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Ruins of Trial Bay gaol IMG 6984 - The old gaol at Trial Bay, near the NSW coastal town of South West Rocks, was not a place of intense brutality, but those who were locked behind its grim wall more than 100 years ago were not exactly thrilled about their accommodation. The gaol was initially built to house prisoners whose task was to built a breakwater in the nearby bay to create a safe harbour for ships, but when the project failed, the goal was temporarily abandoned. Its next group of inmates were Australians of German and Italian birth who were seen as enemy aliens and interred there during World War 1. When hostilities ceased and the last prisoners were released, the gaol fell into disrepair, but in recent years it has become a popular coastal tourist attraction.