Gembrook Nurseries – Photography Display

The Places That Made Us – Nobelius Heritage Park

The Nobelius Heritage Park is a 4.5 hectare area of unique historic and horticultural significance. From 1901, the site was the centre of the world-famous Gembrook Nurseries (also known as the Nobelius Nursery), started by Carl Axel Nobelius in 1886.

At more than  650 hectares, the nursery was the largest in the southern hemisphere. Before World War I, the nursery exported hundreds of thousands of fruit and ornamental trees each year to five continents.

Gembrook Nurseries became the single most important influence in Emerald’s early and economic and social development. At the nursery’s peak, Nobelius employed more than 80 people to grow and harvest the trees. Most nursery work took place in winter, enabling settlers to establish their own properties which they worked on in the summer.

As the small township grew up around the nursery, Nobelius supported local sports teams and social activities. He provided a loan to build the first Mechanics Institute in Emerald and donated prizes to the local school.

Nobelius was also one of thirteen local witnesses who gave evidence to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways in 1898, proposing the construction of a railway to connect Ferntree Gully with Gembrook. The petition was successful and led to what is now known as the Puffing Billy Railway being officially opened in 1900.

Today the Nobelius Heritage Park and Emerald Museum tell the story of Carl Axel Nobelius and the Gembrook Nurseries, recognising their significant contribution to the early growth and development of Emerald.