Lilydale was
known as Germantown when the area was first settled.
The Lilydale
area was settled in the 1850s; when the land was cleared
for saw milling, many of the original settlers were of German
origin, although a number of families changed their Anglicised
their surnames to escape vilification.
This is less
true today, however many of the original families still
maintain connections to Lilydale.
Located
25 km north east of Launceston, Lilydale, nestling under
the northern slopes of Mount Arthur (1187m), is an attractive
town noted for the diverse range of interesting bush walks
in the district.
Mount Arthur
offers energetic bush walkers a three hour (round trip)
walk to its summit which is rewarded by far-reaching and
dramatic views.
Lilydale Falls
(3 km out of town on the Scottsdale Road) are an opportunity
to explore temperate rainforest, have a picnic, go bush
walking, inspect the two small falls, and marvel at two
oak trees which were planted on 12 May 1937 from acorns
collected near Windsor Castle on England. The oaks commemorate
the coronation of King George IV.
Hollybank Forest
Reserve arboretum has walking tracks, picnic facilities
and an interesting Information Centre.
Lilydale itself
is particularly noted among locals for two key points. The
first being an alleged large number of sightings of the
Tasmanian tiger, the second, a series of painted telegraph
poles along the main street.
Aside from tigers
and poles, Lilydale is also known for the distinctive 'Englishness'
of its gardens and is promoted as ‘Tasmania's Country
Garden’.
