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 the last 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.

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.

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.

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.

Green Cape lighthouse

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.

	Cottages & Cabins
	Quarantine Bay Beach Cottages Princes Hwy Quarantine Bay Boydtown NSW 2551 Telephone: (02) 6496 1483 Facsimile: (02) 6496 1483 Rating: ***1/2