The Lismore Discovery Trail was developed as part of the Lismore Community Plan to provide opportunity for locals and visitors to experience and enjoy Lismore at close hand and to better understand and appreciate the town’s unique features and settlement history.
Begin the trail across from the Blue Yabby Cafe, Wooltrack Store and Bush Inn Cafe, on the nature strip. Your first stop is the Prospect (Broken Axle) sculpture, installed in 2011.
Head east and follow the footpath veering left onto Ferrers Street. Cross the road at Grey Street and you will find Lone Pine Memorial at Henrietta Lang Park. The pine has been grown from seed from Warrnambool gardens “Lone Pine” which came from Gallipoli in 1915.
Head through Henrietta Lang Park towards the pedestrian bridge and you will find a plaque with information on Browns Waterholes and how the Browns Waterholes Creek cut a channel through to a bedrock of granite 360 million years old. You can view the waterholes when crossing the bridge.
Upon crossing the bridge, you will learn of the Waddawurrung people who occupied this area before Europeans. Camps beside waterholes like these were ideal for gathering water-ribbon tubers, fresh water mussels and hunting waterfowl.
Continue north towards the cemetery. Enjoy the birdlife along the trail towards the cemetery and back and when passing under the highway, via the boardwalk, in the Browns Waterhole precinct.
At Grimwade Park you will find a fenced playground and picnic area, swimming pool, a retired steam locomotive with a story to tell, the Lions Club caravan park and early farm machinery display.
Continue along High Street towards Ferrers Street and you will pass the Historic Precinct which comprises of the Bakery, Pub and Post Office. Walk south of Ferrers Street and you will be presented views of the Flax Mill ruins. A short detour off Ferrers Street and onto William Street west will lead to the Murnong Indigenous Garden, aimed at establishing and operating an Indigenous Plant Garden to promote reconciliation, education and tourism.
Along Seymour Street, at the Recreation Reserve, you will find the Tom Seymore Gates, in memory of Tom Seymour who secured the grounds for recreation in 1876.
The site of the Mechanics Institute and Hall can be found on the left hand side when heading right onto Heriot Street and left onto William Street. The hall was the venue for dances, plays, and visiting speakers and performers of every sort. The hall was condemned by the shire and sold for demolition in about 1991.
Further down you will find the Masonic Hall on the right had side. Along this section of William Street and Heriot Street 190 Eucalypts that were planted in honour of those who served in the First World War by a family or community member who knew them. Of the original 190 trees you can still see a number remaining.
Turn right onto Cunningham Street, cross the highway and turn right towards the Presbyterian Bluestone Church. The Church opened in 1864 and its solid structure and early existence reflects the preponderance of lowland Scots among the early station owners.
Continue back to your starting point stopping by Bills Water Trough, donated to Lismore by Annis & George Bills. One of 700 watering troughs that were manufactured and distributed in Australia and installed to provide relief for working horses in the first half of the twentieth century. The troughs were financed by a trust fund established through the will of George Bills.
Complete the trail at the War Memorial. The granite obelisk was erected in 1931 and opened on the 20th April by Major General H. W. Grimwade and honours those fallen during the First World War, Second World War, Korean War and Vietnam War.
When leaving town, drive west and stop at the Neighbourhood Centre to view the mural and further along the two dancing Brolgas at the Lismore Water Tower at Fairway Coffee and Eatery and the Lismore Golf Club.
Sign up to get the latest deals, tours & events along the Great Ocean Road
Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the Great Ocean Road region the Wadawurrung, Eastern Maar & Gunditjmara. We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging. We recognise and respect their unique cultural heritage and the connection to their traditional lands. We commit to building genuine and lasting partnerships that recognise, embrace and support the spirit of reconciliation, working towards self-determination, equity of outcomes and an equal voice for Australia’s first people.