[1] Situated in the Yarra Valley, it began as a town within the former Shire of Lillydale and is also notable as the burial site of Dame Nellie Melba (Lilydale Cemetery).

[2] Lilly de Castella was one of four daughters of Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Anderson and his wife Mary.

The family settled in South Yarra in 1848 and were friends of Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe and his wife Sophie.

Colonel Anderson was also a close friend of Crown Surveyor Clement Hodgkinson and was a pallbearer at the funeral of Governor Sir Charles Hotham, who died on 31 December 1855.

Lilly married Paul de Castella in 1856; Lieutenant-Colonel Anderson co-owned the couple's Yering Station.

[3] The Post Office opened on 1 September 1860 as Brushy Creek, and was renamed Lillydale in 1861 and Lilydale around 1872.

It was rebuilt in November 2021 as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project,[5] with the railway line being raised above Maroondah Highway.

Box Hill Institute and the Centre for Adult Education opened their John St Lilydale Community Campus in 2015 offering the people of Lilydale and surrounding districts access to more than 20 quality accredited, short courses and pre-accredited pathway programs.

Olinda Creek runs through Lilydale having its source in the nearby Dandenong Ranges and is a tributary of the Yarra River.

Lilydale is well known for Lillydale Lake, a recreational area where children play and learn about the wetlands environment.

In Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Series 3 episode Death at the Grand, Phryne arranges to have her troublesome father, Henry, housed there until leaving the country, saying "Even you can't get yourself into trouble in Lilydale."