Lilyvale is a locality in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

on the northern periphery of the

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

local government area, south of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. Most of the locality is now in the

Royal National Park The Royal National Park is a state park, protected national park that is located in the Sutherland Shire local government area in Southern Sydney and in the City of Wollongong local government area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Au ...

and

Garawarra State Conservation Area The Garawarra State Conservation Area is a protected conservation area that is located on the southern suburban fringe of Greater Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The reserve abuts the Royal National Park and is ...

. The former Lilyvale village centre, which at one stage had a population of about 200 people, was at Lilyvale railway station (1890 to 1989) on the South Coast railway between

Helensburgh Helensburgh ( ; ) is a town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local government reorganisation in 1996. Histo ...

and

Otford Otford is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It lies on the River Darent, north of Sevenoaks. Otford's four churches are the Anglican Church of St Bartholomew in the village centre, the Otford Methodist C ...

History

Aboriginal peoples, the latest being the

Wodi Wodi WODI (1230 AM) was a sports talk formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Brookneal, Virginia, serving Brookneal and Altavista in Virginia. WODI was last owned and operated by JKC Media Ventures LLC. In September 2013, it was reported t ...

people, once lived over the area. Its steep gullies and rainforest made it difficult going terrain. Cedar cutters reached the area well ahead of colonial settlement. Lilyvale became an isolated rural area at the north of the Bulgo Valley along the Hacking River. The village began in 1884 as a railway construction camp and then served the Metropolitan Colliery, a timber mill at what is now Karingal Flat in the Royal National Park,Sydney Morning Herald, 25 April 1900 associated railway sidings, cattle grazing and orchard farms. The railway opened through Lilyvale in 1888 and a railway station was opened at Lilyvale on 1 October 1889. The Metropolitan Hotel was situated above Lilyvale railway station. Town subdivisions were laid out above Lilyvale railway station and on Karingal Flat below. Lilyvale Post Office opened on 1 October 1898 and closed in 1931. On 4 January 1909, a bushfire burnt-out most of the village and many surrounding farms. The village and locality were briefly revitalised by the re-alignment and duplication of the railway line from 1914 to 1920 and became a depression camp in the 1930s. Garawarra Park, a 526ha area of Crown land to the east of the Hacking River was declared in 1934 and became a southern extension of the Royal National Park in 1967. What remained of Lilyvale village and outlying farms of Lilyvale were devastated by bushfires in 1952. Lilyvale Mushrooms operated in the two abandoned railway tunnels between Lilyvale and Metropolitan Colliery from 1952 to the late 1970s. Much of the surrounding colliery land, once used for forestry and farms was resumed and became Garawarra State Conservation Area in 1987. The railway station, footbridge and nearby vehicle bridge over the railway were destroyed by the government railway authority in 1989.

Heritage listings

Lilyvale has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Illawarra railway:

Lilyvale railway tunnels Lilyvale railway tunnels are heritage-listed railway tunnels on the Illawarra railway line at Lilyvale, City of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed and built by the then-New South Wales Government Railways. The property is ...

* Royal National Park: Coastal Cabin Communities

References

External links

Suburbs of Wollongong City of Wollongong {{NewSouthWales-geo-stub