# Kyeburn

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kyeburn
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kyeburn.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyeburn
> Source revision: 1336341631
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Small settlement in New Zealand

Kyeburn

**Kyeburn** is a small settlement in [Otago](/source/Otago), in the [South Island](/source/South_Island) of [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand). It lies on the [Maniototo](/source/Maniototo), a wide, high plain stretching from the end of the [Strath-Taieri](/source/Strath-Taieri) valley.

Kyeburn stands at the junction of [State Highways 85](/source/New_Zealand_State_Highway_85) ("The Pigroot") and [87](/source/New_Zealand_State_Highway_87), some 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) east of [Ranfurly](/source/Ranfurly%2C_New_Zealand), on the Kyeburn Stream, a minor tributary of the [Taieri River](/source/Taieri_River).[1] The stream's name, from which the settlement gets its name, is one of those within "[Thomson's Barnyard](/source/Thomson's_Barnyard)", an area dotted with northern English farmyard animal names, all given by early Otago surveyor [John Turnbull Thomson](/source/John_Turnbull_Thomson). The area was, in its early years of settlement, called Cows Creek. ("kye" is a [Northumbrian](/source/Northumberland) term for cows).[2]

The area around Kyeburn was a busy mining location during the latter part of the [Otago gold rush](/source/Otago_gold_rush), with the mining settlement of [Kyeburn Diggings](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kyeburn_Diggings&action=edit&redlink=1) (sometimes called Upper Kyeburn) located some 10 kilometres to the north of Kyeburn itself.[1]

## The Murder of Mary Young

Kyeburn would be flung into national and international infamy at the beginning of the 1880s when long-time resident Mary Young was murdered on 3 August 1880. This murder was shocking to many residents and garnered media attention during the trial that followed. Young died from the injuries that were inflicted on her with large stones from her garden before any definite culprit could be found. Because of this, the police struggled to find a motive, let alone the identity of the culprit. The only lead they had initially was discovered through talking to Young before she died, as she indicated that the person that attacked her was of Chinese origin. Despite the lack of evidence, a lengthy trial would find a Chinese man by the name of Ah Lee guilty. He was a miner who had only been in the area for a short period of time and was indicted based on largely circumstantial evidence. Although he was convicted and executed, a lot of people believed that Lee was not guilty, after many fallacies in the prosecution came to light, including the fact that the interpreter who the police used did not fully understand the type of Chinese. The interpreter was a Seyuip Cantonese and Lee of Panyu origin, resulting in about a 40% understanding between the two.[3]

## Fossil moa trackway

In March 2019, a series of seven [moa](/source/Moa) footprints were discovered in the Kyeburn River by Michael Johnston, a local tractor-driver. This was the first fossilised trackway known from the South Island; all previous finds were made in the North Island. Johnston alerted curator Kane Fleury at [Tūhura Otago Museum](/source/T%C5%ABhura_Otago_Museum) in Dunedin to the discovery. The river was diverted, and the footprints were removed to the museum.[4] Study of the footprints published in 2023 revealed they were around 3.6 million years old, the second-oldest evidence of moa in New Zealand. They were likely made by a relative of the [heavy-footed moa](/source/Heavy-footed_moa) around 1,095 mm (43.1 in) tall at the hip and weighing around 85 kg (187 lb), walking at 2.6 km/h (1.6 mph). A single, faint footprint was made by a [giant moa](/source/Dinornis) with an estimated weight of 158 kg (348 lb).[5][6]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Wises_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Wises_1-1) *Wise's New Zealand guide* (1969) Dunedin: H. Wise & Co. pp. 129–130.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Reed, A.W. (1975) *Place names of New Zealand.* Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed. pp. 123 and 219

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Kyeburn Murder"](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MIC18800828.2.11). *Mount Ida Chronicle*. No. 572. 28 August 1880. Retrieved 25 August 2016 – via PapersPast.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** McNeilly, Hamish (10 May 2019). ["Tractor driver finds South Island's first moa footprints in Otago river"](https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/112561679/tractor-driver-finds-south-islands-first-moa-footprints-in-otago-river). *Stuff*. Retrieved 14 May 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** McNeilly, Hamish (15 November 2023). ["Moa's ark - the remarkable find of footprints in an Otago river"](https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/133290881/moas-ark---the-remarkable-find-of-footprints-in-an-otago-river). *Stuff*. Retrieved 14 May 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Fleury, Kane; Burns, Emma; Richards, Marcus D.; Norton, Kevin; Read, Stephen; Wesley, Rachel; Ewan Fordyce, R.; Wilcken, Klaus (19 October 2024). ["The moa footprints from the Pliocene – early Pleistocene of Kyeburn, Otago, New Zealand"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11459810). *Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand*. **54** (5): 620–642. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/03036758.2023.2264789](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F03036758.2023.2264789). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [11459810](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11459810).

v t e Central Otago District, New Zealand Seat: Alexandra Populated places Cromwell Ward Bannockburn Bendigo Cromwell Kawarau Gorge Lindis Pass Lowburn Pisa Moorings Tarras Maniototo Ward Danseys Pass Gimmerburn Ida Valley Kyeburn Naseby Oturehua Paerau Patearoa Ranfurly Waipiata Wedderburn Teviot Valley Ward Ettrick Lake Roxburgh Millers Flat Raes Junction Roxburgh Vincent Ward Alexandra Becks Cambrians Clyde Earnscleugh Fruitlands Galloway Lauder Omakau Ophir Poolburn St Bathans Geographic features Cromwell Gorge Lake Dunstan Greenland Reservoir Lake Manuherikia Maniototo Plain Manorburn Dam Facilities and attractions Alexandra Aerodrome Alexandra Blossom Festival Alexandra bridges Deadman's Point Bridge Central Otago wine region Highlands Motorsport Park Molyneux Park Government District Council Mayor Regional Council Other The Cromwell Argus Dunstan High School

[45°8′48″S 170°15′24″E / 45.14667°S 170.25667°E / -45.14667; 170.25667](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Kyeburn&params=45_8_48_S_170_15_24_E_region:NZ_type:city)

This Otago geography article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

- [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Otago-geo-stub)
- [t](/source/Template_talk%3AOtago-geo-stub)
- [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Otago-geo-stub)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kyeburn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyeburn) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyeburn?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.