Built on an undulating landscape Eden overlooks a deep natural harbour and is surrounded by National Park with endless magnificent beaches, river estuaries, hidden coves and bushwalking trails. With amazing geological features and a fascinating history, Eden is located on the Sapphire Coast, so-called for its deep-blue, sun-sparkled waters. Eden is in the centre of TwoFold Bay which covers an area of over 30 square kilometres with two distinct bights, Calle Calle Bay and Nullica Bay.

Boydtown Beach

We chose to stay at the “Discovery Caravan Park Eden”, nestled around Nullica Bay, which is actually located in Boydtown, a short drive from Eden. The locality of Boydtown was established in the 1840s by well-connected Scottish rogue entrepreneur Ben Boyd, who came to Australia to set up the Royal Bank of Australia but instead spent the shareholders’ funds on purchasing enormous landholdings and shipping and whaling enterprises for himself. After seven very giddy years and a stint in the New South Wales Legislative Council for Port Phillip, Boyd left the country as a bankrupt and was subsequently murdered on the Solomon Islands in 1851.

Eden’s Amazing Whaling History

Long before the white man arrived at Eden, the local indigenous people, the Yuin tribe has a spiritual and practical associations with the killer whales and often feasted on the baleen whales that the killer whales had driven onto the beach. During the period 1840 to 1930 a pod of killer whales, which included amongst its members a distinctive male called “Old Tom”, would assist whalers in hunting baleen whales. The killer whales would find target whales, shepherd them into Twofold Bay and then often swim many kilometres away to alert the whalers at their cottage to their presence and then lead the whalers back to the location.

Beautiful Beaches

During springtime whale watching draws thousand to the area including visitors in cruise ships. All year round, Eden is a mecca for fishing, diving, beach-going and exploring the surrounding National Parks.

The Mysterious Shipwreck a catalyst for Catholic Education in Eden

On 30 May 1886 the passenger ship Ly-ee-Moon steamed onto the rocks directly below the Green Cape Lighthouse, approximately twenty-five kilometres south of Eden, with the loss of seventy lives, including Mrs. Flora Mackillop the mother of Australia’s only Saint, Mary MacKillop. Fifteen of the crew survived. The cause of the shipwreck remains a mystery. Unlike many bodies which were mauled by sharks or dash against rocks, Flora MacKillops body was largely unmarked, and her face was reportedly fixed with a smile of peacefulness. Filled with gratitude to the Eden community for the care of her mother’s body, Mary MacKillop sent three sisters to establish a school and convent in 1891. Classes were conducted in the church built in 1860.

Our Lady, Star of the Sea, Eden

Built below the old church, Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church is set on a tranquil ledge with heavenly views of Twofold Bay even from within the building itself. The unique whaling boat front of the alter providing a Galilee moment for visitors to the friendly and welcoming community.