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Description

The dramatic Loch Ard Gorge on the stormy coast of Victoria - named after a ship that was wrecked off the coast in 1878. The tragedy had a survival story which has often been told in novels and, I think, film. . .

Loch Ard left England on 1 March 1878, bound for Melbourne , commanded by Captain G Gibbs and with a crew of 37 men and 17 passengers, a total of 54 people. She was loaded with a general mixed cargo. On 1 June she was approaching Melbourne. The crew expected to sight land but encountered heavy fog. The inquest determined that, unable to see the Cape Otway lighthouse; having faulty chronometers on board; and not having been able to take a reading to establish his exact position due to bad weather conditions over the previous few days, Gibbs was unaware how close he was running to the coast. The fog lifted around 4am, revealing breakers and cliff faces. Gibbs quickly ordered sail to be set to come about and get clear of the coast, but they were unable to do so in time, and ran aground on a reef. The masts and rigging came down, killing some people on deck and preventing the lifeboats from being launched effectively. The ship sank within 10 or 15 minutes of striking the reef.

Graves of some of the passengers and crew of Loch Ard, near Loch Ard Gorge

The widespread popular belief that Gibbs mistook the opening of the nearby Loch Ard Gorge for Port Phillip Heads has no basis in fact or probability. There is no physical or cartographic resemblance whatever, ships are obliged to stop outside the Heads to take on a pilot, and Loch Ard never entered the Gorge.
The only two survivors of the wreck were Eva Carmichael, who survived by clinging to a spar for five hours, and Thomas "Tom" R Pearce, an apprentice who clung to the overturned hull of a lifeboat. Pearce came ashore first, then heard Carmichael's shouts and went back into the ocean to rescue her. They came ashore at what is now known as Loch Ard Gorge and sheltered there before seeking help. Pearce was the stepson of James Pearce, captain of SS Gothenburg, which had been wrecked in Queensland in 1875

Description

The dramatic Loch Ard Gorge on the stormy coast of Victoria - named after a ship that was wrecked off the coast in 1878. The tragedy had a survival story which has often been told in novels and, I think, film. . .

Loch Ard left England on 1 March 1878, bound for Melbourne , commanded by Captain G Gibbs and with a crew of 37 men and 17 passengers, a total of 54 people. She was loaded with a general mixed cargo. On 1 June she was approaching Melbourne. The crew expected to sight land but encountered heavy fog. The inquest determined that, unable to see the Cape Otway lighthouse; having faulty chronometers on board; and not having been able to take a reading to establish his exact position due to bad weather conditions over the previous few days, Gibbs was unaware how close he was running to the coast. The fog lifted around 4am, revealing breakers and cliff faces. Gibbs quickly ordered sail to be set to come about and get clear of the coast, but they were unable to do so in time, and ran aground on a reef. The masts and rigging came down, killing some people on deck and preventing the lifeboats from being launched effectively. The ship sank within 10 or 15 minutes of striking the reef.

Graves of some of the passengers and crew of Loch Ard, near Loch Ard Gorge

The widespread popular belief that Gibbs mistook the opening of the nearby Loch Ard Gorge for Port Phillip Heads has no basis in fact or probability. There is no physical or cartographic resemblance whatever, ships are obliged to stop outside the Heads to take on a pilot, and Loch Ard never entered the Gorge.
The only two survivors of the wreck were Eva Carmichael, who survived by clinging to a spar for five hours, and Thomas "Tom" R Pearce, an apprentice who clung to the overturned hull of a lifeboat. Pearce came ashore first, then heard Carmichael's shouts and went back into the ocean to rescue her. They came ashore at what is now known as Loch Ard Gorge and sheltered there before seeking help. Pearce was the stepson of James Pearce, captain of SS Gothenburg, which had been wrecked in Queensland in 1875