Under the lino: The Loch Ard - a ship and her manifest

This is the first in a small series of posts about the sailing ship, Loch Ard, which ran aground in the vicinity of Loch Ard Gorge, Victoria, in July 1878. Inspiration for the post comes from a recent visit to Loch Ard Gorge and the Flagstaff Maritime Village. It is very clear that the stories of ships and their demise is at the centre of a colonial understanding of western costal Victoria, it is labelled the shipwreck coast for tourism purposes. The Loch Ard story is perhaps the most prominent.

Photograph of the Loch Ard, taken by Allan C. Green. State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/30681

In this first post I will tell the story of the ship until its wrecking, mostly detailing her cargo. In a second post I will discuss the wrecking event itself. In a third post I will discuss the story of its two survivors, Eva Carmichael and Tom Pearce, who caught the romantic imagination of Australia in the aftermath of the wreck.

Some of this material is also covered in short videos (5 minutes each) by Bill Gray on his Youtube Channel; they are a good overview.

GOR Episode 17 - The site of the Loch Ard Wreck.
GOR Episode 18 - The story of Tom and Eva.
GOR Episode 19 - The Blow Hole and Thunder Cave
GOR Episode 20 - Dive video on the wreck.

Gray's 4th video is footage of a wreck dive on the Loch Ard and it gives good visuals of the numerous items still on the wreck at the time of filming.

The Ship

The Loch Ard was built in 1873. An iron clipper, she ran the route from Liverpool to Melbourne. She was wrecked on her seventh voyage. The Loch Ard had already endured two de-mastings and nearly ran ashore at Sorrento, Victoria on previous voyages.

The Sydney Morning Herald of 6 June, 1878 comments

From the very first the Loch Ard has been an unfortunate ship. She was twice dismasted on her maiden voyage from Glasgow to Melbourne, in 1873-4. She met with the first gale a few days out from port in December, 1873, and was able to put back and refit. A fresh start was made on the 26th January, and on April 2, in the Southern Ocean, she fell in with a tremendous gale, which resulted in the loss of all three masts. It was not until the fourth day that the wind abated, and enabled the captain to set up jury masts and bale out the water which had found its way into the hold through the openings left by the masts. The distance of 4500 miles was safely run in forty-nine days, and the ship
reached Melbourne on the 24th May.

Crew and Passengers

A memorial plaque at Loch Ard Gorge supplies the names of the passengers and crew.

Memorial plaque showing the passengers and crew of the Loch Ard, located at the graveyard at Loch Ard Gorge.

The cargo

A significant portion of the material salvaged from the Loch Ard is now on display at the Flagstaff Hill, Maritime Village, Warrnambool.

Two versions of the manifest made their way to the newspapers, the first detailing the material on board in terms of consignments. Publishing some information on content, but much of it was vague, the more important feature seems to be to whom the consignment was assigned. This list first appeared in The Argus (Melbourne) of 3 June, 1878, it was republished in Sydney Morning Herald of 6 June, 1878.

There are 71 identified recipients for the cargo, a list of cargo without a designated consignee, and a smaller list labelled 'Geelong cargo'. An opinion piece from an Argus Correspondent in March 1861 helps explain the term 'Geelong cargo'; clearly the complaint was unheeded.

But there is a most unaccountable apathy existing among our population on every matter of importance connected with the prosperity of the district, one of the most marked instances of which perhaps, is the fact, that although in a week or two we shall have a depth of water over the bar (20 feet at high water) sufficient float the finest merchantmen in the world up to our wharfs, no public effort has been made to secure the arrival of a single ship of this class. We must remain content, I presume, to allow these clippers to take in their dead Weight in the British docks as Geelong cargo, and wait until, having landed their upper cargo at Melbourne, they can find it convenient either to come here and deliver the remainder, or to send it down to us by lighter or by rail. A few years
ago, a great stir was made among our mercantile men to obtain direct shipments. Then there was no prospect of getting clipper ships to take cargo for this port, owing to the shallowness of the water on the bar. Now that the obstruction is within a few days of being removed, there is not a ship to come, and no effort is being made to obtain them.

Below is a list of the unassigned cargo.

4 castings, 1 tank seeds, 176 bundles tubes, 402 tubes, 676 bars iron, 132 bundles iron, 101 cases galvanised iron, 352 cases wine, 200 cases geneva, 1,000 casks cement, 500 cases bottled beer, 100 barrels sulphur, 55 drums naphtha, 10 drums oil, 21 anvils, 4 dozen camp owns and covers, 616 bars, 726 bundles, 7 tierces, 1 crate, 723 bags, 183 sacks, 7 rolls, 70 barrels, 10 tanks, 101 bales, 1,384 kegs, 73 hhds., 4,446 cases, 1,024 casks, 832 drums, &10 packages, 21 anvils, 27 boxes.

We can see that while some items are identified, many are not, bundles, bags, cases, drums and packages of undisclosed content, can leave a reader curious. The consigned cargo listing was just as vague. A second published list in The Leader of 8 Jun 1878 provided much greater clarity, this removed the consignee information and provided a list of the cargo on board.

The following is the manifest of the Loch Ard:—

plain cottons, £657 ;
colored cottons, £107 ;
printed cottons, £252 ;
woollens and worsted, £175 ;
flannels, £91 ;
linen in bales, £95 ;
waterproof india-rubber goods, £94 ;
millinery, £74;
hosiery, £336;
sewing thread, £40 ;
haberdashery, £854 ;
umbrellas, £11 ;
apparel, £715 ;
carpets and rugs, £415 ;
counterpanes, £95;
straw hats, £36;
felt hats and caps, £125 ;
dressed leather, £210 ;
wrought leather, £180;
saddlery, £22;
floorcloth, £786 ;
table baize, £26 ;
sewing machines, £314 ;
lucifera, 28 cases ;
vestas, 472 cases ;
agricultural implements, £607 ;
rails and general machinery, £4049 ;
books, £371 ;
paper, 481 cwt. ;
stationery, £381 ;
upholstery, £1862 ;
iron bedsteads, £321 ;
tinware, £84 ;
brushware, £261 ;
plated and papier mache goods, £933.;
firearms, £173;
pianoes, £733;
corks, £11;
clocks and watches, £25 ;
perfumery, £9 ;
printing material, £118;
agricultural and garden seed, £416;
clay tobacco pipes, £100;
safety fuse, £464 ;
iron tanks, £6 ;
lead shot, 22 tons ;
chain and anchor, £8 ;
tin, hardware and cutlery, £7530 ;
bar and rod iron, 102 tons ;
hoop iron, 3 tons ;
sheet iron, 13 tons ;
plate iron, 3 tons ;
galvanised iron, 128 tons ;
pig lead, 50 tons ;
iron rails, 30 tons ;
wire and wire rope, 2 tons ;
zinc, 12 tons;
steel, 9 tons
linseed oil, 10,328 gallons ;
rape oil, 5370 gallons ;
cod oil, 539 gallons ;
olive oil in bulk, 52 gallons;
turpentine, 15 gallons;
kerosene and naphtha, 175 gallons ;
paint and colors, £2446 ;
glue, 10 cwt. ;
pitch and tar, 4 barrels 35 drums;
flint glass, £479 ;
window glass, £24 ;
foreign window glass, 610 cases;
plate glass, 4 cases;
china and earthenware, £355 ;
glass bottles, £51 ;
sawn wood (deals), 60 loads ;
lines and twines, £490 ;
marble, £ 400 ;
cement, 1400 barrels ;
cigars, 270 lb. ;
snuff 212 lb. ;
tobacco, 27,155 lb.;
brandy, in bulk, 8827 gallons ;
brandy, in case, 1920 gallons ;
rum, 128 gallons;
geneva, 13,600 gallons ; [geneva = gin]
cordials, 82 gallons ;
British spirits, in bulk, 3391 gallons;
do., in case, 95 gallons;
perfumed spirit, 1 gallon ;
red wine, 3400 gallons ;
white wine, 686 gallons ;
beer, in glass, 141 gallons ;
preserved fish, £20 ;
assorted oil, in stone, £1958 ;
foreign salad oil, 755 gallons ;
pepper and spices, 20 cwt. ;
cocoa, 29 cwt.;
isinglass and gelatino, £31 ;
arrowroot, 10 cwt.;
vermicelli and macaroni, 5 cwt.;
pearl barley, 31 cwt.;
split peas, 31 cwt.;
Whole salt, 50 tons ;
crystals, 36 tons ;
candles 87 cwt.;
soap, 42 cwt.;
dates, 20 cwt ;
raisins, 172 cwt.;
figs, 52 cwt.;
carraway seed, 47 cwt. ;
liquorice juice, 30 owt.;
ginger, 95 cwt. ;
coffee, 31 cwt. ;
confectionery, 15 cases;
apothecaries' ware, £1570;
sulphur, 200 cwt.;
alum, 40 cwt. ;
tartaric acid, 10 cwt.;
camphor, £39;
canary seed, 29 cwt.;
not described, 26 cases ;

total declared value, £53,700.

Subjoined are the epitomised items comprised in the above : —

994 pigs and 37 rolls lead,
33 plates and 53 bolts copper,
4 casks rivets,
1448 iron rails,
604 cases glass,
200 barrels sulphur,
20 mats dates,
4 cases gas fittings,
1 timber carriage,
36 anchors,
27 drums naphtha,
165 slate slabs,
61 anvils,
11 machines,
78 camp ovens and covers,
29 chaffcuttors,
1000 casks cement,
75 cases galvanised iron,
4 pieces castings,
152 bundles steel,
176 bundles and 402 single tube, 43 plates, 4631 bars and 1283 bundles iron,
22 bundles sheet iron,
110 kegs nails,
2 casks shot,
34 pair mail axle arms,
5671 pieces and packages hardware,
353 packages softgoods,
2 packages saddlery,
130 packages drugs,
1 tank seeds,
64 bales paper,
17 packages fancy goods,
90 packages grindery,
164 packages tobacconists ware and tobacco,
1 case books,
108 packages stationery,
3 cases music,
56 pkgs furniture,
19 crates earthenware,
6 bundles shovels,
10 drums
115 brls oil,
1028 packages oils and paints,
844 deals, 699 bags and 183 sacks salt,
92 packages of miscellaneous merchandise.