Diving down to meet the Loch Ard

A warm autumn day at Victoria’s Loch Ard Gorge sees the March sun shining in clear blue skies. The flat seas of bluish-green spread out from the gorge to meet the horizon, giving no hint of the disaster that unfolded here in 1878. This is a perfect day for diving on the wreck of the Loch Ard, which crashed against the reefs here in very different weather conditions. Thinking they were on course for Melbourne, the crew was startled when heavy mists parted to reveal looming sea cliffs right in front of them. The ensuing tale is one of tragedy and heroism, involving fifty-two passengers and crew members being swallowed by the sea and two young survivors who rapidly became centre of attention around the state.

This part of Victoria’s shoreline is called ‘The Shipwreck Coast’, the final resting place for hundreds of ships. Each has its own story, from drunken captains to embezzlement to bold (sometimes negligent) daredevils. No story is as well documented as that of the Loch Ard though, with all the elements of a classic work of fiction. The two survivors were rumoured to have become lovers after the tragedy, though this part of the tale is completely untrue. Tom Pierce was the first ashore, clinging to a life raft from the ship. He had not long been on shore when he heard the cries of Eva Carmichael coming in across the sea and swam out against the waves. Old black and white photographs show pictures of these survivors, no more than children at the time. They were both just eighteen years old.

The ship now lies twenty-three metres under the sea, and from the surface of the water you can see along the full length of the eighty metre vessel. As you dive down, you can see a collection of steel railway lines that the hull has been cemented to over the years. The ship’s stern is nowhere to be found, and is thought to have broken up over the years. Though the ship now lies placidly on the sea bed, you can imagine the crew and passengers standing on deck in the storm while pieces of the mast and rocks from the nearby sea cliffs fell around them. It was all over when the ship began to roll, and within fifteen minutes had been submerged under the waves.

Tom held on to an upturned lifeboat to get to shore, while Eva was found clinging to a floating chicken coop. Somehow they both made it ashore and found shelter. Standing in the cave where they drank a bottle of brandy for warmth and sheltered from the storm, you’re eyes try to pick out the spots they may have slept. After a short rest, Tom scaled the cliffs and ran to get help, leaving Eva to sleep in the cave. He eventually found help from a group from nearby Glenample Station and was awarded several medals for rescuing her. Eva lost her whole family in the wreck, apart from one brother who had not been on the ship.

It’s only when you dive down a few metres you can see the more personal relics of those who died. At fifteen metres down things like inkwells, bits and pieces of ceramics, cutlery, mugs and remnants of the cargo that have not been plundered can be seen. These belongings must once have been used with as much abandon as any other everyday item possessed by the people on the ship, but now rest as an eerie reminder of their abrupt end. Only a few of the bodies from the wreck were ever found, so their remains are either buried in the wreck or surrounding sea bed, or were swept far away.

Among the dead was Captain George Gibb. In the two survivor’s accounts of what happened that night it seems the captain played his part until the end, hopelessly trying to save his crew and passengers even as the ship was sinking. When it was realised that the ship was headed for cliffs, Gibb ordered evasive actions and the anchors were dropped to no avail. Near the bow of the wreck the ship’s anchors can still be seen.

Once Gibb realised there was no hope for the ship, he ordered the life rafts to be deployed for the women on board. As his crew was washed away and the ship began to break apart, the captain remained aboard giving orders until he was taken by the sea. One of the last things he said was to Eva Carmichael, when he reportedly asked her to tell his wife that he had died as a sailor. Gibb himself was only twenty nine years old and staying true to tradition, went down with his ship.

The wreck has been plagued by plunderers over the years, so it’s lucky that anything remains for present day divers. Some of the relics have been brought to shore and placed in a local museum. One particularly precious piece is the Minton Peacock, which was on its way to be exhibited around the sophisticated cities of the eastern states. It was well packaged and so miraculously remained intact through the wreck and storm, and was brought to shore as an unlikely survivor.

As for the other survivors of this tale, Tom and Eva, their story did not end at their rescue. The local press insisted that it was an act of God that they had been brought together in this way, but the pair had other ideas and went their separate ways. Tom became a captain himself, and married a woman who was related to one of the wreck’s victims. He went on to survive several other shipwrecks, but his son died in the wrecking of another ship from the Loch Line of vessels near South Australia. What happened to Eva is unclear. In some reports, she married an English man and went to live with him in his home town. In another, she made her own way back to Ireland to live with her brother. One thing is certain though – she did not stay in Australia. After their recovery at a nearby homestead, Tom and Eva never saw each other again.

It’s been well over a century since the Loch Ard went down, but the air itself seems willing to tell the tale over and over. The wreck of the ship remains as no more than a diver’s playground, most days lying silent and unvisited on the bottom of the sea. But the romance and tragedy surrounding her demise has ensured she remains the most famous wreck of the hundreds that lay on the seabed of the Shipwreck Coast. Diving down to meet her in the eerie silence, you almost feel like you have become part of the story yourself. No one alive can really know what it was like to be on board the Loch Ard as is went down, but seeing her close up you get the sense that you know just a little more of her secrets than most.