Fast facts
- A sleepy coastal retreat at its barefoot best
- Oceanfront holiday town on north-facing Trial Bay
- 463 km north of Sydney, population 4,350
Why go there
Set on cliffs high above the sea, Trial Bay Gaol was built in the 1880s to house low-security prisoners who worked to build a breakwater around the bay below, but the project was abandoned when it was only partially completed. The prison was closed in 1903 but it was re-opened in World War I as an internment camp for men of German and Austrian origin who were resident in Australia, even though some of them were second or third generation Australians.
Two kilometres offshore, Fish Rock Cave is a local divers’ delight and one of the best cave dives in the country, a 125 metre passage through the centre of a small island, with an amazing variety of marine life including grey nurse sharks.
History
The township was not established until 1896 and grew slowly around the mouth of the Macleay River. Today it is a holiday centre and those who go there year after year treasure its unpretentious ways.
Things to do
- Spend a couple of hours at Trial Bay Gaol investigating its intriguing history.
- Spot the remnants of the two car ferries that were wrecked here during a storm while they were being towed north.
Don’t miss
- A day of idle beachcombing at Hat Head National Park.
- The views from Smoky Cape Lighthouse.
- Diving with the grey nurse sharks at Fish Rock Cave.
- A round of golf on the 18-hole course.
- Oysters fresh from the Macleay River.
