Trial Harbour

Trial Harbour is a remote historic coastal settlement on Tasmania's West Coast, about 20 kilometres west of Zeehan. Once a busy port serving the Zeehan tin and silver mining fields in the 1880s, it is now a small beachside community known for its wild ocean beach, rocky coastline and historic ruins. Visitors come for fishing, surfing, four-wheel driving, camping and scenic coastal walks in an isolated, windswept setting.

Visitors can expect a remote, windswept coastal settlement with a wide sandy ocean beach backed by dunes and rocky headlands. The area includes remnants of the historic port and mining era, a small shack community, boat ramp and basic camping area. The beach is exposed to the Southern Ocean with strong surf. Activities centre on beach walking, photography, fishing, surfing and four-wheel driving on beach and tracks. There are no shops or fuel, and facilities are very basic.

Trial Harbour was established in the early 1880s as the port for the Zeehan silver-lead and tin mining fields. It served as a harbour for coastal shipping before the Strahan-Zeehan railway provided alternative transport. The settlement declined after mining downturns, leaving historic ruins, cemetery and remnants of jetty and tramway formations.