Notes: Trial Bay had been recognised as a safe shipping refuge from southerlies ever since its naming after the wreck of the Brig Trial in 1817. Between 1863 and 1866 some 90 ships and 243 lives were lost, forcing the NSW Colonial government to act. In 1870 Parliament voted £10,000 towards the construction of a breakwater to form a “harbour of safe refuge” at Trial Bay.
The Trial Bay Gaol was established in 1876 as an experimental Public Works Gaol where the inmates would construct the breakwater. Although work started in 1877, it was not completed until 1886 due to difficulties in working the hard stone, inconsistent funding and contractual problems.
This may be a settlement that predates the gaol, although there is evidence of stone working in the right foreground. There is also a telegraph pole and wire on the slab building in the left foreground. The gaol ruins are situated on the headland well to the photo right. The photo date may be closer to the mid 1870s. The settlement appears strangely deserted.
Format: albumen photoprint, title from album page, 14” x 10½“.
Date Range: c.1880
Licensing: Attribution, share alike, creative commons. .
Repository: Blue Mountains City Library -
library.bmcc.nsw.gov.au
Part of: Local Studies Collection - LS Images
Provenance: Album, donation
Links:
www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/zivillager/h...
www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/camping-and-accommodation/ca...
