Sabina Pike

Two women are often mentioned as having greatly influenced the history of Eden. One was Sabina Pike who, like Ann White, built a hotel in town and was a hotelier. The other was Flora MacKillop who never resided in or visited Eden, but whose death had a significant impact on the town.

From the 1890s, Sabina Pike (or ‘Aunty Pike’ as she was known) had operated Eden’s Commercial Hotel and then Eden’s Great Southern Hotel.

In 1904 she paid £500 for a one-acre allotment in a prime location on Imlay Street (Eden’s main street). This was the highest price that had been paid for land in the town for more than 40 years.

She then had John Hines, a local builder who had previously built the impressive Bank of NSW building on the corner of Chandos and Imlay Streets, erect a two-storey, 43-room, ‘up to date’ hotel on this site. It was given the name ‘Hotel Australasia’.

Sabina was prompted to make this investment because there was a strong belief at the time that Australia’s capital would be sited at Bombala and Twofold Bay would become the Australian capital’s port.

The Hotel Australasia opened in January 1906. A month later, Sabina became licensee – a capacity that she occupied for almost 20 years.

Aunty Pike’s Hotel Australasia was soon renowned as ‘one of the finest hotels in the State.’
Sabina was, clearly, an astute businesswomen. She promoted the hotel as ‘the largest and most modern building in Eden’ that was ‘furnished most elaborately…with Mrs Pike having, apparently, spared no expense in placing in her new hotel a superior lot of furniture, which accords well with the style and finish of the building’ and where ‘everything possible (was provided) for the comforts of her guests.’

And after Australian Governor-General Lord Northcote stayed at the hotel in 1907 and NSW State Governor Sir Harry Rawson attended a public banquet at the hotel the following year, Sabina was soon advertising that the hotel was Under the Patronage of his Excellency Lord Northcote, late Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, and his Excellency Sir Harry Rawson, late State Governor of New South Wales.

Progressively improvements were made to the hotel – again, each extensively advertised: gas lighting was installed in 1911, making the building ‘one of the best lighted on the coast’; a motor garage was added in 1916; ‘a fine motor repairing pit’ in 1916; electric lighting in 1922.
In June 1923 Sabina sold the hotel and moved to Sydney. But the following year she bought a ‘seaside home’ in Eden and returned. She remained in Eden until 1938 when she finally relocated to Sydney.