History

Grants on Sherbrooke is located at Grants Picnic Ground, deep in the heart of the magnificent Sherbrooke Forest in the village of Kallista. Originally known as South Sassafras until in 1925, the town was renamed Kallista – from the Greek word meaning “most beautiful” after the name caused much confusion with nearby town Sassafras.

Today it still remains ‘most beautiful’ with its giant Mountain Ash trees and deep fern gullies, the picturesque Sherbrooke Falls, abundant birdlife, and various wildlife viewing opportunities including wallabies, wombats and the superb lyrebird. It is truly one of the highlights of a visit to the Dandenong Ranges.

Loggers back in the mid 1800s were the some of the earliest colonial inhabitants of South Sassafras and the Dandenongs. Much of the land was being felled for timber use for the population of Melbourne. By 1893, blocks of land were being made available for settlement, and guesthouses started providing holiday spots for tourists from Melbourne.

The lack of trees on the mountain was further exacerbated by the great bushfires in the early 1900s. Amazingly, all of the growth in Sherbrooke Forest that you see today (including the majestic Mountain Ash trees which can reach higher than 70 meters) have come from natural regrowth since this time.

In 1900, a young businessman named William Grant settled into the area. After selecting viable plots of land, he went on to build two notable guest houses – the since destroyed Grantulla House, and Arcadia House – which still stands to this day. He then went on to cater to wealthy tourists who had started to frequent the mountain, setting up a small tin shed in the local camp ground selling boiling water.

From it’s early days when it was carved out of the forest, Kallista has been home to some notable icons including C. J, Dennis, the author who wrote the ‘The Sentimental Bloke’, and noted Australian painter Tom Roberts who was a founding member of the Heidelberg school of Australian painters. Later notable residents also include federal politicians Jim Cairns and Don Chipp, and Crowded House drummer, Paul Hester. Incl info on Tom roberts walk and marg lester re art trails

Since it’s opening, Grants Picnic Ground and the original tearooms have been a haven for day-trippers, international adventurers, and locals alike.

Generations of visitors fondly recall memories of the park as one of the few places to feed wild birds in their natural environment. Whilst the physical hand-to-touch bird feeding is no longer a feature of the park, the grounds provide an abundance of walking trails, bird watching, native wildlife sightings and the world famous mountain ash trees, all within an hour’s drive from Melbourne.

The original tearooms were a simple single-story rectangular building, with four large barn-type double doors across the front. The tearooms inside were limited in their seating capacity, with a collection of large wooden booths and small wooden tables.

Prior to 2004, the tearooms were known as Sherbrooke Forest Tea Rooms, and was still in its original form. The original structure was in dire need to of some love and improvements.

Dandenong Ranges’ locals of 25 years Geoff and Cheryl Campbell took over the lease of the building in 2000 to run a true family business with all of their kids having held jobs at certain times. They undertook extensive renovations and additions were carried out in 2004, transforming the modest structure to its current state to include the construction of the large licensed restaurant and bar, dedicated take away area, an extensive Australiana souvenir centre, and an expansive alfresco decking located under the majestic mountain ash. They now employ many staff members from around the local area.

Updated agreements to the lease will see a new era of changes in the next few years, providing Grants on Sherbrooke a new phase of its history.