Dr. Campbell, a civil surgeon of the Indian Medical Service, was transferred from Kathmandu to Darjeeling in 1839 as Superintendent of this new territory and of the Sanitarium. His first problem was to attract settlers. In 1841, Dr. Campbell brought China Tea Seeds from Kumeon and planted near his residence in his garden at Beechwood, Darjeeling, 2000 m above sea level. He must have been successful in raising the plant because the government, in 1847, elected to put out tea nurseries in this area.

The experiment was followed by several others, for example Dr. Withcombe, Mr. James Grant, of the Civil Service, and Captain Samler. The plants, by their healthy and vigorous growth, gave much promise of the experiment succeeding. Dr. Hooker planted tea in 1848 at Lebong, a thousand feet below Darjeeling where also the tea plants succeeded admirably.

By 1852 several plantations in various stages of advancement, both of Assam and China plants were found including the ones at Kurseong and Pankhabari established by Mr. Martin.

lThe first commercial tea gardens were Tukvar, Steinthal and Aloobari tea estates. This was in 1852 and all these plantations used seeds that were raised in the government nurseries. By 1856 the experimental stage had been passed and development was rapid. According to Darjeeling Gazetteer, Alubari Tea Garden was opened by the Kurseong and Darjeeling Tea Company and another on the Lebong spur by the Darjeeling Land Mortgage Bank. Several hundred ha of forest land was cleared, from 750 m elevation above the sea to 1800 m. By 1857 25 or 30 ha was planted , besides six nurseries, in which a ton of seed has been sown during 1857.

In 1859 the Dhutaria garden was started by Dr. Brougham and between 1860 and 1864 four gardens at Ging, Ambutia, Takdah and Phubsering were established by the Darjeeling Tea Company and the gardens at Tukver and Badamtam by the Lebong Tea Company. Other gardens which were started at this early period were those now known as Maksibari, Pandam & Steinthal Tea Estates.