Travellers passing through Lilydale at the present day see one of the prettiest country districts in the State, with hundreds of wattles and blackwoods in bloom everywhere, the early fruit trees in the orchards just bursting into blossom, with the summit of Mount Arthur rising nearly 4000ft high in the background.
Had one the power to take a view of Lilydale or Upper Piper, as it was then called in the year 1860 to 1862, what a difference there would be. The present railway and roads were not in existence, and the only means of communication with the outside world was a rough bush road, known as Hall's Track, which extended from Launceston to Scottsdale.
Amongst the first pioneers who arrived in the early sixties were Messrs. Lynch, Campbell, Power, Somerville, Miller, Doak, Wilson, Scott, Fernie, Brooks and Pollock. The whole district was then a dense bush, and the first settlers split palings and shingles from the abundant timber to build their first homes with, and then started to partially clear the land to enable them to put in their first crop. This was all done with the hoe, chipping over the ground wherever they could find room between the logs and stumps.
It was then a common thing for the wives and daughters of the settlers to walk to Launceston, carrying their butter with them, and bringing back groceries, etc., from the shops in Launceston. The native animals and birds were very numerous at that time, and the settlers had great difficulty in protecting their crops from the wallabies, parrots, and black magpies.
The first church was a union of the Church of England, Presbyterian, and Methodist, and services were held in the school until the union church, which is now the Presbyterian Church, was built in 1880. The Revs. Gardiner and Lindsay used to come out from Launceston about once a year, and during the rest of the year the residents conducted the services them selves. Perhaps in time to come we may see another union church in Lilydale.
The first school was built by the residents in 1869, and the present school has been built on the same ground, Messrs. W. Wilson and Sulzberger had a good deal to do with bringing this about. Mr Herriot was the first school teacher.
A post office was opened by Mr G. K. Sulzberger in 1874, and at first he brought the mail from Launceston once a week, and then three times a week.
The construction of the Launceston Scottsdale railway helped the progress of Lilydale very considerably. The survey of the line took about six months, and the construction between three and four years. The line was opened tor traffic on August 9, 1889, just over 32 years ago, and since then it has been extended past Scottsdale, and has proved one of the best paying lines in the State.
Very few of the old pioneers are alive to-day, and it would be possible to count them on the fingers of one hand. It certainly seems a pity that no record of them has been kept. Their services to the district and the State could not be measured by money, and in a few years they will all, to a great extent, be forgotten.
When the gold diggings opened at Lisle a number of residents used to pack eggs, butter and potatoes on horses, and sell them to the gold miners, and so obtain some very welcome ready money.
Lilydale is a district of small farms, and most of them are farmed by the owners; indeed, it is the exception to find a tenant anywhere. (To be Continued.)
LILYDALE. (1921, September 15). Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 - 1928), p. 3. Retrieved March 10, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article153272834
Advertising (1921, September 15). Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas. : 1883 - 1928), p. 3. Retrieved March 10, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article153272831