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Story: West Coast places

Cliff Street, Lyell

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Cliff Street, Lyell

Lyell was a thriving gold-mining town in the 1880s and 1890s, and a major stopping point on the winding road through the upper Buller Gorge. This view along the main road shows a coach about to depart. Most of the trees have been removed from the surrounding hills.

The town was abandoned by the middle of the 20th century, and nowadays it is the site of a Department of Conservation camping ground. The forest has regenerated.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: 1/2-043238; F

by James Ring

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Simon Nathan, West Coast places – Buller valley, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/20971/cliff-street-lyell (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Simon Nathan, published 3 March 2009.