There have been many terrible shipwrecks in Australia's history. One of the worst was the story of the Loch Ard.
In 1878, the Loch Ard set sail from England for Melbourne, with 18 passengers and 36 crew. Many of the passengers were from the Carmichael family, who were migrating to the colonies because their father was sick.
Bad Weather
After thirteen long weeks, the ship was finally within days of arriving in Melbourne. One night, there was bad weather, and a thick mist off the coast. When the mist lifted, the captain saw that they were only two kilometres from the jagged cliffs at the edge of the water. The Loch Ard was way off course.The captain tried very hard to avoid the cliffs, heading out to sea, and dropping anchors, but it was no good. There was a terrible crash, and the ship ran into a small island, Mutton Bird Island, just near the coast. The Loch Ard sank in only fifteen minutes.
Life Belts
In that time, people desperately clambered for the life belts, but there were only enough for six people, so the Carmichael family members were the first to grab them. The captain went down with his ship, which was the honourable thing for a captain to do when his ship was wrecked.However, the seas were still very dangerous, and it was almost impossible to get to shore.
Eva's Rescue
18 year old Eva Carmichael clung to some wreckage from the ship, and was alone when she finally came near the shore. Drifting through huge twin cliffs, she found herself in a small bay, but she was too exhausted to make it to shore herself, and was ready to collapse.Luckily for her, Tom Pearce, also 18, was on the shore already. Exhausted himself, he swam out to rescue her, and brought her safely back to land.
Then Tom climbed the cliffs to search for help, not seeing the steps that were already cut into the cliff face. In time, he found people to help them, and Eva could begin to recover from her shocking ordeal.
Romance in the Media
Tom and Eva soon discovered that they were the only survivors from the wreck. So did the Victorian public and the newspapers. Tom was given medals and money for his bravery.People all through the colony saw the situation as romantic. They wanted Tom and Eva to fall in love and be married, saying that God had brought them together for a reason.
Tom and Eva, however, did not feel the same way, and after three months, Eva went back to Ireland, to be with the rest of her family - one brother, William. In 1884, Tom married another woman, related to a man who died in the shipwreck, and started a family.
Great Ocean Road
The small bay, surrounded by cliffs, was named after the ship that met its end there. Nowadays, if you drive down the Great Ocean Road to Loch Ard Gorge, you can see the place where Tom rescued Eva, see the graves where a few victims were buried, and find out more about the story.
