Lilydale, Victoria

Lillydale Lake aerial panorama. Shot February 2023

Some prefer to believe the town was named after an 1852 song "Lilly Dale" by H. S. Thompson but evidence shows it was named after an early settler, Lilly de Castella. Most of Victoria has been named after prominent citizens or with traditional Aboriginal names.[2] Lilly de Castella was one of four daughters of Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Anderson and his wife Mary. Joseph Anderson was one of eight nominated (non-elected) members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. Lilly was born Elizabeth Anne on Norfolk Island, where her father was commandant from 1835 to 1839. Lilly was a typical Victorian pet-name for girls named Elizabeth. The family settled in South Yarra in 1848 and were friends of Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe and his wife Sophie. Mary Anderson was a pioneer member of the Melbourne Mechanics Institute. Colonel Anderson was also a close friend of Crown Surveyor Clement Hodgkinson and was a pallbearer at the funeral of Governor Sir Charles Hotham, who died on 31 December 1855. Lilly married Paul de Castella in 1856; Lieutenant-Colonel Anderson co-owned the couple's Yering Station. Anderson Street in Lilydale was named after the Colonel, and the parallel Castella Street was named after his son-in-law, Lilly's husband Paul.

The 1888 Mechanics Institute

Shire of Yarra Ranges Offices, Lilydale (building prior to 2010s-20s overhaul and extension)

Lilydale sits on Woiwurrung territory, traditionally part of the Kulin Nation.

Lillydale township was surveyed in 1860 by Clement Hodgkinson.[3]

The Post Office opened on 1 September 1860 as Brushy Creek, and was renamed Lillydale in 1861 and Lilydale around 1872.[4]

The Lilydale Hotel opened in 1862. The railway came to town with the opening of the station in 1882.

The first town hall was built in 1888 along with the Mechanics Institute Free Library building.

Lilydale has an active CFA (Country Fire Authority) volunteer fire brigade, first established in 1905. There was an unregistered brigade dating back to the 1880s prior to this. The brigade also has a satellite station in Chirnside Park.

Lilydale has franchises of McDonald's and KFC. Lilydale also has shopping centres named 'Lilydale Marketplace' and 'The Lilydale Village' as well as shops on both sides of Main Street. There is also a 'Baby Bunnings', and many other commercial shops.

Lilydale station is the terminus for the Lilydale railway line offering half hourly metropolitan rail services. It was rebuilt in November 2021 as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project,[5] with the railway line being raised above Maroondah Highway. The original 1882 station building has been preserved in its original location, with the current station and bus interchange located on the opposite side of the highway.

The level crossing at Maroondah Highway, Lilydale, prior to its 2021 removal.

A bus station and taxi rank operates from the railway station servicing many of Melbourne's far eastern suburbs.

Lilydale has segregated bicycle facilities including the start of the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail which follows the course of the Lilydale-Warburton railway line which was built in 1901 but closed in 1964.

Coldstream Airport is located approximately 5 km north east in Coldstream which has a sealed, all-weather strip[6] to service the area with recreation, charter and fire bombing flying facilities for the local community. Coldstream Airport is home to Yarra Valley Flight Training, Coldstream Flyers Club and ACMA - Australian Centre for Mission Aviation.

Lilydale Airport is located in Yering 5 km north of Lilydale. It is for use by local pilots.

St Patricks Catholic School

There was also a campus of Swinburne University of Technology, which offered TAFE and university courses, since announcing closure other institutes have come forward wanting to run the facilities. Box Hill Institute and the Centre for Adult Education opened their John St Lilydale Community Campus in 2015 offering the people of Lilydale and surrounding districts access to more than 20 quality accredited, short courses and pre-accredited pathway programs.

On 15 February 2016 Box Hill Institute reopened the much larger former Swinburne campus as the Lilydale Lakeside Campus offering vocational training, TAFE and higher education. The Lilydale library, a branch of Eastern Regional Libraries, is also located at the Lakeside Campus. It offers free events for all ages, including children and seniors.[7]

Lilydale has four main secondary schools: Lilydale High School, Mount Lilydale Mercy College, Lilydale Heights College, and Lilydale Adventist Academy. Many primary schools are located in the suburb as well.

Other institutions based in Lilydale include the Yarra Ranges Regional Museum, Australia offices for Institute in Basic Life Principles and Advanced Training Institute.

Lillydale Lake's parkland and playgrounds from above

Maroondah Highway bridge crossing Olinda Creek

Olinda Creek runs through Lilydale having its source in the nearby Dandenong Ranges and is a tributary of the Yarra River.

Wide shot of Lillydale Lake. Shot February 2023.

Lilydale is well known for Lillydale Lake, a recreational area where children play and learn about the wetlands environment. Surrounding the lake are modern housing estates, such as Lakeview Estate.

A pier at Lillydale Lake

A popular ground covering product from the long established quarry on the edge of the town, used in pathways, driveways, backyards and composed of crushed limestone of varying grades, is commercially and popularly known as "Lilydale Toppings".[8][9]

The town is mentioned briefly in the Augie March song The Cold Acre.

In Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Series 3 episode Death at the Grand, Phryne arranges to have her troublesome father, Henry, housed there until leaving the country, saying "Even you can't get yourself into trouble in Lilydale."

The suburb has an Australian Rules football team, The Lilydale Falcons, competing in the Eastern Football League.[10]

It also has a cricket team, competing in the Ringwood District Cricket Association.

Lilydale is also home to "Lilydale Skate Centre" where Kids, Adults can enjoy Roller Skating and Inline Skating. This skate centre provides Learn to Skate class, Inline Hockey, Roller Hockey, Speed Skating, Jam Skating, Artistic Skating, Slalom skating, All abilities skating including wheel chair and Roller Derby Skating for all ages and abilities

Notable people from or having lived in Lilydale include:

• Jean Kittson (born 1955), actress
• Dame Nellie Melba (1861–1931), opera singer
• Elizabeth Catherine Usher AO (1911–1996), pioneering speech therapist

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lilydale, Victoria.

• Lilydale Airport