Trial Bay Quarry/Gaol - Arakoon, NSW, Australia - Photos Then and Now on Waymarking.com

Initially the quarry was built for the materials to build the Gaol [Trial Bay Public Works Prison], and commenced in 1878. The historic photo shows the Gaol above the quarry, where it is now a tourist attraction. the sign has the following information:

"The first quarry wall was mined for rock to build the Trial Bay Public Works Prison, which sits in ruin on the cliff above.

"In 1878 Dan Macquarie was engaged to build the Prison for £25,550. He employed 80 contract labourers, of whom 33 were masons skilled with sandstone. The unexpected hardness of the local granite slowed the quarrying process, causing cost blowouts and major delays.

"Explosives were used to blast the quarry stone; steam drill made holes which were filled with lime. This created a chemical reaction which further split the stone. Masons dressed the stone to a high finish for the earliest Prison buildings. One block of the hard granite could take a man 9 days to finish.

"'The foreman of works here informs that about three-fourths of the prisoners work as well as the average free men. I think this is very satisfactory when taking into consideration that a number of them are clerks &c, who have never done any manual labour before.' Prisons Report, NSW 1889

"The quarry was active from 1878 until 1903. Total costs came to £155,000, with 500,000 tons of granite quarried for the breakwater alone."

Visited: 0814, Sunday, 29 October, 2017

Year photo was taken: 1890

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