Portrait of J.N. Tyler from Princess Royal station, part of the S.A. Northern Pioneers' composite, 1850-1859 (shown in position on B 6912/1).

John William Tyler (not J N Tyler as the image states) was born in Clifton, Bristol, Gloucestershire on 24 May 1820.

He arrived in South Australia in 1845 and worked as a station manager for the Browne brothers before branching out on his own. He built 'Hillside' homestead near Burra and formed a close working relationship with R J M McBride. As well as owning a property Alindee on the Eastern Plains of South Australia, his Princess Royal Mining Association tried mining at Burra at the same time as the South Australian Mining Association. However the copper found on the Princess Royal site 'pinched out' at depth and the land was returned to pastoral use. However the efforts of the Princess Royal mine captain Tristram Bath ensured that trees along the Burra Creek within the mine site were not cut down for mining operations. This and the care of later pastoral owners ensured the preservation of examples of most species of the original vegatation. This could not be said for the remainder of Burra mining sites.

Tyler sold the lease to Alexander McCulloch in 1863. He built the Princess Royal homestead on the site of the former mining village. The house was designed by architect Edmund Wright, in 1865.

Tyler owned a number of other properties including Bimbowrie, Gum Creek, Outalpa and Winnininnie. In the 1870s he bought land in Currie Street, Adelaide and erected office buildings which included Unity Chambers, Davenport Chambers and Clifton Chambers.

He died at Brighton, Sussex, England on 23 September 1909.