About Mac & Black Sheep Farm

Mac’s journey to hemp

I wasn’t always into Hemp, despite living in Nimbin for the past 30 years I never was a smoker and enjoyed the freedom and alternative lifestyle on my 30 acres in paradise.

So how did I end up growing and making my own hemp products?

Five years ago I needed a hip replacement, as I waited on the Medicare list for my non-essential surgery I suffered deep bone pain in my hip every night, making sleep impossible. I had months to wait and eventually tried every kind of (Nimbin) hemp cookie I could, to sleep at night.

And it worked.

Without the ‘high’ and mind-altering effects of THC hemp, I discovered the magic of hemp oil which gave me long lasting relief from the pain at night.

I was sleeping again, without any side effects.

That first hip operation didn’t take, and I waited again for my next replacement.


After many months, another hip, more physio and time in the gym, only for my body to reject the rod in my hip again. So I went for a 3rd try, and really rested up this time.

This process took approx. 5 years and as I was dragging my leg around, I started making my first hemp oil and trying different ways of administering it. It really worked for me. I began experimented adding different traditionally used herbs like Comfrey and Arnica.

It seemed like a miracle.

Since then I’ve become more and more interested in hemp for healing, I started making own hemp oil & creams, as I had been making traditional creams like calendula for nappy rash already for 15 years.

I also had all the essential oils needed, another business for over 20 years, so I could make the hemp creams with essential Oil of Basil, Cypress, Coriander, Rosemary, Clove, Juniper (for the Hemp Burdock Cream) and a blend of traditional ingredients like Comfrey, Arnica and Calendula (for Hemp Cream with Comfrey & Arnica) which I also infuse myself.

Finally I got a licence to grow low-THC hemp and manufacture products in 2019, and the rest is history (well, we are making history right now right?).

My passion for affordable health for everyone & tinkering with the oils & creams means I always have a half dozen new products in the pipeline.

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To good health,

– Mac McGauley

Mac McGauley

How Black Sheep Farm got its name

The first thing visitors notice is that there are no actual sheep on the property.

How come?

Well, one autumn evening, in the early years of settling in Nimbin in the 1980s, when there was nothing but grass and weeds; we were gathered around the cooking fire with a few friends and family.

The talk came around to what we should name the place.

After a long discussion with many new age sounding names discarded, because no one would agree to any of them, we came to the conclusion, that the one thing we all had in common, was that all present were the black sheep of the family.

So Karl, who was living here at the time, suggested BLACK SHEEP FARM and we all readily agreed to it.

For 39 years we have now been BLACK SHEEP FARM and it is also our registered business name.