Calls for historic NSW far south coast village to be renamed over 'racist' links to slavery 

The controversial name of a historic beachside village on the New South Wales far south coast is under threat over its racist origins to slave labour.

There are growing calls led by the local indigenous community for the name of Boydtown to be dropped, associated with the Scottish colonial entrepreneur who founded the Sapphire Coast village in the mid 19th century.

A short drive from the nearby town of Eden, Boydtown was the original settlement in Twofold Bay founded by Benjamin Boyd, regarded as Australia’s first ‘Blackbirder’ who shipped South Sea Islanders to Australia and exploited them as slave labour. 

Boyd’s controversial legacy has come under increased scrutiny in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and a renewed campaign on Indigenous rights.

The campaign to rename the village is one step closer after the major landowner in the village home to 70 residents indicated its support. 

The name of the NSW village of Boydtown could be scrapped due to racist origins to slave labour. Pictured is a woman outside the Seahorse Inn, the village’s historic hotel

Lyon Group Australia owns 700 hectares in Boydtown, including the historic Seahorse Inn and a caravan park, along with pastoral and residential land. 

The property development company has agreed to investigate a possible name change and work with the Indigenous community.

‘We have reviewed the history, and we know that the name of Ben Boyd is related not just to the subjugation of Indigenous people in the area, but to ‘blackbirding’ – the use of South Sea Islanders practically as slave labour in the mid 19th century,’ managing director Mike Milliken told the Sydney Morning Herald.

‘All I can say at this point is we are highly sympathetic to local Indigenous wishes.’

Eden Local Aboriginal Land Council chairman BJ Cruse described the name of the nearby Ben Boyd National Park as ‘a slap in the face’.

He welcomed Lyon Group Australia’s recent move and looks forward to meeting with executives in the coming weeks.

There are growing calls to change the name of Boydtown on the NSW far south coast, named after the Scottish colonial entrepreneur who founded the settlement

‘I think it is the first foot in the door. We want the name changed because of what that man represents. He caused a lot of misery among Indigenous and Pacific Island people. It’s a long time coming but it is well-received,’ Mr Cruse told the publication.

 Daily Mail Australia has contacted Lyon Group Australia for comment.

The first two boatloads of South Pacific Islanders Boyd brought to Australia by Boyd in 1847 were ‘naked, wild and restless’ with no understanding of the five-year contracts they had agreed to.

‘None of the natives could speak English, and all were naked..’. ‘[T]hey all crowded around us looking at us with the utmost surprise, and feeling at the Texture of our clothes…they seemed wild and restless,’ the clerk of the local bench of magistrates described them at the time.

Home to a population of 70, the Sapphire Coast village of Boydtown (pictured) is in the headlines over its controversial name

The name of Ben Boyd National Park is also under review from the NSW government.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service has appointed an independent historian to review Boyd’s history in ’19th century blackbirding’.

Consultation with community elders and other stakeholders will start in the coming weeks with a final report due later this year.

‘I have a huge amount of respect for our Indigenous people and their living history,’ NSW environment minister Matt Kean told the ABC in 2020.

‘Our national parks are about connecting people, not dividing them.’