Tesselaar's Nursery
Location
357 Monbulk Road, SILVAN VIC 3795 - Property No 12347
Show Place Maps and StreetviewStatement of Significance
Tesselaar's Nursery, one of the best known of the many nurseries which flourished in the Dandenongs, has high local significance as an example of the successful flower farms established by Dutch migrants in the Post-Second World War years. The property has significance, too, for the Tesselaar Tulip Festival held there annually for more than 50 years. It has historical significance for its long association with the Tesselaar family.
Description
Tesselaar's Nursery remains on the original site established by Cornelius (Cees) Tesselaar in 1945. It now mainly functions as a display garden, and the production side of the nursery is located on an adjoining site.
Tesselaar's Nursery is a landmark on Silvan Road. It is renown for its tulip festivals and its characteristic Dutch windmills. Although the function and layout of much of the site has changed over the years, the overall character and a few features remain. These features include Cornelius Tesselaar's house, however renovations in the 1970s make it unrecognisable as a 1940s building. Two buildings survive that retain some of the early character that Cornelius Tesselaar was trying to establish; a small cottage on the drive and the first office built in 1948. Both adopt a Dutch style that has come to be identified with Tesselaar's. Trees planted in the early days of the nursery by Cornelius Tesselaar are also now quite important landscape features. These trees are primarily along the main entry drive, and include a large Norfolk Island Pine near the first office. Another landmark is the group of conifers close to Silvan Road which predate the Tesselaar's ownership of the property.
Physical Conditions: Excellent
Integrity: Evidence of stages