Trial Bay Gaol in Kempsey

Second time Ive visited, and the kids thoroughly enjoyed the experience both times.Theres a wealth of information posted around the site; well worth taking the time to read it all.Great to see the kangaroos around.

This is a must see when in the area. A well preserved piece of Australian history. An amazing structure with a slightly dark past. Worth the $10 to get.

Nice place to visit $30 for family

Interesting attraction. $30 entry for a family of 4.

Visited the jail whist staying in the caravan park. Perfect base to explore around south west rocks area. Beach Front. The amenities at the park were pristine and great helpful staff at the jail which was fascinating in its history and very well documented. Great walking tracks from the park.Highly recommended.

A interesting piece of Convict History Sitting by the Sea

Definitely worth a look - and some fascinating history. I hope they are able to refurbish a little and repair some items. For example, the stairs to the towers so visitors can observe the views from the gaol. I liked the idea of the artworks in the cells, but it seemed to be a concept needing to be fleshed out more. Overall worth a visit but could be better.

This place is a must do if youre in Kempsey visiting or holidaying.It has such a beautiful atmosphere, but in its heyday Id say that wouldve been a completely different story. Well worth a visit.

Amazing stone gaol and the history was amazing. Happened to have perfect weather...simply stunning!

The kids and I thoroughly enjoyed learning all about the history of this gaol. Whilst small, there was plenty to explore. Just a shame it started raining heavily whilst we were there!

Great tourist attraction, kids also loved it.

historical place to visitinteresting story about australiafamily welcome and also see wild kangaroos

Definitely take the kids on this trip. We bought a family pass and my kids had a blast. Lots of information for history buffs too.

Great location for an interesting and well preserved chapter of the mid-north coasts history. The walks to Little Bay offer stunning views, and gorgeous coastal heathland flora, great for whale watching too.

Absolutely stunning place and location. It has great historical significance. We just couldn’t be any more awed by this place.

Lovely spot to visit. Well done with a 10 minute video to provide detailed history before exploring the site. Lots of local kangaroos to great you too. Scenery spectacular from there also, worth a visit

Trial Bay Gaol was full of interesting sights. There was so much to explore, and you can easily spend a good two hours here. Theres a small entry fee ($10), but its definitely worth the price.

Awesome experience, especially once you understand why the Gaol was built there. Amazing location and well signed so you know what’s what. Pretty amazing what is still standing given the age and lack of maintenance for a long period.People whinging about the entry fee, geez. These are the same people that would be complaining of long waits to enter if it was free!! Can’t win.

Well worth the visit. I personally, love historical building and architecture, but this place is great in that it has all that history, plus some amazing views from the outside and watchtower.

Gorgeous place to visit. Allow 1 - 1.5 hours for a visit. The introductory video is 10 minutes and the grounds are a reasonable size. The toilets are clean and this is very informative.This was infinatiely better than other penal colonies and gaols I have visited (looking at you port Arthur), however Castel st Angelo in rome is probably the best gaol.I would definitely revisit.

Such a great place to visit, especially with kids. Beautiful scenery all around and views of the ocean. There’s a video you can watch before going in which explains a little bit of history on the Jail. Would recommend the trip here if you’re in the area.

Beautiful scenery, lovely staff. Overall an amazing educational experience

A great historical place to see with beautiful views over the ocean.

Amazing place to enjoy. Very well maintained with facilities and wonderful crowds. The place gets busy with visitors.The surrounding area are also busy with campers. Very close to the beach. Lots of parking spaces, theres also cafe nearby.

Trial Bay Gaol, South West Rocks. NSWWorth a visit for its historical significance and coastal outlook, don’t mind the roaming kangaroos.#TrialBayGaol#SouthWestRocks#NSW

Well worth the visit. Dont forget to go up the watch tower for a great view over the bay.

Trial Bay Gaol is a excellent place to see a little of Australias history. It was such a great time exploring the grounds. There was a small entry fee of $10 but this was defiantly worth it. Spend around 2 hours just walking around looking at all the different cells and sights.

Great place to spend half a day if you are in south West Rocks. $11 entry fees. They show a movie on the history of the place and there are tips bits of olden days throughout the place. Amazing views.

Interesting historical site to visit. Lots of information stands. Friendly kangaroos on site. Views are amazing. Lots of parking. Close to kiosk and beach. Staff friendly.

Another good experience. We are lucky that these parts of our history are being kept/maintained by the Government and us who pay to go there.A part of our history I did not know much about!

An impressive Fort like stone building, 140 years of heritage, on a hill top overlooking the ocean. Beautiful view additional. A really nice walk from there around the rocky coastline, just 2 minutes away. Lots of wild patriots. Kangaroos had been hanging about. Easy road access, not far from SW Rocks and the lighthouse. Sadly closed on Easter Monday with a Covid sign, so we couldnt go inside the Gaol, but worth the trip in any event. Impressive.

I wish the walls could talk, what tales they could tell. One could only start to imagine the thoughts that went through the convicts mind as they were taken along the winding rough dirt road. What would the thoughts of all the internets have been when they were taken out to this lonely place. Loved the film that was shown to introduce you to the place.

We paid $11 per adult to have a look around the gaol. There is a video to explain the history of the place which is really interesting. It took us about an hour to have a good look around. There is a place where you can do some whale watching from too.

I absolutely LOVE the gardeners that work on the grass here. They’re so adorable! One even brought her little joey to work. But jokes aside, I am super glad I brought my 300mm lens so I could take some photo keeping quite a distance. There are roos all over this gaol, so please keep your space! They are still wild animals and need to be photographed from AFAR. The gaol itself is great to visit; kids would have a blast exploring this. You can read a lot about the history here. Make sure to visit the guard tower to get a gorgeous view out into the ocean! The only thing I wish the second-floor stairs were still present. But overall, I enjoyed my visit here. This place is quite photogenic.

A great place to visit with so much information and history. The signs were very insightful into the everyday lives of those who lives here, and the stone architecture was impressive.

A good place to see a part of Australias history, reasonably priced for entry.. definitely worth a visit if your heading through the area!

Really interesting place..I had no idea that it existed and it is well preserved and the stories are well told (and bonus kangaroos feeding on the lush grass)

Place well maintained and clean, you can read about the history of this old gaol and with the art installations its possible to see how the internees use to live.It is also possible ammire kangaroos living peaceful around here.Then the view of the ocean really is something to watch.

Great place to learn about the history of Australia. Quite interesting knowing about the construction of the gaol, the breakwater and reasons for conviction. Heaps of kangaroos around and the watch Tower has stunning views of the ocean.

Very interesting history behind it. Well preserved. I could never imagine a convict would be the description of a tourist attraction. The view around the jail was spectacular

Great day out with friends or family!Was a very good source of rich Australian history and the view is absolutely spectacular from the guard tower!

Its certainly ruins... not a lot to see!I would think they could invest in getting replica items in place and some restoration to restore areas of interest... one is pretty much walking around a shell of weather-worn delapidated shells of what once was a significant part of history. Seems like its just money generating with no investment back to it...

Pretty interesting piece of architecture. They’ve included lots of history and information. It’s small, so don’t need too long to explore it all.

Was recommended by my Airbnb host to check this place out, and I am so glad I took their advice! This is a interesting spot to learn about some Australian history! The exhibits were well-done with lots of interesting experiences throughout the various parts of the gaol. You may get to see kangaroos here too, but watch out for their poo (its everywhere!).Climb to the top of the outlook and you will get amazing views of the bay. Its a little cramped so you may have to take turns if there are other visitors. Despite its offbeat location, I could easily spend 2-3 hours here. If you are along the way and have some time to spare, I would definitely recommend making a short detour to check this place out! (Note that they charge admission fee of $11 per adult.)

Nice preserved snapshot of history.Plenty of information to take in.Would of been good if it had been left as original.Some of the displays in the cells are getting a bit tired and need some work. Otherwise a great attraction.

Wonderful place to stay, visit, learn something about our history, go hiking and fauna spotting!! We stayed at the caravan park next door for 3 nights (buy two get third free!and found the staff to be hospitable, friendly and super knowledgeable. You can walk freely around the gaol, including inside the cells and there are numerous info boards about the place. Kangaroos are all around and there is a fantastic view from the watchtower. This place should definitely be on your bucket list 😍

Amazing history. Awesome experience! Great for all ages. Carers card welcome. Disability friendly to all exhibits. Staff were extremely helpful. Recommend watching the 10-15 minute free documentary before you meandering through the Gaol, walking into history itself.The immediate surrounding coast (Gaol is on a hill/cliffis also a must do drive and or stay. There is a camp/caravan park at the base of the hill. But you can also just drive around there and picnic, you dont have to be staying at the caravan park.So beautiful. So much to explore and appreciate from/at Trial Bay Gaol.

Outstanding Campsite Location... No wonder bookings have to be secured a year in advance. Gorgeous beach with lots of opportunities to engage in different activities from kite surfing when the wind is blowing to SUPing when it is calm. Great ablutions and laundry facilities... Highly recommended and well definitely be going back!

The ruins are well maintained by national parks, A gift shop and a informative museum near the front gates is a good place to start, Along with a room that plays a short documentary, There is also lots of signs scattered around the site with historic information. Kangaroos roam the grassed areas so beware of droppings, one of the highlights is a accessible watchtower with superb vistas of Trial Bay.

This has been a favourite stop of mine on the trip from Brisbane to Sydney since I was a little girl. I visited last week and was so happy to see how well maintained the gaol is and how theyve added more detail, props and historical information into the exhibits (if thats the right word for this place).The location is breathtaking and you can see a kangaroo or two around the grounds. It should be a must do for any tourist who wish to avoid the typical crowded spots, see Australias beauty, get up close to the wild life and learn about some of our history.Thank you to those who have kept this place up and running and have continued to improve it.