About Muswellbrook
Muswellbrook is a charming rural town in the Upper Hunter surrounded by a clutch of wineries that offer cellar door tastings. There's a range of quality accommodation here, including motels, farm stays and country cottages both in and around Muswellbrook.
"Mussel Creek" (now called "Muscle Creek") was first named by a party of surveyors who found mussels in the small stream while camping along its banks in the early 19th century. The present spelling of Muswellbrook has a disputed etymology. Historians largely subscribe to one of two theories:
- that the name derives from the Muswell Hill area of London (England), due to the influence of Sir Francis Forbes whose wife, Amelia, was born and schooled in that town; or
- that the name is a gradual corruption of the original gazetted name:”Musclebrook", eventually adopted as the official spelling due to common use.
There are lots of things to see and do in this part of the Hunter; start with a visit to the Muswellbrook Visitor Information Centre. Be sure to taste-test produce from award-winning wineries and olive farms on the Upper Hunter Wine Trail.
If you enjoy history, take a stroll down memory lane on the Muswellbrook Heritage Walk and see fine buildings dating back to the mid-1800s. The Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre is worth a visit, too.
Discover magnificent national parks, including Wollemi National Park, home of the prehistoric Wollemi Pine and World Heritage-listed Barrington Tops. Lake Liddell, just 15 km south of Muswellbrook, is a great place to fish, picnic or camp.
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