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The Lyell.ca.1920`s
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DescriptionLyell lies on State Highway 6, 18 km northeast of Inangahua.
Lyell was named by the geologist Julius von Haast after the British geologist Charles Lyell.
The gold rush in Lyell began in 1862 when Māori prospectors found gold in Lyell Creek, a tributary of the Buller River. In 1869 two Italian miners, Antonio Zala and Giorgio Zanetti, discovered gold in quartz veins in the Lyell Creek area. The mine in this quartz reef was worked from 1872 until 1912. Gold in quartz reefs was successfully mined in only two places on the West Coast: Lyell and Reefton.
The settlement grew quickly with a population of about 100 in 1863, despite the area being inaccessible, difficult to work and prone to flooding. In the 1870s Lyell had a main street, Cliff St, with banks, newspaper offices and hotels. The population grew to more than 2000 in the late 1880s.[6] By 1901 the population was 90 with 40 children at the school and in 1905 the Alpine Extended Gold Mining Co Ltd still employed 60 people.
Local newspapers were published during the height of settlement: the Lyell Argus and Matakitaki Advertiser from 1873 to 1882 and the Lyell Times and Central Buller Gazette from 1881 to 1898. The newspaper office and other buildings in Cliff St were destroyed by a fire in 1896.Date of Photoca.1920`sMap[1] ContributorDenise Inwood-McKnight
Lyell was named by the geologist Julius von Haast after the British geologist Charles Lyell.
The gold rush in Lyell began in 1862 when Māori prospectors found gold in Lyell Creek, a tributary of the Buller River. In 1869 two Italian miners, Antonio Zala and Giorgio Zanetti, discovered gold in quartz veins in the Lyell Creek area. The mine in this quartz reef was worked from 1872 until 1912. Gold in quartz reefs was successfully mined in only two places on the West Coast: Lyell and Reefton.
The settlement grew quickly with a population of about 100 in 1863, despite the area being inaccessible, difficult to work and prone to flooding. In the 1870s Lyell had a main street, Cliff St, with banks, newspaper offices and hotels. The population grew to more than 2000 in the late 1880s.[6] By 1901 the population was 90 with 40 children at the school and in 1905 the Alpine Extended Gold Mining Co Ltd still employed 60 people.
Local newspapers were published during the height of settlement: the Lyell Argus and Matakitaki Advertiser from 1873 to 1882 and the Lyell Times and Central Buller Gazette from 1881 to 1898. The newspaper office and other buildings in Cliff St were destroyed by a fire in 1896.Date of Photoca.1920`sMap[1] ContributorDenise Inwood-McKnight
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Location (city or town)Lyell
Category Information
Category TagGhost town
From Facebook
Date Created16th July 2018CommentsBrian McIntyre
As I drive through Lyell now its difficult for me to picture where all of those buildings were
Heather Newby
Brian McIntyre same
· Reply · 7h
Richard Howe
Brian McIntyre Bryan, there used to be an information board there, is it not there anymore?
Kaye Millar
Richard Howe yes it is still there ...
Dorothy Wills
Interesting
Geoff Roberts
Dorothy Wills Margaret Browns book on the Lyell is great read....so much history..think Murch museum has it...
Richard Howe
Geoff Roberts It's a wonderful book.
Geoff Roberts
Richard Howe Sure is....
Joy Beveridge
Geoff Roberts Must see if I can get it. Mum was born and raised there.
Geoff Roberts
Joy Beveridge
Geoff Roberts
Joy Beveridge Probably best to look in 2nd hand book exchange... think it's been outa print for yrs
Joy Beveridge
Geoff Roberts, will do...thanks
Robyn Halkett
So Antonio's flat .. ? I wonder if it was that Antonio mentioned
Jeff Sherman
I did not know that Lyell was named by Haast, very unusual, as he normally named every other place or landform after himself.
Colleen Yee
Good to see a different photo of Lyell, it was not an easy place to reach back in the 1880s.
Iri Sinclair
Why do they say 2 Maori prospectors and no names. But they know the names of other nationalities. First level racism?
Bevan Grooby
Iri Sinclair I think it is a case of they don’t know who they were,otherwise they would have names.
Roger Strong
Obviously reading in racism where its likely there was none - 'modern' concept.
Iri Sinclair
Bevan Grooby may be.
Iri Sinclair
The names of Maori goldminers are in all the Canterbury Provincial Council and other colonial records.
Iri Sinclair
Roger Strong You may be right
Kia ora!
Bob Laing
Iri Sinclair
Bit premature with your misguided racist comments.
Marilyn Corson
Ty for sharing
Phyllis Aberhart
The Broadway Tearooms in Reefton used to have the history of Lyell on its walls till about 15/20 years ago when it changed ownership. They took them down to paint the insides & never put them up again. I sometimes wonder what happened to them. It would be sad if they've been "lost" forever
Iri Sinclair
Phyllis Aberhart So much history is sadly sent to landfill. History house is great though x
Richard Howe
Amazing how many towns were built on the side of a cliff, or gully back in those days.
Bob Laing
Richard Howe
There was not where else to build as the whole area is ridge country with no flat land
Dennis Gibbs
My Grandmother's family lived there at one stage.
Jo-Anne Smith
Thank you for sharing!!! As I know the Mangoes family had the pub and the the post office as I am a descendent of that family
When the family sold the hotel there was a lot of family history in the hotel and it was all burnt in a fire in the 1950s round then I think
Melva Crampton
Jo-Anne Smith Yes!
Ian Andrew Jonson
1963?
Keith Ross
I went to school with Ray Mangoes in Greymouth he originally came from Lyell, such a nice chap. He became a chemist I believe in NZ died very young, would love to know more of his history
Colin Harman
There was a bit of old gear up the creek that had been used to crush the rocks amazing to see it just as they left it
Bob Laing
Ivan remember the last of the old buildings as we used to drive that way in the mid 1950s and my father would tell us the history of the place.
Richard Byrne
Great memories
Jewel Lemon
Have the last photos of Newman’s last Bus ride to coast,This was there change over post
Warner Nut Curry
Thanks Heather very interesting
· Reply ·
· 1d
Yvonne Jean
very interesting
Graham Mahy
love this place
Keith Douthett
This confirms much of my research. I am a descendant of Andrew Wilson Douthett and his wife Hannah (Jones), and their son Andrew George, who along with his sister Isabella (Junker), went to the Lyell school.
Susan Stewart
My grandmother often mentioned Lyell, she was Lucy Hutchings and my grandfather was William.
Tex Everett
Clever that they were able to get to an "inaccessable" place where according to this story they mined gold. ODD that.
Maxine McKelvie
Dad would get his mail at the post office and have a wee drinkie at the pub on the way home...
Marie Spittal
Maxine, your old Uncle Nick used to walk to the Lyell from the farm to collect his mail.
Maxine McKelvie
Marie Spittal bet he stopped at the pub on the way home too....
Shirley Phibbs
Our grandparents were married at the Lyell. We have a wonderful photo of them dressed in their finery and sitting on a log in the bush.
David Hopgood
Through the 1960s & 70s we used to stop to harvest from abandoned fruit trees
Richard Howe
David Hopgood And i'll bet that the fruit was delicious too David. All those old fashioned fruit trees that you can't get these days.
As I drive through Lyell now its difficult for me to picture where all of those buildings were
Heather Newby
Brian McIntyre same
· Reply · 7h
Richard Howe
Brian McIntyre Bryan, there used to be an information board there, is it not there anymore?
Kaye Millar
Richard Howe yes it is still there ...
Dorothy Wills
Interesting
Geoff Roberts
Dorothy Wills Margaret Browns book on the Lyell is great read....so much history..think Murch museum has it...
Richard Howe
Geoff Roberts It's a wonderful book.
Geoff Roberts
Richard Howe Sure is....
Joy Beveridge
Geoff Roberts Must see if I can get it. Mum was born and raised there.
Geoff Roberts
Joy Beveridge
Geoff Roberts
Joy Beveridge Probably best to look in 2nd hand book exchange... think it's been outa print for yrs
Joy Beveridge
Geoff Roberts, will do...thanks
Robyn Halkett
So Antonio's flat .. ? I wonder if it was that Antonio mentioned
Jeff Sherman
I did not know that Lyell was named by Haast, very unusual, as he normally named every other place or landform after himself.
Colleen Yee
Good to see a different photo of Lyell, it was not an easy place to reach back in the 1880s.
Iri Sinclair
Why do they say 2 Maori prospectors and no names. But they know the names of other nationalities. First level racism?
Bevan Grooby
Iri Sinclair I think it is a case of they don’t know who they were,otherwise they would have names.
Roger Strong
Obviously reading in racism where its likely there was none - 'modern' concept.
Iri Sinclair
Bevan Grooby may be.
Iri Sinclair
The names of Maori goldminers are in all the Canterbury Provincial Council and other colonial records.
Iri Sinclair
Roger Strong You may be right
Kia ora!
Bob Laing
Iri Sinclair
Bit premature with your misguided racist comments.
Marilyn Corson
Ty for sharing
Phyllis Aberhart
The Broadway Tearooms in Reefton used to have the history of Lyell on its walls till about 15/20 years ago when it changed ownership. They took them down to paint the insides & never put them up again. I sometimes wonder what happened to them. It would be sad if they've been "lost" forever
Iri Sinclair
Phyllis Aberhart So much history is sadly sent to landfill. History house is great though x
Richard Howe
Amazing how many towns were built on the side of a cliff, or gully back in those days.
Bob Laing
Richard Howe
There was not where else to build as the whole area is ridge country with no flat land
Dennis Gibbs
My Grandmother's family lived there at one stage.
Jo-Anne Smith
Thank you for sharing!!! As I know the Mangoes family had the pub and the the post office as I am a descendent of that family
When the family sold the hotel there was a lot of family history in the hotel and it was all burnt in a fire in the 1950s round then I think
Melva Crampton
Jo-Anne Smith Yes!
Ian Andrew Jonson
1963?
Keith Ross
I went to school with Ray Mangoes in Greymouth he originally came from Lyell, such a nice chap. He became a chemist I believe in NZ died very young, would love to know more of his history
Colin Harman
There was a bit of old gear up the creek that had been used to crush the rocks amazing to see it just as they left it
Bob Laing
Ivan remember the last of the old buildings as we used to drive that way in the mid 1950s and my father would tell us the history of the place.
Richard Byrne
Great memories
Jewel Lemon
Have the last photos of Newman’s last Bus ride to coast,This was there change over post
Warner Nut Curry
Thanks Heather very interesting
· Reply ·
· 1d
Yvonne Jean
very interesting
Graham Mahy
love this place
Keith Douthett
This confirms much of my research. I am a descendant of Andrew Wilson Douthett and his wife Hannah (Jones), and their son Andrew George, who along with his sister Isabella (Junker), went to the Lyell school.
Susan Stewart
My grandmother often mentioned Lyell, she was Lucy Hutchings and my grandfather was William.
Tex Everett
Clever that they were able to get to an "inaccessable" place where according to this story they mined gold. ODD that.
Maxine McKelvie
Dad would get his mail at the post office and have a wee drinkie at the pub on the way home...
Marie Spittal
Maxine, your old Uncle Nick used to walk to the Lyell from the farm to collect his mail.
Maxine McKelvie
Marie Spittal bet he stopped at the pub on the way home too....
Shirley Phibbs
Our grandparents were married at the Lyell. We have a wonderful photo of them dressed in their finery and sitting on a log in the bush.
David Hopgood
Through the 1960s & 70s we used to stop to harvest from abandoned fruit trees
Richard Howe
David Hopgood And i'll bet that the fruit was delicious too David. All those old fashioned fruit trees that you can't get these days.
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West Coast New Zealand History (17th Dec 2021). The Lyell.ca.1920`s. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 4th Apr 2026 13:05, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/23571