On 13 May 1770, Captain James Cook observed smoke from a fire on a mountain, which he named Smoky Cape. The headland in front of the mountain is now the location of Smoky Cape Lighthouse.

The first British to explore the Valley was John Oxley, who sailed up the Macleay River in 1818. The earliest British settlement was recorded in 1827, when Captain AC Innes, the commandant at Port Macquarie, established a cedar party north of Euroka Creek on the Macleay River. The first land grants were surveyed on the east bank of the Macleay in 1835.

Arakoon was originally established as the township on Trial Bay in 1866. However, South West Rocks had progressively established itself as a popular bathing resort. South West Rocks was originally known as Macleay River Mouth, and later as Smoky Cape. The current name was adopted in 1876.

South West Rocks got its name most likely from the captains of passing ships, who claimed it was safest to moor vessels near the rocks, south west of Laggers Point (the point on which Trial Bay Gaol is built). Another theory is that their moorings would be safe if they kept the rocks to their south west. 

Trial Bay was named after a brig, The Trial, which was stolen and wrecked by convicts in 1816 attempting to escape to south-east Asia. When Captain Thomas Whyte found the wreck in 1817 there was no trace of the convicts and it was assumed they had all perished either starving or being killed by the local Aborigines.

Shipping along the coast ensured that the Trial Bay area was well known. Between 1863 and 1866, 89 ships and 243 lives were lost along the NSW coast. As a result, State Parliament voted in 1874 to construct a “harbour of refuge” at Trial Bay, given its relative safety and location halfway between Sydney and Brisbane.  It would be a deepwater harbour with a breakwater. It remains the only large-scale prison, in the history of NSW, built to supply purely labour for a public works project. It was quite a substantial building.

Subsequently the Trial Bay Gaol was built and then the prisoners were brought up to it to build the breakwater. However, the plan was not a success. Heavy seas washed parts of the breakwater away and the plan was abandoned. To read the history of this heritage prison, click here.

Today the township of South West Rocks is essentially a tourist destination. It has a modern and attractive centre with lots of accommodation, good foreshores, excellent beaches, good fishing and an amazing history. The town also has some particularly beautiful stands of Norfolk pines.

The 2021 Estimated resident population for South West Rocks/Jerseyville was 5,591.