Homes and fortune Peter Brock left behind

Australian motorsport legend Peter Brock built a property collection across Victoria.

But a signed, completely blank DIY will kit left the racing icon’s multimillion-dollar estate in legal chaos following his tragic death in 2006.

Court documents pegged the gross value of Brock’s estate at $3.3m, with broader estimates placing his total assets closer to $5m.

At the centre of that fortune was a series of Victorian homes that tracked his rise from a teenage backyard mechanic to the country’s most celebrated driver.

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Australian motorsport legend Peter Brock built a property collection across Victoria.

Hurstbridge Childhood Home

Built in 1949, the weatherboard cottage in Hurstbridge was where Brock grew up alongside his parents and three brothers.

The home famously went without electricity for its first seven years before being extended as the family grew.

The garage floorboards historically retained oil stains left behind from Brock’s first homemade Austin 7 race car project.

Decades after leaving family hands, the three-bedroom house sold at auction for $893,000.

Peter Brock’s former childhood home sold at auction for $893,000.

Nutfield Family Mansion

In 1989, Brock and his then long-time partner Bev Brock built a massive 68ha lifestyle estate in Nutfield.

Serving as the primary family residence during the peak and second half of his touring car career, the mansion housed his personal memorabilia collection and famous trophy room.

The estate was sold just months prior to his tragic death at a West Australian rally in 2006.

Brock also held a joint residence in St Andrews with his then-fiancee Julie Bamford, as well as a family holiday home in Port Douglas, Queensland.

Peter Brock’s former farm sold just months prior to his death in 2006. . Picture: Supplied

Brock also held a joint residence in St Andrews with his then-fiancee Julie Bamford.

Three wills

However, Brock’s approach to legal and financial affairs created a legal feud over these assets.

When he passed away in 2006, Brock left behind three conflicting documents: a solicitor-drafted 1984 will favouring Bev Brock and their children, an unsigned 2006 document prepared by an assistant favouring Julie Bamford; and a 2003 DIY “Will Kit.”

Brock had signed the 2003 DIY document but left the asset distribution section entirely blank, telling Bev he trusted her to fill in the details later.

In October 2007, a court decided that Peter Brock’s 2003 homemade will was legal enough to cancel out his previous 1984 will, even though it hadn’t been witnessed correctly.

However, because the blank form contained no instructions on how to divide his assets, Brock technically died intestate, without a functional will.

Brock with his then-partner Beverley and children Robert and Alexandra

Brock with his then-fiancee Julie Bamford.

Under Victorian intestacy laws, an estate automatically passes to biological descendants.

Brock’s $3.3m gross estate bypassed Bev Brock, his stepson James, and fiancee Julie Bamford, landing solely with his biological children, Robert and Alexandra Brock.

While stepson James was legally excluded, his biological siblings later agreed to share the estate equally with him, while Ms Bamford settled a family provision claim out of court.

While his personal real estate portfolio was settled through court rulings, individual pieces of Brock’s racing legacy have exploded in value posthumously.

Collections of his Bathurst-winning Commodores and daily drivers have repeatedly fetched record-breaking multimillion-dollar figures at public auctions long after his passing.

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