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LILYDALE FALLS

Windermere, Bangor, Lisle & Turners Marsh

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Nearby: LAUNCESTON-CITY, LAUNCESTON-TREVALLYN, LAUNCESTON-CATARACT GORGE, GEORGE TOWN, BRIDPORT, SCOTTSDALE, TASMANIA ZOO, TAMAR ISLAND, GRINDELWALD, EXETER, BEACONSFIELD, BEAUTY POINT, Mt ARTHUR, Mt BARROW, BEN LOMOND, BEN NEVIS, CARRICK, LONGFORD, WESTBURY, TAMAR VALLEY REGION, NORTH EAST REGION

  • The FALLS
  • LILYDALE
  • Windermere
  • Bangor
  • Lisle
  • Turners Marsh

 

Lilydale Falls Tasmania

1/ The Falls are a few kilometres north of Lilydale. A tree lined park marks the Entrance.

Lilydale Falls Tasmania

2/ The walk to the falls begins under this old railway bridge.

Lilydale Falls Tasmania

3/ You soon cross a bridge to continue the path to the falls.

Lilydale Falls Tasmania

4/ The path follows a gently flowing stream lined with beautiful ferns.

Lilydale Falls Tasmania

5/ The Lower Falls is an impressive sight, as it falls about 8 metres.

Lilydale Falls Tasmania

6/ A short walk takes you to the view from the top of the Falls.

Lilydale Falls Tasmania

7/ The path leads on to the second falls further along.

Lilydale Falls Tasmania

8/ The second falls has a fall of about 6 metres.

 

Lilydale Tasmania

1/ The little town of Lilydale is in north eastern Tasmania. It was built by German immigrants in 1870. Lilydale has some interesting sights and is just 3 kilometres south of the Lilydale Falls.

Lilydale Tasmania

2/ Bardenhagen's general store at Lilydale was built in 1888. It is now heritage listed by the National Trust.

Lilydale Tasmania

3/ 3/ This stylish building is the 1955 Memorial Hall. It was built by local volunteers.

Lilydale Tasmania

4/ The Lilydale Post Office was a good example of the late Colonial style.

Lilydale Tasmania

5/ The old church was a good example of the Victorian country style.

Lilydale Tasmania

6/ This old shop was now selling antiques.

Lilydale Tasmania

7/ This is a genuine Art Deco style service station. This was the first type of service station built for the growing car numbers in the 1930s.

Lilydale Tasmania

8/ This is a middle class home of the 1920s.

Lilydale Tasmania

9/ This building at Lilydale is the old druids hall. These druids were a lodge of like minded residents.

Lilydale Tasmania

10/ This is the late 19th Century Church of the Ascension. It was located close to the old railway station.

Lilydale Tasmania

11/ On the southern edge of Lilydale is the Catholic Church of St Anne. It was built in 1891.

Lilydale Tasmania

12/ East of Lilydale are meadows and the slopes of Mount Arthur. There are great mountain views from many positions around Lilydale.

Lilydale Tasmania

13/ This is the view from the remains of the old railway station. Sadly it is decades since a train ran on this line.

Lilydale Tasmania

14/ I visited Lilydale on the towns 150th anniversary. The town celebrated with some interesting displays like these classic old holdens.

Lilydale Tasmania

16/ This FJ Holden was built around 1950 and was the first of its kind produced in Australia.

Lilydale Tasmania

16/ The fair at Lilydale included this interesting moving sculpture.

church at Lebrina

17/ Lebrina is a hamlet north of Lilydale on the main B81 Road. It has this lovely church called St Andrews, which was built in 1891. The number of churches in the Lilydale area shows how important religion was to people in the 19th Century.

stain glass window at Lebrina church

18/ St Andrews has this lovely stain glass window.

Wesleyan Church at Underwood

19/ The next 4 photos were taken in 2016 on an open day at the old Wesleyan Church at Underwood. This is a locality south of Lilydale.

Wesleyan Church at Underwood

20/ The Wesleyan Church was built in 1883, but in recent decades it was turned into a residence. Very recently it was developed as a beautiful garden.

Wesleyan Church at Underwood

21/ This image looks up the hill passed the garden and shows the clear shape of the old church.

Wesleyan Church at Underwood

22/ This cottage was the old manse. It too has been restored and now complements the garden.

 

St Matthias Windermere Tasmania

1/ Windermere is a locality just north east of Launceston and west of Lilydale. It is just west of the A8 East Tamar Highway. It boasts of having St Matthias, one of the loveliest churches in Tasmania. Dilston is just south of Windermere.

St Matthias Windermere Tasmania

2/ St Matthias was built in 1842 by Dr Gaunt to fulfill a promise that he made to his wife before they left England. This was that he would build her a church in the new colony of Van Diemens Land, if there was not one extant. The church was a river church, as many of the worshippers came to it by boat down the Tamar River. As you can see, St Matthias Windermere has a great vista of the Tamar River. Many worshippers came from the other side.

altar of St Matthias Windermere Tasmania

3/ This is the lovely, well restored interior of St Matthias. It is quite authentic to the 19th Century.

stain glass window of St Matthias Windermere Tasmania

4/ These are the three stain glass windows above the altar. The one on the right is quite unusual in that it pictures Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus.

Tamar River at Windermere Tasmania

5/ This is the view looking from St Matthias south down the peaceful Tamar River. The houses across the river are in the locality of Rosevears.

Tamar River at Windermere Tasmania

6/ This is the view looking to the north of the Tamar River at Windermere.

Tamar River at Windermere Tasmania

7/ The country around Windermere consists of rolling hills used for grazing or for vineyards. The locality across the Tamar River in this photo is Gravelly Beach.

Windermere

8/ North of Windermere is the remains of an old jetty. This was once used to export slate from Bangor to Melbourne. This view looks west across the Tamar River towards Paper Beach.

Windermere

9/ On the both the eastern and western shores of the Tamar River are attractive houses with great views of the Tamar River.

Tamar River near Windermere

10/ This view looks north west towards Deviot. Just beyond Deviot is the great Batman Bridge.

Windermere

11/ This view looks east towards Mt Direction. A signal tower located here once passed semaphore messages from George Town on towards Launceston.

Dilston

12/ This is the ancient hotel at Dilston. It was built around 1825. This makes it amongst the oldest buildings in Launceston. The timber part at the front was added in 1879.

Dilston

13/ This image shows another view of the hotel. This section was built with local stone worked by convicts in 1825.

Dilston

14/ This is the Dilston school which is now a hall.

 

Bangor Tasmania

1/ Bangor was once a major centre of the slate processing industry. The town died when iron panels replaced slate. Ironically, this surviving church is made out of the very iron panels that destroyed Bangor's livelihood.

Bangor Tasmania

2/ The size of the church proclaims that it once served a large community. The ugly box on the side is a later day air conditioner.

Bangor Tasmania

3/ This grave close to the church shows a considerable expense in the marble work.

Bangor Tasmania

4/ The grave yard had a variety of old and new graves. Beyond it is one of the last surviving houses of old Bangor.

Bangor Tasmania

5/ The white on this unnaturally flat area indicates that large buildings once occupied this site at Bangor.

Bangor

6/ This is the view from the hill where the church is located to the valley below. The derelict houses shown in the next photo are on the extreme left.

Bangor Tasmania

7/ These buildings are survivors of old Bangor. The one on the left was the police station and jail and the one on the right was the town hall. They are in a good enough condition to be restored.

Bangor Tasmania

8/ The road to Bangor has a very ancient feeling about it. The peak on the right is Mt Bessells.

Mt Bessells Tasmania

9/ This is a photo of Mt Bessells taken over grazing land near Bangor.

Bangor

10/ This is the view from the bottom of an old slate mine to the top. The broken slate at the bottom is the debris of the slate tiles made here in the late 19th Century.

Bangor

11/ This ancient path leads to other slate mines. Unfortunately this trail was completely overgrown, when we visited it in 2015. There is a great adventure trail here just waiting to be restored.

Bangor tramway

12/ Bangor was once connected to the Tamar River by a tramway. This was used to take the heavy slate tiles to the ships for export. This field near Bangor shows the remains of the old tramway in the slight rise that you can see.

cottage at City Park in Launceston

13/ This is the lovely, gardener's cottage at City Park in Launceston. The roof is made of slate tiles from Bangor. As you can see, these slate tiles are still in good condition, even after 130 years of weathering.

 

Mt Arthur

1/ Lisle is a former gold mining town that has now totally disappeared. It exploded into existence in 1879 with the discovery of gold and then grew to become the third largest town in Tasmania. In its boom days it had over 2000 people. However, very soon confidence waned and the population declined, until it finally disappeared. To the west of Lisle is Mt Arthur. This mountain can be seen from Launceston. This photo was taken about 4 kilometres south of Lisle. This area is now replete with pine plantations, which are regularly harvested.

Mt Barrow

2/ The image shows Mt Barrow, which is south of Lisle. It was taken from the chimney ruins of Alfred Bessell's house, seen in image 19. The photo clearly shows how the pines are planted, grown and then harvested.

Mt Bessells Tasmania

3/ To the east of Lisle is Mt Bessells. This photo was taken from the former airstrip on the top of Mt Bessells. It looks towards the north east coast towards the Sidling Range.

Mt Bessells Tasmania

4/ This view is from the Mt Bessells airstrip is looking towards the south east. Note the pine plantations interrupting the natural forest.

Lisle ancient mining site in Tasmania

5/ Lisle was located about 400 metres down this ancient, overgrown road that you can see in the middle. It was bush bashing from this point onwards.

bridge at Lisle ancient mining site in Tasmania

6/ Finding this ancient bridge gave us a precise reference point. We were now in the centre of the old town. The bridge was very unsafe to cross. In 1880 there were dozens of wooden buildings around this bridge. The last resident was Maud Faulkner, a lady born in the boom times of Lisle. She left the ghost town of Lisle in 1963.

Lisle

7/ This was the same bridge in May 2017 just 2 years later. A major flood in the intervening years had washed away the top. This rapid change shows how quickly edifices can disappear.

Lisle ancient mining site in Tasmania

8/ On all sides of the old bridge the ground was disturbed. There were signs of buildings everywhere. A visitor should be wary of falling down hidden mine shafts.

Lisle ancient mining site in Tasmania

9/ On the northern side of Lisle the road became quite open. Disturbed ground was all around us.

Lisle ancient mining site in Tasmania

10/ This is the dam south east of the former town of Lisle. It was used to power a saw mill in the 1890s. The wheel is no longer extant, but we could see in dense vegetation, where it had once been located.

Lisle ancient mining site in Tasmania

11/ This road leads to the Lisle approach track shown above. On the side of the road in spring jonquil flowers regularly appear. We found evidence of houses on both sides of this road. These flowers are the last remnant of the gardens planted by the ladies of Lisle, way back in the 1880s. I returned in the spring just to see this phenomena.

Lisle Tasmania

12/ This three way junction was about 2 kilometres south east of Lisle. We found evidence of mines in this area, but sadly the pine plantation has destroyed most of the evidence of what was once there.

Lisle Tasmania

13/ Geometric lines of pine trees now cover most of Lisle.

Lisle Tasmania

14/ Amongst the pines we found this water course. It would have once been used by the miners of old Lisle.

Lisle

15/ Near the main street of Lisle we found this grove of ancient European trees. They would have once marked the boundary of someone's property. Beyond them was the cemetery and to the left of these trees was a dam, which you can see below.

Lisle

16/ This embankment forms a dam, which was fed by a long water course. We think that it was built in the 20th Century to power pressure hoses.

Lisle

17/ This was the track that led northwards towards the cemetery. We noted the position of this tree, because it was very close to the grave shown below.

Lisle

18/ We found no headstones, because they are hidden under the dense undergrowth. However, we did find this marked grave, plus an empty grave. We guessed that they were built by people in recent decades, who wanted to be buried in old Lisle.

Lisle

19/ Loggers had told us of their discovery of this chimney. We believed that it is the remains of the home of Alfred Bessell, brother of the man who discovered gold at Lisle. The house would have had a magnificent view of the valley of Lisle and the mountains beyond.

Lisle

20/ This was the last house extant at Lisle, where old Maud Faulkner lived. She was the last resident of Lisle and left in 1963. It was demolished around 1964 by a man, who believed a rumor that there was gold under old Maud's house.

Lisle

21/ This image looks up the Old Lisle Road from Maud Faulkner's house to the grove of trees shown in image 15.

Lisle

22/ This image looks towards the main street of Lisle. The costume of the children suggests that it was taken about 1930. This was long after the boom time of Lisle. Once these paddocks would have been replete with houses, buildings, shacks and tents.

Lisle

23/ This image shows the dedication of the soldiers memorial hall in 1921. It is looking towards the west. Note how the trees above the building are not pines. Unfortunately, no photos have emerged of what Lisle looked like in its boom time.

Lisle

24/ This is another view of the dedication of the hall. It probably shows most of the population of Lisle at that time.

Lisle

25/ This image shows the Collins House in Lisle. There would once have been dozens of similar houses at Lisle in the boom time.

Lisle

26/. This image shows the Hudson's Mill at Lisle. It was taken about 1920. Noteworthy is the huge stump shown before the mill. There were once huge, 90 metre high eucalyptus trees in this area, which now are sadly all gone. You can see some of these trees on my Evercreech page.

Mytrle Park near Lisle ancient mining site in Tasmania

27/ The approach to Lisle passes the picnic ground of Myrtle Park. The ground has all the facilities needed by travellers and is situated close to a lovely stream.

16/ The main evidence for mining activity in the Lisle area are these bare patches where nothing now grows. Not even the pines can conceal these signs.

28/ This is the view of Mt Barrow taken from near Myrtle Park on the road returning from Lisle.

 

Turners Marsh

1/ Turners Marsh and Karoola are adjacent localities just west of Lilydale in north eastern Tasmania. This area has some lovely rural landscapes, plus some interesting, historic buildings. This photo shows the Catholic church of the Sacred Heart at Karoola. It is a proud example of the Federation style of architecture, which was popular in Tasmania around the 1890s. It shows how important religion was in the 19th Century that there are 2 historic churches in this area. Note that there are no facilities in Turners Marsh - Karoola.

church at Turners Marsh

2/ This is the rear view of the Sacred Heart Church at Karoola. It looks down into the valley of Turners Marsh. It is culturally significant that the Catholic and Protestant churches in this area were on opposite hills to each other.

view of Turners Marsh

3/ This is a telephoto view of the Sacred Heart Church taken from the opposite hill, where the Uniting Church is located. Note the lovely rural landscape.

church at Turners Marsh

4/ This is the Uniting Church on the western side of Turners Marsh. It is simpler than the Catholic Church and is probably older, since it was built in 1879. Note that behind the church is a graveyard.

graveyard at Turners Marsh

5/ This is the graveyard behind the Uniting Church at Turners Marsh. It had some very, old graves of the early settlers of Turners Marsh and Karoola.

Turners Marsh

6/ Turners Marsh is a lowland surrounded by highlands. This view looks towards the highlands.

Turners Marsh

7/ This view shows the rich, meadows of the lowlands.

Turners Marsh

8/ This derelict shed was once the dance hall and the military drill hall of the district.

house at Turners Marsh

9/ This is an attractive Federation style house that has been added to over the years. There were some very old farm buildings adjacent to it.

old shop at Turners Marsh

10/ This historic building was originally a shop. The window on the right would once have displayed wares. The extension to the building on the left was a more modern style shop.

derelict house at Turners Marsh

11/ This is a derelict Victorian era cottage. There would once have been many other cottages in this area.

hall at Turners Marsh

12/ This is the hall at Turners Marsh. To the left of it is a sports oval. It has a roof, an extension and an outer cladding that dates from the 1960s, but the shape and the door show that it was originally built in the 19th Century.

Mt Arthur seen from near Tunnel

13/ This is a view of Mt Arthur taken on the road to the locality of Tunnel. This was once a town that was founded to build a large tunnel for the railway to Scottsdale.

old railway near Tunnel

14/ This is the railway track that leads to the tunnel. You have to walk down it to find the tunnel. We were glad to find that vegetation had not yet overgrown the railway. You will need local knowledge to reach the tunnel, which is also unsafe.

north entrance to the Tunnel

15/ This is the northern entrance to the tunnel. The tunnel is about 400 metres in length. The tunnel was flooded, so it was unsafe to enter it, as snakes are common in such places. Note that this tunnel was built in 1888.

south entrance to the Tunnel

16/ This is the southern entrance. You can see in this photo that the tunnel is flooded. I think that if it was restored, it would be of interest to tourists.

old station at Tunnel

17/ This is the remains of the station at Tunnel. There were once many buildings around this area.

derelict house at Tunnel

18/ This derelict cottage is the last house that exists from the old days of the town of Tunnel.

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