shortened to "weatherboard", this even being used in official papers. The hut appears to have burnt down by . The area was long used for camping and stock feeding. In June 1826 Governor Darling received a request from John Mills for a small land grant in the area called the "weatherboad hut", to build an inn. He was granted one hundred acres conditional on the type of building he would build, with a liquor license for 3 years free of duty payments, and 400 acres of more fertile land elsewhere. The Weatherboard Inn itself appears to have begun construction shortly before 1827. By 1829 Mills reported he had completed construction of a substantial dwelling place, consisting of two sitting rooms, six bedrooms, a seven stall stable, sheepfold, a paddock for horned cattle and horses and other outbuildings. Mills was granted by Governor Darling (portion 11, Parish of Jamison, County of Cook) in 1829, the same year he completed the Inn. By June 1829 Mill's establishment and the were sold at public auction to satisfy debts. The new owner was Alexander Fraser, who stated that he finished the construction of the inn and demanded the additional promised to Mills. Following some wrangling the land was eventually given to George Innes who had financed Mills in erecting the inn. After the final settlement the inn passed through a number of hands, both owners and licensees. In 1833 the first license was issued and the Inn named "The Bathurst Traveller". Fraser sold the inn to William Boyles, who held it "at least from 1835 until his death in 1842." In 1836 English naturalist Charles Darwin stayed at the Inn. At the time Darwin was on board HMS Beagle making a world tour under Captain Fitzroy, mapping latitudes. Darwin was 26. He lunched at the Weatherboard Inn on his way west to Bathurst in January 1836, sidetracked along what is now called the Charles Darwin Walk to view the Jamison Valley. On his return trip from Bathurst to Sydney, Darwin stayed again three nights, during which time he again walked to admire the view from the top of the Wentworth Falls. An 1839 advertisement for the Inn's lease noted "a large establishment, including 3 parlours, 7 bedrooms, kitchen, taproom, bar, stores and stabling for 17 horses, as well as a large and well stocked garden, furniture and stock'. Descriptions of 1839 indicate a large