Parish: Heathcote
County: Cumberland
Lilyvale is one of the northernmost suburbs of the Wollongong Local Government Area. It is east of Helensburgh, at the southern end of the Royal National Park.
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Local communities of Aboriginal people were the original inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of Illawarra Land. Their dialect is a variant of the Dharawal language.
Before European settlement, the Aboriginal people of the region lived in small family groups with complicated social structures and close associations with specific areas.
Suburb boundaries do not reflect the cultural boundaries of the local Aboriginal community.
Traditional Custodians today are descendants of the original inhabitants and have ongoing spiritual and cultural ties to the Land and waterways where their ancestors lived.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1889 | Lilyvale first appeared (Black Diamonds, 2nd ed., LR994.46 BAY) |
| 1889 | The Metropolitan Hotel built by George Welch (Black Diamonds, 2nd ed., LR994.46 BAY) |
| 1891 | Church of England built by [George] Ricketts (Illawarra Index) |
| 1896 | The Helensburgh and Lilyvale Workmen's Club and Mutual School of Arts formed in reaction to the mistreatment of miners in Helensburgh's two pubs (Black Diamonds, 2nd ed., LR994.46 BAY; Helensburgh: the first hundred years, LRQ994.46 BUC) |
| 1908 | Growth in traffic on the Illawarra Railway caused congestion and increased hazards; the Waterfall-Otford duplication was proposed including the adjustments around Lilyvale station and the Liliyvale tunnel (Illawarra Index) |
| 1909 | Bush fires raged along the coast, devastating Lilyvale; residences, poultry, and fruit and vegetable gardens were lost, including the abundant crop of blackberries around Lilyvale station. The station itself caught fire several times, but was saved by residents (SMH, 6/1/1909, p. 10) |
| 1909 | The Public Works Committee presented its report on the proposed Waterfall-Otford deviation to Parliament, recommending it be carried out (Illawarra Index) |
| 1913 | Sections of the Waterfall-Otford deviation completed, with Helensburgh and Lilyvale being cleared (Illawarra Index) |
| 1925 | Helensburgh and Liliyvale Women's Social and Literary Club opened (Illawarra Index) |
| 1945 | Lady Wakehurst Drive opened (European history: Royal National Park, MSS1162) |
| 1952 | Lilyvale Mushrooms Pty Ltd began in disused railway tunnel (History of Helensburgh, LR994.46 HIS) |
| 1956 | Lilyvale Co-operative Society's new building opened (Illawarra Index) |
Top image: First railway station at Lilyvale. See image details on our catalogue