Hello everyone out there around the world.
I hope that you’re doing well and enjoying your Wednesday walks while you can because in this current climate of post pandemic and Pre possible WW3, we may not be able to get a chance to get in so many more Wednesday walks with such freedom and safety like both our friends from the Ukraine and Russia, so anyway, with thanks to 
And if you haven't been here yet, then check out the link here on #pinmapple so you can write it on your list of travel destinations. [//]:# (!pinmapple -37.103393 lat 149.880703 long the Scenic Seahorse Inn d3scr)
So as you can see from the sign above, yes there are arts and crafts there, but a whole other world existed for the residents of Boyd Town when the Seahorse Inn was built way back in 1843 by the infamous Ben Boyd as he built his 'town'.
According to local historian Angela George who writes in the Eden Magnet newspaper, https://www.edenmagnet.com.au/story/7349747/the-seahorse-and-the-shamrock-early-hotels-on-the-far-south-coast-replete-with-every-convenience/ the district (of Eden) got its first legally licensed premises with Boydtown's Seahorse Hotel in 1843.
Recognising the potential of the area as the lynchpin of his planned maritime and pastoral empire, Benjamin Boyd purchased 640 acres on the southern shores of Twofold Bay in March 1843.
There he founded his self-named private settlement, moving immediately to establish all the necessary conveniences - stores, wells, jetty, church, cottages and, of course, a hotel.
The "...very extensive..." 22-room building was mainly of rubble construction with some locally sourced materials, but in typical Boyd style, Pyrmont sandstone for the foundations, and cedar and oak for doors, mantles and panelling were imported.
Ever the salesman, Boyd began promoting the merits of his inn well before completion, advertising in March 1843 "...for the convenience of passengers going to and returning from Maneroo..." and in April that "...this hotel will be completed in a few weeks..." Four months later, however, it was still unfinished.
Finally, by 1845 the inn had opened its doors and in June that year publican Lawrence Corcoran transferred his license to John Abbot, who was followed shortly afterwards by John A. Kaye.
Looking north towards Eden
Zooming into Eden on the other side of Twofold Bay
Looking south towards Ben Boyd Tower, which was used as a lookout to spot the whales as they came in to the Bay so they could be killed.....😡😭....
Reportedly designed from a sketch plan by Boyd himself, the Seahorse Inn offered first class accommodation for travellers and locals alike, Captain W. H. Saunders claiming in 1846 that it was "...perhaps the most commodious in the colony..."
After Henry M. Rucker, Anthony Falkner took over as licensee in mid-1847 and in 1848 advertised that "...Settlers of Maneroo and the surrounding district will find superior accommodation...together with a choice selection of wines, spirits, beers, &c..." He remained in charge until 1850 when, in the wake of Boyd's financial collapse and the decline of that settlement, he transferred the Seahorse's license and set about establishing the Shamrock in Eden.
On the other hand, however, although the Seahorse Inn gradually became a shell of its former self, good fortune led the Whiter family of Lakes Entrance to the magnificent ruins.
Recognising the potential of those bare bones, they purchased the property and set about restoring the building, ensuring its survival for many generations (and cold drinks) to come.
So who was this Ben Boyd that was audacious enough to build and name a town after himself?
Well according to the history books, not a very nice man.
Born at Merton Hall, Wigtownshire, Scotland,By 1824 Boyd was a stockbroker in London and on 8 October 1840 he addressed a letter to Lord John Russell, stating that he had recently dispatched a vessel entirely his own at a cost of £30,000 for "further developing the resources of Australia and its adjacent Islands"
In a dispatch of Sir George Gipps dated 17 May 1844 he mentioned that Boyd was one of the largest squatters in the country, with 14 stations in the "Maneroo" district and four in the Port Phillip district, amounting together to 381,000 acres (1,540 km2) of land. At about the same period the firm of Boyd and Company had three steamers and three sailing ships in commission.
Boyd became one of the largest landholders and graziers of the Colony of New South Wales before suffering financial difficulties and becoming bankrupt.
Boyd briefly tried his luck on the Californian goldfields before being purportedly murdered on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.[2]
Many of his business ventures involved blackbirding, the practice of enslaving South Sea Islanders.[3]
Large sums of money were also being spent on founding the port of Boydtown, on Twofold Bay on the southeastern coast, which involved the building of a jetty 300 feet (91 m) long, and a lighthouse tower 75 feet (23 m) high.
One of the local galahs...😅..
Four years later a visitor, speaking of the town, mentioned its Gothic church with a spire, commodious stores, well-built brick houses, and "a splendid hotel in the Elizabethan style". At this time Boyd had nine whalers working from this port.
The Royal Bank of Australia, formed in 1839, never carried out more than cursory banking operations. Instead, its funds were fraudulently used to finance Boyd's pastoral, shipping and whaling activities. The bank was liquidated in 1846 with heavy losses incurred by depositors and shareholders.[7]
He was such a mover and shaker in the whaling industry, he built numerous things all over the area to help all of the workers kill even more whales..😭...What a heartless bastard! 😡
The caretakers cottage
In June 1851 Boyd sailed in Wanderer among the Pacific islands with the aim of establishing a "Papuan Republic or Confederation".[1]
Stopping first in Hawaii, Boyd convinced King Kamehameha III to become regent of a Pacific empire ranging from Hawaii and the Marquesas to Samoa and Tonga, but his real plan was to loot them of their presumed resources.[9]
He reconnoitred various South Seas islands and finally settled on two islands in the Solomons to base a South Seas republic. They were San Cristobal (now Makira) and Guadalcanal.
And what we Aussies call the pub bus...
On 15 October 1851, on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, Boyd went ashore with a crew member to shoot game. Soon after entering a small creek in his boat, two shots were heard 15 minutes apart but Boyd never returned.[1] At the same time, the remaining crew aboard Wanderer were involved in a large skirmish with the local population. Muskets, swivel guns and grapeshot were utilised against the natives resulting in over twenty-five fatalities.
A search party later looked for Boyd, finding his boat, belt and an expended firearm cartridge. In days following Boyd's disappearance, his crew raided and destroyed a number of villages in the area now known as Wanderer Bay before sailing for Port Macquarie.[10]
There were afterwards rumours that Boyd had survived and was living on Guadalcanal. At the end of 1854 an expedition led by Captain Lewis Truscott of the vessel Oberon was sent to the islands to make further enquiries. This expedition was able to ascertain that Boyd was initially taken prisoner but was later executed in retribution for the number of villagers killed by the actions of the crew of Wanderer. Boyd's head was cut off and his skull kept locally in a ceremonial house. Truscott was able to purchase Boyd's skull from the leading men of the district and returned with it to Sydney.[11]
And to learn more about the exploitations of this historically shameful man, click on this link here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Boyd.
And although Eden had a bloody start, I am happy to say that they now celebrate whales instead of killing them. https://visiteden.com.au/experience/whale-watching/
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