Lady Martin's Bath

A bit of Blue Mountains History...

The Blue Mountains bush is full of history and intrigue. Hidden along a bush trail one could stumble upon fascinating evidence of a past era.

Lady Martin’s Bath is one of these. Tucked away in the bush this pretty bath is filled from a spring with clear cool water. It is 12 feet  x 5 feet  x 4 feet deep and was thought to be built by stone mason Paddy Ryan, as part of James Martin’s home. James Martin QC ( the same James Martin that Martin Place in Sydney is named after), was Attorney General in 1856 and 1857 and Premier from 1862-1872, and he owned land in the Blue Mountains. He intended to build a grand home overlooking the mountains and during excavation, a spring was found and the bath made. It was named after James Martin’s wife, Lady Martin, however she never used the bath, and ultimately James Martin never completed his grand home.

In fact the bath was the scene where a murder took place, when in 1896 Frank Butler shot and buried a mineralogy student, Arthur Preston, and buried him in a hole near the bath. (Butler was eventually caught and hanged in Sydney in 1897).

Now the bath lies mostly forgotten in the bush, but the spring still bubbles away with crystal clear water. Ferns and moss sprout around the blocks of stone lining the bath. It’s a cool, quiet and intriguing place.

Ref:http://springwoodhistorians.blogspot.com.au/2011_05_01_archive.html

DH