The Crown and Anchor Inn, Eden

The Crown and Anchor Inn (239 Imlay Street, Eden) was the first substantial building in Eden (previously only slab and bark huts had been erected) and today is the oldest standing building in Eden. It is an elegant Regency building.

It was built in the mid-1840s by William Hirst. The Crown & Anchor’s first license for the sale of ‘Fermented and Spirituous Liquors’ was issued to James Rixon in March 1845, and he secured ownership of the building from William and George Hirst in 1848 after the Hirst brothers became bankrupt.

ames Rixon and his wife Elizabeth continued to operate the Inn until 1861, after which they moved to Bega to take over the running of the Family Hotel (now the Bega Pioneers’ Museum). The Inn gained a reputation for providing ‘as good accommodation as the best hotel Sydney can boast of’
and the Rixon’s themselves were renowned for their local benevolence. They and the Inn certainly benefitted from the start of the Kiandra goldrush in late 1859 and, recognising the opportunities this presented, Rixon moved quickly to improve the facilities undertaking ‘extensive additions to his hostelry’.

The Crown & Anchor Inn’s liquor licence was cancelled in mid-1865. In 1868 it was briefly used as the town’s Telegraph Office, then became a private residence. Today it operates as a bed & breakfast establishment.