Trial Bay

He reported Port Macquarie as more favourable for settlement than Trial Bay, though Trial Bay might offer an anchorage while waiting for favourable winds to cross the bar at Port Macquarie.

Trial Bay has a northerly facing and is sheltered from the predominant southerly swells.

Its location in between other sheltered waters of Moreton Bay and Port Stephens recommended such a project.

In the 1960s an oil terminal established near South West Rocks reignited interest in a harbour, but the Department of Public Works concluded the cost would not be warranted.

Ships moored in the bay and delivered oil via a pipeline extending approximately 2 km to the terminal operated by Caltex.