PROFILE: SCOTSBURN NURSERIES
Scotsburn Nurseries: Celebrating 90 years By Peter Douglas
Scotsburn Nurseries was established in 1930. These days it’s run by Peter Douglas and Mark Heaton, supplying Melbourne and Victoria’s best independent retail nurseries. But there’s a whole lot of history and stories in the preceding 90 years. Managing Director, Peter Douglas takes you on a journey through time; to meet the incredible characters that came before him and reveal the twists and turns the business has taken. For Peter it’s been a fascinating process to uncover the origins of Scotsburn Nurseries and in particular the lives of Fred Linton, the founder in 1930 and his grandfather Dave Wood, who purchased the business in August 1945. A big thank you to Peter for sharing his findings in Groundswell. The origins of Scotsburn The Melbourne Hunt Club was founded by Mr George Watson in 1852. Watson had only arrived in Australia from Ireland in 1850 and he is famous in racing circles as a rider and administrator. He was Master of Hounds at the Hunt Club until his death in 1906, a steward at the inaugural races at Caulfield in 1859 and starter of the first Melbourne Cup in 1861. From 1887-1929 the Melbourne Hunt Club’s well-heeled members chased foxes and sometimes kangaroos over sandy, scrubby country full of “swampy depressions” covering East Oakleigh and running north as far as Box Hill. “The swampy parts had dense tea tree and the open parts were bracken covered”. According to family lore, The Hunt Club called this the Scotsburn Estate. The term “burn” comes from the North of England and Scotland meaning stream or more generally fresh water and can be seen in many names like Blackburn and Melbourne. The township of Scotsburn just out of Ballarat was originally Scots Marsh, named for the local landholders and later changed to the more attractive Scotsburn. The Melbourne Hunt Club’s estate is likely to have been named after Scotsburn, a marshy area of Ross-shire in the Scottish Highlands. Melbourne went through a rapid expansion phase through the 1920’s and the best of the Hunt Club’s land began to be taken up for grazing and market gardening. The Club was finally forced to move to Cranbourne in 1929.
Top: Fred Linton, 1933 Bottom: David Wood
GROUNDSWELL AUGUST 2020
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