inspected the premises personally but not with equipment. We have seen the cellars 3 floors deep. First floor is scary enough. We have found pentagrams inside and dead pigeons, traces of blood & police tape. We suspect that a cult spends time performing rituals. We advise that no one explore the cellars! If you wish to tour the winery, please stay beyond the fence for your own safety!

This case is still currently under investigation ….

This institute may seem like an architectural masterpiece during broad day-light, but at night it is full of paranormal activity. Energy surrounds almost every corner, each photo we have taken contained more than one orb. Many buildings in the vicinity have been refurbished, restored and given a new paint job … it might look new but its history and its past energies remain … Tradesmen who have worked on site have admitted that they had fears going to work early in the morning. “I would never go to work on my own, the place gives me the creeps!”.

There is currently no official Ghost Tour to this facility. It is currently under ownership of private property. I would not advise you to stand on the grounds beyond the entrance unless you are affiliated with the institute. You may pass it and have a quick peek from the walkway under James Ruse Dr. As the walkway along the river is given rights to the public as it is owned by council, you will pass the boat house (it is owned by the institute and sealed with barbed wire) Take a photo in this area and I guarantee you won’t be disappointed with what you find!

I advise those who decide to take a tour on their own, to respect the boundaries and not trespass. You may be prosecuted if caught trespassing! It is under surveillance 24 hours a day by cameras that scale every angle,  laser beams are scattered all over the grounds (you might see the blue lines on your camera. There’s heaps of them!). Guards are 50 feet from the building so don’t even bother trying to get inside!

Bring your cameras, torches & snacks! Just remember to remain on the path!

Current investigations on grounds:

Ghost in toilet of  ED section – yes this may sound ridiculous, but there is a ghost in this sector of the women’s bathroom. Staff rarely use the toilets in this section. There are two doors .. first door leads to the basins, then another door ahead which leads to the cubicles. Camille investigated and was alone when she entered. She has reported that when she closed the cubical door she… She heard ”running-wet footsteps” that went into another cubical & the door quickly slamming! There was no one inside but Camille. The main door to exit into the basins did not open as it produces a very loud screeching. We at The Apparition Hill have suspected that the spirit was running to chuck a poop!

Person by the stair entrance by the river – (image caught on photo) more soon… this apparition is of a murder victim who was pushed down the staircase it is unknown yet who this person is. We have searched the heritage listings of deaths on the site. It has been recorded that a death had occurred in the late 18th century. We don’t know who because the record was tagged as “unknown” by name, but it was identified as a Male 16 – 18 years of age. Stories of this have spread out through the younger generations. They have quoted “it was a young boy that was pushed down the stairs”. The locals who walk the path have seen him standing on the center of the staircase that lead to the institute. He has been known to appear as a full body apparition. I would advise those who walk here to not talk to anybody. If you connect with these spirits they may follow your home! This is case is still currently under investigation.

Former hospital ward – It is currently used as an office. This has been investigated and many have complained of smelling disinfectants. At night this place comes to life. You may hear voices, coughs, and even hear the noise of screeching wheels. Sometimes you might hear a girl even in broad daylight. Staff members have said they would hear a voice of a young girl. She would say “Hello, my names Charlotte!”. In this section of the premises you may feel that someone is pulling or holding your hands or tugging on your clothing. They are spirits of girls who died in the former ward.

Saxophone man under the bridge – he appears as a full bodied apparition. Many people just pass through the walkway and take no notice. What people don’t pay attention to is his clothing, he wears clothes from the 1880’s. People think he’s a living, breathing person. But he is in fact deceased. People who are gifted with a third site will be able to see him. Those that don’t will only hear saxophone noises. He is an interesting character, as he will nod his head when people would look at him. A particular local would place flowers from the spot from which he appears… We don’t know who this local is & we wish to meet them. If you are this person leaving these flowers under the bridge of James Ruse Dr please get in contact with us, we have found an important item which  belongs to you.

This has got to be the biggest investigation yet so far! The Orphan School Precinct & Institute is still under investigation…

James.

 
The Apparition Hill will be fully functional by 31st August, 2009. Please return for updates!

I used to be a skeptic untill I slept over my friends old and creepy house. My friend Charlene invited me over for a sleep over. She lives in a creepy old 18th century home which her family had refurbished. It’s located in Sydney’s Inner Western suburbs. It starts when I arrive at my friends house in the afternoon on a Saturday, she opens the door and tells me that her house is haunted! I didn’t believe her that moment. I simply brushed off with a “yeah whatever!”. She then shows the upstairs corridor & leads me to one of the guest rooms on the far end. She says “this is where a little girl plays, she might move things around when you least expect it”. I just laughed and told her I was going to sleep like a baby. We then went downstairs into the backyard to catchup on our social matters. It starts to get dark, have dinner, talk some more & head up to the guest room to sleep. I fell asleep, forgetting what Charlene had told me earlier. Then around 2am I was woken by constant kicking! Something was crawled in bed right next to me! I looked under the covers & there was nothing there …. But when i turned to a corner I saw a little girl laying right next to me on the mirror above the dresser! I SCREAMED!!!!!! Charlene and her family ran to my room to see if I was alright. I couldnt sleep the rest of the night, Charlene took me down stairs and turned on the tv …. I told Charlene that I believed her from that point. I’m never spending the night at her house ever again!
By: Mary E.

When you take hot showers it is always expected that the mirrors will fog up, but what I didn’t expect to see was a face staring back at me. You know how if you wrote a message on a clean mirror and then take a hot shower you are able to read the message. Well after I took a shower, a face was there like it was drawn on the mirror but no one laid a land to it. It happened on numerous occasions, although it doesn’t occur now and it never was the same face, always a different face. For the longest time I used to cover the mirror while I showered so I wouldn’t be surprised by the fog face. Just as easily the fog face came, it left.
By: Bella V

This one happened in my room, the room i still sleep in. I used to have an old VCR and the timer was a green light. One night I woke in the middle of the night and was facing the wall. I’ll number the walls and give you an understanding of the lay out. The wall which my bed is along I’ll call wall 1. As you look at the other wall in a clockwise manner and you will get the remains three walls. My VCR is against wall 2 and the time on the face is given by a faint green light. So as I was saying, I woke up in the middle of the night facing wall 1. At a quick glance I didn’t notice anything strange since I was still half asleep. I went to roll over to go back to sleep but something in my gut said to really look at wall 1. Naturally I went and grabbed my glasses and went over by the wall. There was a strange green light shaped like a circle about the size of a pen cap. I looked all over trying to see if there were any Morris that could have angled a reflection of the VCR light onto wall 1. After searching I could find anything but the light was still there. There was nothing that could explain why a green light was focusing on this wall. Sice I couldn’t find anything I went to sleep and the next morning. The green light had disappeared.
By: Bella V

I was driving by the Great Western Highway & a man appeared on the road out of nowhere, I drove closer to him on the emergency lane and stopped right beside him. He started yelling “GET AWAY FROM HERE!” so I drove off … I looked at the rear mirror as I drove & he was gone!!! The man was wearing an old army uniform, he looked like some kind of officer from the 1880’s!
By: Sean K

One morning I was running late for work, I decided to skip breakfast to make up for the time and decided to pickup a coffee and breakfast on the way. I catch my 8:15am train on time to get to Parramatta. I’m on time and starving! So I walk the path on the way to work. I bump into a work colleague and I asked her if there was a nearby cafe. She tells me that there was a new cafe called “Gucio” which was near the Colonial building. So I walked the streets and arrive. It was an old heritage building which had been transformed into a cafe. I go inside and find the cafe in the center of the old building … it looked like a house. I make my order and wait. I then walk around looking at the rooms with the fireplaces.. It did not feel at all cosy.. I go back to the cafe section to pickup my order.. I sit in one of the rooms & enjoy my coffee and vegemight on toast. A few minutes later a lady in a white dress walks in and stands infront of me. I look up at her and ask her if everything is alright. She then says “this is where I’m supposed to be so my family can see me” she walks out of the room. I start rolling my eyes thinking she was crazy. I finnish off breakfast and pay. I walk outside seeing a heritige board … I read it and discover something… it said “This building was a former funneral parlor of the city of parramatta in the 1880’s” I stood on the spot & was horrified…and all I could think of was the woman that was in the very same room with me. I started running as far as I could! I got to work telling my colleage about the place!
By: Miran N.