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Published: 15 July 2026.

When the suburb of Dulwich was first laid out, it contained several unnamed night-cart lanes. In the 1990s, Burnside Council decided to formally name these lanes to improve identification and wayfinding. One of these is Nursery Lane, named in 1995 in recognition of the Dulwich Plant Nursery that once operated nearby.

Located on the corner of Cleland Avenue and Mellington Street, the Dulwich Plant Nursery was better known to locals as ‘Grant’s Nursery’. John Grant purchased the property and established the nursery in 1857. The business was later continued by his son, Stephen Garforth Grant, who managed it until 1924. Stephen Grant was also an active member of the community, serving as a Burnside District Councillor from 1904 to 1929.

The nursery specialised in vegetable and flower seedlings and is believed to have been the first nursery in the district. Both the nursery and the family home have since been demolished.

Photograph: Stephen Grant and family at their home, 1908. The nursery is believed to have been located behind the house. Burnside Local History Collection.