Lilydale, Victoria

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 Colonel Joseph Anderson and wife Mary. Joseph Anderson was one of eight nominated (non-elected) members of Victoria's first parliament. 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 Hotham, who died on 31 December 1855. Lilly married Paul de Castella in 1856; 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

Lilydale Shire of Yarra Ranges

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 is due to be rebuilt as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project [5]

Railway Crossing

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.

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.

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 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.

Notable people from or having lived in Lilydale include:

• Elizabeth Catherine Usher AO (1911–1996), pioneering speech therapist

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lilydale, Victoria.

• Lilydale Airport