the McNamara family

The property at Broke that today is home to Mount Broke Wines is known locally as "Harrowby" and for many years it was a successful dairy farm.  The farm is owned by the McNamara family - a family that settled in the Broke area in 1905 and has farmed the area ever since. 

William (Bill) McNamara established the farm on the fertile banks of the Wollombi Brook as a working dairy farm selling milk, cream & butter in nearby Singleton. Bill's son Frank, one of 12 children, took over in the 1930s and his son Neil took over the thriving dairy business in the 1950s. Neil was also the mayor of Singleton for 29 years and when he retired his son Tony took over the farm in the mid 1990s. 

The dairy industry in the Hunter Valley went into a decline in the latter part of the 20th Century and the majority of the property went over to beef cattle (Black Angus) in 1997. The remaining part (20 acres) was planted as a vineyard by Tony's brother Phil in 1997 with the first wines being produced in 1999. Tony has also followed in his father's footsteps representing the local community on Singleton Council since 2000.

The former milking shed was converted into a cafe and tasting room for estate grown wines and opened in 2001, also operating as a cafe until 2007. Today the tasting room continues to serve classic wines that have a well deserved reputation for quality and consistency.

Phil McNamara takes control of the vineyard side of things, Tony looks after the 120 or so head of beef cattle grazing around the property (occasionally in the vineyard) and sister Bernadette has just returned to the Broke Fordwich area and has purchased the old Broke Estate vineyard on Monkey Place Creek.

Neil and Joan McNamara recently celebrated their Diamond Wedding anniversary with a huge party at the cellar, Neil's former milking shed.