The original Bath Arms Inn built in 1835. It stood on the corner of Parramatta Road and Burwood Road and was demolished in the 1920’s being replaced with the current building that bears the same name. The original inn was a three- sided building enclosing a courtyard and stables and a grazing paddock at the rear.
In the early 19th century there were many inns along Parramatta Road, but the advent of the railway in 1855 saw many of these close. The Bath Arms was an exception. A young Emmanuel Neich gained the licence for this inn in 1834 after he married the daughter of James Comer who built it for his son-in-law.
Neich continued to run the inn as a staging post until his death in 1893, probably one of the longest running licencees in Australian history. The Bath Arms was a very well-known landmark in the district and Emmanuel Neich was very active in the community over the years, becoming one of Burwood’s most respected local citizens. His connection to Burwood was such that he named his first son to his second wife ‘Burwood’, whose daughter Nancy was still alive in 1989, only the third generation in over 150 years!
Prepared by C. Gray from notes in E. Dunlop’s ‘Harvest of the Years’