Loch Ard's Lead Ingots

A lot of lead

Lead ingots at Flagstaff Maritime Village.  Photograph by Simon Hamlet.

In another post detailing the ships manifesto lead ingots appear twice in the lists, in the first list as "pig lead, 50 tons" and in the second as "994 pigs and 37 rolls of lead."  825 of the ingots have made their way to Flagstaff Hill.  Each ingot weighs approximately 59 kg and has the words "PONTIFEX AND WOOD LONDON" clearly 'stamped' into the metal.

Following the initial salvage operation in 1878, the location of the wreck seemed to surprisingly fall out of public knowledge until it was rediscovered in 1967.  Following this rediscovery, looters collected a lot of the metal, until a police investigation managed to retrieve much of it.

The Woman's Weekly of 1972 writes 

Five years ago the clipper's iron hull was found in 70ft. of water, and it was blown open in 1969. Rival groups of abalone divers disputed a cargo of lead, copper, and minting metal - estimated to be worth about $50,000 - until the Commonwealth Receiver of Wrecks took control of the wreck and all salvage work.

The lead was then kept in a government store until being presented to The Flagstaff Maritime Village (Warrnambool City Council) in 1984.

Victoria Collections provided some insight into the large volume of lead on board.

Subsequent classification has rendered this section of cargo as “Lead Ballast”. This could be true. The international price per ton of lead ore plunged from a high point of £17 in 1853 to a low of £8 in 1882. The cheaper price of lead at the time of the vessel’s loading in early 1878 may have meant it was considered as an alternative to other ballast material (traditionally stone) for the journey to Melbourne. 

Line ships generally returned to Britain laden with Australian wool. Even though wool bales were “screwed in” to the hold to less than half their “pressed weight”, they still made an awkwardly light cargo for the passage around the Horn. The concentrated weight of lead pigs along the keel line would help steady and centre the ship, and perhaps the artefacts in this case were to be retained for this purpose, rather than being sold on to the ready colonial market. 

However this is conjecture. Demand for building materials in the gold and wool rich Colony of Victoria was high in the 1870s, and much of the LOCH ARD cargo was intended for the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880, which was another example of buoyant economic conditions. In the nineteenth century lead was valued for its density (high ratio of weight to volume), flexibility (relative softness for working into shape), and durability (corrosion resistant and waterproofing properties). It was used for pipes and water tanks, roof flashing and guttering, window sealing and internal plumbing. Many large private residences and new public buildings were at planning or construction stage in the colony during this period. The LOCH ARD lead ingots could equally have been destined for this ready market.