Strathfieldsaye was established by William O'Dell Raymond as a sheep station in 1842. Following a number of subsequent owners, the property was purchased by the brothers William Henderson Disher and John Samuel Disher in 1869. William's son John worked the property in partnership until William's death in 1915. On John's death in 1931, his brother Henry Disher, his wife Mary Disher nee Hagenauer and children Daisy and Clive moved to Strathfieldsaye.
The property was operated by the Disher family until Harold Clive Disher donated the property to the University of Melbourne in 1977. The donation imposed commitments on the University to preserve the property and establish a Teaching and Research Field Station, to be named the Strathfieldsaye Institute of Teaching and Research in Agriculture and Allied Sciences.