Crown & Anchor, Eden:
By the 1840s, European settlement at Twofold Bay was expanding and not surprisingly, the opportunities for inn keeping were quickly recognised. At the first land sales for the government township of Eden in 1843, William Hirst purchased lots 4 and 5 of Section 1 and soon afterwards began constructing a Regency style building, the settlement’s the first substantial structure and its first licensed premises.
James Rixon took up a lease on the new venue and advertised in December 1844 "...to inform the public that...application will be made at the next licensing day for a publican's license, in the mean time [sic] parties visiting the Bay will be accomodated [sic] with lodging, &c..."
Born in the Hawkesbury in 1806 to James Rixon and Amelia Goodwin, James was one of triplets, an event that made the front page of the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, reputedly the first triplet birth recorded in the colony. He married Elizabeth Hoare in 1833 before moving first to the Monaro and then Twofold Bay, where he entered the shore based whaling industry and established an inn keeping businesses.
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Above: James Rixon.
Image courtesy of James O'Brien.
At the same time, however, Benjamin Boyd had workers busy building Boyd Town on the opposite side of Twofold Bay, with the Seahorse Inn the lynchpin of his self-named settlement. Keen to retain a monopoly on the local innkeeping trade, the entrepreneur convinced magistrates at Broulee to reject Rixon’s application for a hotel license, forcing him to make the lengthy journey to Sydney, where he finally secured a publican’s certificate for his Crown and Anchor Hotel in March 1845.
Fortunately, the licensing process became considerably more straightforward from December 1846 when the Eden Court of Petty Sessions was established, enabling consents and renewals to be obtained locally. Justices of the Peace William Walker Junior and Oswald W. Brierly approved Rixon's certificate for the Crown and Anchor in April 1847, with James Roberts of Eden and Syms Covington of Pambula named as sureties.
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​Like so many others at that time, Crown and Anchor property owners William Hirst and his brother George, Sydney merchants trading as William Hirst and Co, fell victim to the colony’s economic collapse of the early 1840s. George, reportedly “…under very great mental excitement, owing, it was
supposed, to the embarrassed state in which he found his affairs…” took his own life in April 1844. Then, the following year, the company’s estate was placed in bankruptcy, and in 1846, William also passed away, paving the way for Rixon to purchase the freehold. He secured ownership in 1848.
Around that time, the premises also became home to the Eden Post Office.
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The Opening of the Post Office at Eden, 1848, watercolour, by Frederick Garling.
Image courtesy of the National Library of Australia.
In 1853, the Eden Bench issued a temporary license to James Rixon to sell spirits “…at a public place of amusement…” for the New Years Day celebrations taking place at Lake Curalo and the following year, Edward Hill was indicted for “…burglariously entering…” the inn.
Described in 1855 as "...situated in Imlay Street in the town of Eden [and] known as the Crown and Anchor...", the premises was "...100 yards from the nearest licensed house..." and was referred to as "...old...". In a letter two years later, it was noted that “…should any Sydney gentlemen pay Eden a visit, I beg to assure you that they will not come to a miserable bed of sand, but
to as pretty a little town as any in the colony, and get as good accommodation at the Crown and Anchor or Shamrock Inns as in the best hotel Sydney can boast of…” In 1860 the venue’s location was highlighted "…on the summit of the slope from the wharf..."
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From Twofold Bay and Maneroo Telegraph, Tuesday 3 July 1860.
Rixon's Crown and Anchor was the venue of choice for all manner of public activities, including meetings, dinners and presentations. In August 1855, residents gathered to present a purse of seventy sovereigns to Customs Officer Stewart Mowle "...on the occasion of his departure from the district...", while in January the following year, Commissioner of Crown Lands and Police Magistrate Arthur W. Manning was guest of honour at a farewell dinner prior to his removal to the Darling Downs and Moreton Districts. March 1856 saw political hopeful Daniel Egan meet with local electors at the inn to discuss representation of the Monaro, and a month later he was guest of honour at a public dinner at the same venue to mark his election.
James and Elizabeth gained a reputation for their benevolence and generosity, and in 1858 this was recognised when residents gathered at the Crown and Anchor to present Mrs Rixon with "...a handsome silver tea service..." for her "...uniform kindness and general philanthropy...". The accompanying address noted that "...in times of trouble, and in the hour of sickness, we have always found you ready to give your assistance..."
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Firmly established by the onset of the Kiandra gold rush in late 1859, the Crown and Anchor was well placed to take advantage of
of the resulting increase in local traffic. Recognising the opportunities this offered, Rixon moved quickly to improve the facilities, in June 1860 undertaking "...extensive additions to his hostelry, which, when completed, will render the Crown and Anchor worthy of its name..."
Above: Eden, Twofold Bay, by Elizabeth Hudspeth and H. and N. Hanhart. The Crown and Anchor can be seen on the left towards the top of the work.
Image courtesy of Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts, Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office. All rights reserved.
Not immune to the gold fever that gripped the district during that period, James also dabbled in fossicking for the precious metal, and in 1861, it was reported that “About a week ago, Mr. Rixon, of the Crown and Anchor Hotel, brought into Eden nearly an ounce of gold, which he obtained from a small quantity of dirt at a place called Wag Wag [sic]...”
By April the following year, however, James and Elizabeth had moved to Bega to take over the Family Hotel while Mr. T. Matthews assumed the publican’s duties at the Crown and Anchor. When the steam ship City of Sydney was wrecked near Green Cape later that year, he welcomed the four boat loads of survivors at his hotel with a dry bed and comforting meal after a gruelling six-hour row from the site, a passenger recording that "...the shipwrecked people were hospitably received at Mr. T. Matthews' Crown and Anchor Hotel, Eden..."
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From Manaro Mercury, and Cooma and Bombala Advertiser, Friday 6 March, 1863.
By September 1863, Daniel Goldsmith had taken over the Crown and Anchor. No stranger to innkeeping locally, he had formerly held the license of Eden’s Court House Hotel. The following month, he was given permission “…to have music and dancing in his licensed house at Eden…” and in November, was granted a Bagatelle* license. Then, in January and May 1864 he was temporarily authorised to sell spirits at the Eden Racecourse.
In July 1865, however, the Eden Bench cancelled Goldsmith’s license, and in August James Rixon advertised the premises to let “…to a suitable tenant; the terms will be liberal…” It would appear that no one took up the opportunity however, and after renewing the license in 1865 and 1866, he appears to have let it lapse.
​Afterwards, the building was home to local postmaster Charles Kebby and his wife Martha; and later their daughter Alice and her husband Thomas Wellings; and has been known at various times as Sherwood Cottage and Edgecliff.
The oldest building now standing in the Eden township and one of the earliest remaining in the local government area, it now operates as a bed and breakfast.
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[* A billiards – like game.]
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NOTE: This property is privately owned. Inclusion in this publication does not indicate or imply any general or specific permission for the general public to have access.
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© Angela George. All rights reserved.
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Above: A view of the Crown and Anchor and environs from the Lookout, C. 1950s / 60s.
Image courtesy of the George Family Collection.
Approximate location of the Crown and Anchor.
References and bibliography:
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A Paper on the Identity of the Crown and Anchor, July 1983 - Documents Discovered at 239 Imlay Street.
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Balfe, R. R. (comp.), Shipping in Ports of the Bega Valley Shire Region 1803 - 1846, October 1995.
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AONSW, Bench Books Bega Court of Petty Sessions.
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Bega District News
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Brisbane Courier
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Certificates Authorising the Granting of Liquor Licenses, 1855-56.
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Clarke, Patricia, A Colonial Woman - The Life and Times of Mary Braidwood Mowle, Eden Killer Whale Museum, 3rd edition, 2000.
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Cornell, John Bernard (comp.), Local History Notes, n.p., n.d.
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AONSW, Bench Books Eden Court of Petty Sessions
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Empire
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Gardner, Lyndsay, Eden-Monaro to 1850 - A Regional History, unpublished thesis, University College, Canberra, ACT.
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Illawarra Mercury
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McKenzie, J. A. S., The Twofold Bay Story, Eden Killer Whale Museum, 1991.
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Melbourne Argus
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NSW Births, Deaths and Marriage records.
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NSW Colonial Secretary's Publican's License Certificates
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NSW Government Gazette
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Perkins, J. A., Index to J. A. Perkins Papers, Monaro District Items 1823 - 1858, vols. 1, 2, Manly, NSW
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Perkins Papers, National Library of Australia
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Ryan, Kenneth Bruce, Towns and Settlements of the South Coast, NSW, PhD, Australian National University, 1965.
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Shipping Gazette
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Sydney Morning Herald
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Twofold Bay and Maneroo Telegraph
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