Lilydale lavender history noted

The old gates to the original Bridestowe Lavender Farm at North Lilydale which is set to be Heritage listed.

July 31 2024

The original Bridestowe Lavender Farm at North Lilydale has been provisionally listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register for its historic cultural heritage significance.

The site, at 29 Browns Rd, was home to the first lavender farm in Australia. It was developed by the migrant Denny family in 1922.

The provisional listing said the buildings remaining on the property stand as a demonstration of the confidence its founders had in the economic future of Australia and an example of the new industries brought to Tasmania from Europe following World War I.

Areas of interest include the farm infrastructure, stock room, distillery, drying room, machinery shed and visitor infrastructure.

“The remaining outbuildings are representative of the ambitious nature and technical innovation of the family who settled here in the early 1920s,” the heritage report said.

“These timber buildings have endured the test of time and retain elements which assist in demonstrating the technology and processes undertaken here, some for the first time in Australia, and others leading the world in modernising and improving the production and quality of lavender and other essential oils.”

The report said the buildings are all located within 115m of the roadside, while gateposts and a plinth remain on the adjoining title to the east, which “appear to be the last remaining structures relating to the direct farm sales and tourist venture on the site, significant as one of the earliest known examples of agri-tourism in Australia”.

Current Bridestowe Estate owner Robert Ravens said the farm was moved to its existing location at Nabowla in 1947 to escape harsh frosts and improve consistency and quality of the lavender.

Mr Ravens paid tribute to the Denny family, saying they were full of brilliance and the remains were an integral part of the State’s history. 

“We are delighted to see it listed and
have always said it should be and regrettably it didn’t occur earlier,” Mr Ravens said.

Bridestowe in its current location is now the largest lavender producer in the southern hemisphere.

Details of the listing are available via the Tasmanian Heritage Council and anyone can make a submission or objection within 60 days from Saturday’s notice of provisional listing.