New South Wales · Attraction
Seahorse Inn and Boydtown
Boyd's unfinished colonial dream
schedule 1 min read / Updated Jun 2026
Boydtown is one of the most evocative ghost-settlement stories on the New South Wales coast. In 1843 Benjamin Boyd, a Scottish-born financier, began building a grand town on Twofold Bay to anchor his pastoral and whaling empire. The centrepiece was the Seahorse Inn, a sandstone and brick hotel of Elizabethan, Tudor, and Georgian character that stood half-finished when Boyd's business empire collapsed in 1849.
The inn stood as a roofless ruin for nearly a century until the Whiter family began restoration in 1936. A full renovation completed in 2006 returned the building to working life, with hand-carved doors, stained-glass windows, winding staircases, and open grate fireplaces all preserved or restored. It now operates as a boutique hotel and restaurant with rooms and a brasserie specialising in fresh local seafood.
Visitors who are not staying can call in for lunch, walk the small beach fronting Quarantine Bay, and absorb the unsettling quiet of a town that never became a town. The stone Bell Tower nearby is another Boyd-era remnant. Between May and October, humpback whales are regularly spotted in the bay from the shoreline.
Boydtown is 6 kilometres south of Eden on Princes Highway. It pairs naturally with a visit to Davidson Whaling Station a short drive away.
Where to stay
Holiday parks near Seahorse Inn and Boydtown.
1 option via our booking partner
Bookings handled by our partner Parkbooker. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Scenic views
Lookouts near Seahorse Inn and Boydtown.
You may also like
Eden
Merimbula
Sapphire Coast
Mallacoota
Narooma
Thredbo
Forster
Bondi
Mount Warning
Lane Cove
Kangaroo Valley
