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| Sea Horse Inn, the only
building at Boydtown |
Boydtown
Historic whaling station set in the beautiful Ben Boyd
National Park
Boydtown (506 km south of Sydney via the Princes Highway)
and East Boyd are two ghost towns on the southern shore of
Twofold Bay, opposite Eden. Little came of the grandiose
plans of the towns' founder, Benjamin Boyd, and little
remains at the site today.
Benjamin Boyd was a wealthy London stockbroker who came
to Australia to seek his fortune. Boyd had a scheme to enter
into shipping and pastoral enterprises, arguing that large
steamships were required to serve the needs of the south
coast.Settlers were reliant upon sea travel. Boyd persuaded
many British investors to participate financially.
He arrived in 1842 and established a coastal steamship
service. To finance operations Boyd had floated a banking
company, the Royal Bank of Australia, with a nominal capital
of one million pounds.
Boyd quickly put the 'Seahorse' paddle-steamer into
operation. It covered the southern route from Sydney to
Twofold Bay and Hobart. Within two years of his arrival Boyd
had also become one of the largest landholders in the colony
with nearly two and a half million acres in the Riverina and
Monaro regions upon which were 158 000 sheep and 21 000
cattle. Boyd decided that Twofold Bay would serve as the
port for his enterprises in the Monaro hinterland. Grandiose
plans were made for the establishment of a township and the
construction of Boydtown commenced in 1843.
Shore whaling and the related oil extraction process had
been established on the bay for fifteen years and Boyd added
both to his other enterprises, undertaking the settlement of
East Boyd for this purpose.
Boyd was a firm believer in low wages for his employees
and had difficulty finding recruits for his various
enterprises. His solution was to begin importing natives
from the Pacific Islands in 1847 as a source of cheap labour
but most had to be returned by the end of the year due to
objections from liberals, humanitarians and Australian
labourers, who saw a threat to their own interests.
The extensive expenditures required for establishing
Boydtown soon began to weigh heavily against Boyd's assets.
He had overreached himself with his investments. To make
matters worse, the 'Seahorse' had been irreparably damaged
after striking a rock In 1849 the liquidators were called
in. All operations at Twofold Bay ceased, most of the
construction still incomplete; Boyd's whole colonial
endeavour a fairly spectacular failure. Benjamin Boyd left
for the California goldfields in 1849. He disappeared at
Guadalcanal in 1851.
Things to see:
Tourist Information
The Eden Visitor Information Centre is located in Imlay St,
tel: (02) 6496 1953.
Sea Horse Inn
The principal relic of Boyd's adventures is the Sea Horse
Inn.Symbolic of Boydtown itself the hotel was built of
convict labour and never fully completed. For the first
thirty years of this century it was left vacant, reduced to
a mere shell due to vandalism and deterioration, but was
renovated by the Whiter brothers who purchased it in 1936,
later adding a second storey. Full restoration occurred in
the 1980s.
The Inn is situated amidst attractive gardens and was
constructed on the shores overlooking Twofold Bay. Mostly
Elizabethan in its conception it has Tudor and Georgian
elements. It features hand-carved doors, stained-glass
ornamention, winding staircases, large open grates, gothic
arches and attic bedrooms.
Although the foundation was made of sandstone from
Pyrmont in Sydney, lugged from the shore to the site by
bullock wagon, the rest of the hotel was constructed of
local stone, thousands of red brick (from clay quarried
nearby) and pit-sawn hardwood, with cedar and oak fittings
from England.
Perched on a ridge near the inn are the ruins of a
church. The building was never completed or used.
To get there follow the Princes Highway south of Eden for
8 km then turn left at the gates into Boydtown Park Rd and
it is 500 m to the carpark of the inn.
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| The dramatic rocks near
Boyd's Tower |
Davidson Whaling Station
18 km south of Eden, via the Princes Highway, there is a
turnoff on the left into Edrom Rd (look for the sign marked
'Greencape Lighthouse'). If you follow it for 11 km and turn
left into Boyd Rd it is 4 km to Davidson Whaling Station,
located at the mouth of the Towamba River. The station,
proclaimed an historic site in 1986, is now under the
authority of the National Parks and Wildlife Service who
have restored existing materials and developed visitor
facilities.
Alexander Davidson was a carpenter by trade who had
worked for Benjamin Boyd in the 1840s. He opened the whaling
station in the 1860s and it became a family concern,
utilising traditional bay whaling procedures, until the
death of the industry in the 1920s. Little remains today but
it is worth a visit as the site has been well overseen and
there is sufficient interpretive and explanatory text,
illustration and photographs to help the visitor imagine
what the area must have been like when the station was
operational.
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| Boardwalks at Davidson
Whaling Station |
Boyd's Tower
Return to Edrom Rd and turn left, continuing north for 4 km.
Near the end of the road is a sign, marked 'Ben Boyd
National Park - Tower', which directs you to turn right onto
a gravel road which leads to the extremity of the promontory
on Twofold Bay's southern shore. Here you will find a solid,
monolithic structure built of Pyrmont sandstone from Sydney.
It was intended as a prominent landmark to reflect upon the
glory of Boyd's good name and enterprises, as well as a
whaling lookout and a lighthouse.
Like most things associated with Boyd, it was never
completed and permission for its use as a lighthouse was
refused. However, it did serve as a whale-spotting site.
Although the walls and the stonework at the crest of the
tower were finished lightning has dislodged some of the
latter. The letters B-O-Y-D are clearly chiselled into the
stones forming the apex of the tower. The woodwork of the
internal staircase has been destroyed.
The tower was designed by Oswald Brierly, an English
artist and student of naval architecture, who accompanied
Benjamin Boyd to Australia. Brierly lived at Twofold Bay for
some five years acting as a sort of manager of the whaling
site at East Boyd. Years later he was appointed official
Marine Painter to Queen Victoria and was subsequently
knighted.
Edrom Lodge
Boyd's tower can be viewed as part of a walk which departs
from Edrom Lodge, a Federation-style building (1910-1913)
now used as an educational hostel by the Forestry
Commission, although it is open to anyone if room is
available. General facilities are supplied but linen,
blankets, food and toiletries are not. A ranger is in
residence to supply information on the geologically,
biologically and botanically interesting walking tracks
which have been created, and on other activities in the
area. It lies along a side road at the northern end of Edrom
Rd, tel: (02) 6496 1510.
Harris Daishowa Chipmill
Within walking distance of the Lodge is the controversial
Harris Daishowa Chipmill which has a visitor's centre for
interested parties. It is also located along a side road at
the end of Edrom Rd, tel: (02) 6496 0222.
Ben Boyd National Park - Saltwater Bay
Boydtown is also surrounded by the superb Ben Boyd National
Park and a host of other natural attractions. The southern
section of the park is accessed via the aforementioned Edrom
Rd which heads east off the Princes Highway 18 km south of
Eden. 6 km from the highway take the good gravel road on the
right (Green Cape Rd) which heads south. 8 km along this
road there is a T-intersection. Turn left and, after another
4 km, there is another T-junction. Turn right and it is 4 km
to Saltwater Bay (the route is signposted), a fine swimming
and fishing location. A 9-km walking track heads south along
the coast through high heaths, rugged cliffs, rock platforms
and beaches to Bittangabee Bay, another fine fishing and
swimming location. There are campsites with picnic areas,
fireplaces, pit toilets and some tank water at both
Saltwater and Bittangabee. The latter can also be reached by
road.
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| Disaster Bay in Ben Boyd
National Park |
Ben Boyd National Park - Disaster Bay Lookout and
Bittangabee Bay
If you ignore the Saltwater Bay turnoff and continue south
on Green Cape Rd, 4 km will bring you to Disaster Bay
Lookout which offers a prospect over Disaster Bay, Wonboyn
Lake and Nadgee Nature Reserve.
Just past the lookout, on the left is another turnoff to
the left which will take you out to Bittangabee Bay, a base
for the whaling operations of the Imlay Brothers, taken over
by Boyd in 1848. The stone ruins of an old house set amidst
a garden area, probably started by the Imlays but never
completed, can be found adjacent to the Bittangabee camping
area. There are interpretive signs. The beaches at
Bittangabee, Green Glades, Jane Spiers and Newtons are all
good spots for swimming, fishing and picnicking.
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| Green Cape lighthouse
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Ben Boyd National Park - Green Cape Lighthouse
If you follow Green Cape Road past the Bittangabee turnoff,
you will pass a turnoff on the left to Pool Bit Rock and one
on the right to City Rock. Both are noted fishing spots.
At the end of Green Cape Rd is the Cape itself, at the
south-eastern tip of the park. The view from the promontory
is outstanding. Here is an historic cemetery which bears
witness to the 71 people who lost their lives in the wreck
of the Ly-ee-Moon, one of many ships which foundered around
the appropriately named Disaster Bay in the nineteenth
century. Hence it is also the site of of a lighthouse,
originally kerosene-powered, built in 1881 on the rocky
headland. This spot is popular with scuba divers and affords
impressive views of the area. Pulpit Rocks is considered one
of the best locations for land-based fishing, especially if
you are after kingfish or yellowfin tuna.
Fisheries Beach Walk
If you wish to find out more about the area's forests you
might consider going on the Fisheries Beach Walk, an
instructive one to two-hour ranger-guided tour along beach,
sand dune and rock face and through the adjacent state
forest on the southern shore of Twofold Bay. For more
information on charges, bookings and preparations, or for
general information on the area's state forests contact The
Forest Shop, 44 Bass St, Eden, tel: (02) 6496 1500.
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Boydtown
