Lyall Bay

Lyall Bay
Huetepara (Māori)[1]
Suburb
Full moon over the bay
Full moon over the bay
Map
Coordinates: 41°19′48″S 174°47′37″E / 41.329993°S 174.793505°E / -41.329993; 174.793505
CountryNew Zealand
CityWellington City
Local authorityWellington City Council
Electoral ward
  • Motukairangi/Eastern Ward
  • Te Whanganui-a-Tara Māori Ward
Area
[2]
 • Land55 ha (136 acres)
Population
 (June 2024)[3]
 • Total2,700
AirportsWellington International Airport
Kilbirnie Kilbirnie Rongotai
Melrose
Lyall Bay
 Rongotai
(Cook Strait) Moa Point

Lyall Bay is a bay and suburb on the south side of the Rongotai isthmus in Wellington, New Zealand.

The bay is a popular surf beach, featuring a breakwater at the eastern end. It is home to two surf lifesaving clubs and has also been the site of surf lifesaving championships. Lyall Bay is a very popular and safe swimming beach.[4] The beach is only two thirds of its original size: the construction of Wellington International Airport took away the eastern third of the beach. The suburb consists of most of the southern half of the Rongotai isthmus, although Wellington International Airport and a small industrial area next to it are often considered to be part of Rongotai. Lyall Bay is predominantly a residential area, but also contains a part of Wellington's Southern Walkway and the Southern Headlands Reserve. The suburb has a bus service and is near to the Kilbirnie shopping centre and the Tirangi Road Airport Retail Park. There is a primary school (Lyall Bay School), a Playcentre, a lawn bowls club, two churches and a small range of shops. The suburb is also home to Fat Freddy's Drop, a popular Wellington band. The south-western border has Te Raekaihau Point as the dividing landform to Houghton Bay.

View of Lyall Bay in the early 20th century

Lyall Bay was probably the ancient mouth of the Hutt River.[5] The current isthmus was created by geologic upheaval as a result of recurring earthquakes, notably the Haowhenua earthquake in the fifteenth century and the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake.[6] The 1855 earthquake caused a tsunami that swept over the isthmus between Lyall Bay and Evans Bay, leaving fish stranded amongst the sand dunes.[7]

  1. ^ Reed, A. W. (2010). Peter Dowling (ed.). Place Names of New Zealand. Rosedale, North Shore: Raupo. ISBN 9780143204107.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Area was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Aotearoa Data Explorer". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Lyall Bay". Land, Air, Water Aotearoa (LAWA). Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  5. ^ Graeme R. Stevens, 1974, Rugged Landscape The Geology of Central New Zealand, A H and A W Reed Ltd.
  6. ^ Gardner, J. & Bell, J. [Eds.] 2008. The Taputeranga Marine Reserve, Wellington, NZ., 532 pp.
  7. ^ Downes, G; Grapes, R (1999). The 1855 Wairarapa, New Zealand, earthquake – historical data (PDF). Lower Hutt, New Zealand: Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences. ISBN 0-478-09669-0.