Melba Park, Lilydale

Melba Park, Lilydale

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Posted 2022-03-15 by Neil Follettfollow
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This 2.17 hectare park, bounded by Market, Castella and Chapel Streets is a green oasis almost in the centre of Lilydale.


It is also a mecca for birdlife. On my two recent visits, I encountered over 50 ducks. They were in large groups and appeared to be mainly juvenile ducks. Well past being ducklings but not quite fully grown.




Corellas were numerous, ground feeding on fallen acorns. There was only about 20 of them.


The birds had to share the park with humans, who didn't outnumber the birds, but there were a few of them. Several were having a picnic lunch finding one of the many shady spots. There are also several picnic tables and benches around the park.


The park was named Melba Park around 1927 in honour of Dame Nellie. On the corner of Castella and Market Streets, two wrought iron gates hanging from stone pillars. They were erected by Dame Nellie in 1927 as a memorial to her father David Mitchell. A plaque on the gate reads, "To the memory of David Mitchell. This tribute to my beloved father by his daughter Nellie."


If you enter through these gates, the first thing that confronts you is a large oak tree. An iron fence is erected around the tree. A brass plaque that was attached to this fence was stolen a few years ago and replaced by a boulder mounted plaque that reads …"Relief of Mafeking. This tree was planted by the people of Lilydale on 13th June, 1900, to celebrate the gallant and successful defence of Mafeking, South Africa by Colonel Baden Powell and his brave garrison during the siege by the Boers extending over a period of 209 days…"


Adjacent to the Mafeking tree is the Lilydale Croquet Club which has been there since 1925.


There is a modern playground for the little ones to climb, swing and slide.



On almost every visit, you will find several ibises. They seem to like perching on structures or in trees, but many like to ground feed.


Two plovers were seen sitting in the grass but moved away on my approach. There are many large oak trees in the park and a noisy inhabitant was a crow, who was seen with an acorn in its beak. In the same tree, a flash of white was a sulphur-crested cockatoo.






Several people were just walking through the park while others were content to sit and enjoy the ambience.




A small watercourse appears to run through the park with a row of stepping stones offering a crossing when the water flows. A picturesque bridge crosses the watercourse.


Near the croquet club is a public toilet block with landscaped surroundings.


On the third weekend of every November, most of Melba Park is fenced off to become part of the Lilydale Show, with a weekend of entertainment for the young and old and those in-between.


As you enjoy Melba Park, you may get the feeling that Dame Nellie is watching you. She is in the form of a mural at the Lilydale Showgrounds across Market Street.



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#lilydale
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#outer_east
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#walks
%wnmelbourne
215806 - 2023-06-16 07:20:25

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