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Story: Waikato places

Roadside Stories: Coal and clay from Huntly

The coal seams around Huntly have been mined since the 1870s, and today provide about 40% of New Zealand’s coal, feeding the massive Huntly power station and the Glenbrook steel mill. Local clay is the source of Huntly’s distinctive bricks, as well as of iconic Crown Lynn pottery.

Listen to a Roadside Story about Huntly. Roadside Stories is a series of audio guides to places around New Zealand.

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How to cite this page

Nancy Swarbrick, Waikato places – Huntly, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/35230/roadside-stories-coal-and-clay-from-huntly (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 5 January 2012, updated 11 June 2015.