William Minchin was the Principal Superintendent of Police & Treasurer of the Police Fund in the colony. He was granted 1,000 acres of of land was named after him and now known as Minchinbury. After the death of William in 1821, the property passed to his only daughter Maria Matilda. In 1838, Maria Matilda and her family were tragically lost at sea, leaving no descendents of William Minchin alive. Which then left the property to government.

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 ….