The most surprising treasure from Australia’s Shipwreck Coast!

The Great Ocean Road is possibly the most famous drive in Australia, known for its exceptional ocean views, but over the past few centuries, its gorgeous coastal rock features have wreaked havoc on those ships that attempted to brave the southern seas. This is why a particular stretch of the coastline has been named the ‘Shipwreck Coast’, with over 600 ships known to have met their end here. We talk to an expert who shares the story of the Loch Ard – and the surprising cargo it had on board.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Listen closely anywhere along the Great Ocean Road, and you
might just hear the spirits of the past. Only a
short drive from Melbourne, more than six hundred ships are
believed to have met their end. So dangerous were these
waters that explorer Matthew Flinders said, I've seldom seen a
more fearful section of coastline. But the most interesting thing

(00:24):
about this treacherous stretch isn't the ghost of a lost
sailor or buried treasure. It's a peacock. I'm Amanda Keller,
and this is brain fuel great ossie stories from the Road,
fueled by Ampole, Australia's own quite Please meet Ron Sproston.

(00:48):
He lives in Warnablee, the epicenter of the shipwrecked Coast, and.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
He loves great stories, tragic stories, stories of bravery and
the shipwrecks that have traveled along the shipwreck coast.

Speaker 1 (01:05):
So here's how this story goes. The Lockhart was a
merchant vessel built for speed. She left England in eighteen
seventy eight carrying all manner of luxury goods to display
at the World's Fair in Melbourne. Vases, statues, furniture, even
lead which was hugely valuable at the time, but near
Port Campbell she struck trouble. Cloaked in heavy fog, she

(01:31):
ran aground on the reef and started taking on water.
Just fifteen minutes later she had sunk. Only two of
the fifty three people on board survived well.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
First of all Tom Peas, young apprentice sailor eighteen years old.
He was washed over board and washed into the gorge.
He hears Eva Carmichael calling for help. She's been in
the water for nearly four five hours, dressing a nightgown.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
They eventually made it up the cliffs to safety, but
what happened to the treasure meant for the World's Fair.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
It's all lost except for the peacock.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
It's a Majollica pottery peacock, painted in iridescent blues and greens,
and standing a spectacular one and a half meters tall.
In another life, it would have been the star of
the show.

Speaker 2 (02:25):
Two days after the wreck, it pops out up in
the water, and the local guy who's been given the
job of dragging salvage onto the beach, he drags it up.
What happens next is a storm and everything he dragged
too far up the beach. He's washed out to sea.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
But this peacock is tougher than that. It's determined to
show off its beautiful plumage in Victoria.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
Then the people who have bought the salvage rights start
dragging stuff back up onto the beach. One of the
items they drag up is the peacock again, and this
time they drag it to the top of the cliffs.

Speaker 1 (03:05):
Nearly one hundred and fifty years later, that same peacock
is now on permanent display at the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village,
a short and picturesque drive from its ill fated landing
on our shores.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
I always like to say that peacock today is actually
the people's peacock. It belongs to the people vulnerable, the
phoenix of the sea.

Speaker 1 (03:34):
From exploring shipwrecked peacocks to whatever your journey, Ampole is
the fuel that gets you there. Make sure you follow
our adventures for free in your favorite podcast app. I'm
Amanda Kella, and this is brain Fuel.