The Peaks of Lyell

The Peaks of Lyell

Book by Geoffrey Blainey, originally published in 1954. History of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company, and through association, Queenstown the West Coast Tasmania. Unique in that it has gone to the 6th edition in 2000.

Blainey was fortunate in being able to speak to older people about the history of the west coast.

The book gives an interesting overview from the materials and people Blainey was able to access in the early 1950's, and the omissions. Due to the nature of a company history, quite a few items of Queenstown history did have alternative interpretations on events such as the 1912 North Mount Lyell Disaster, and there were residents of Queenstown living in the town as late as the 1970's who differed from the official company history.

Interestingly in 1994 when the Fifth edition was printed, the company closed down and most of the records held by the company were donated to the Archives office of Tasmania. It is highly likely that within sixty years of the publication of Peaks of Lyell alternative views of the history of Queenstown and Mount Lyell might be possible.