This spoon, made by William Page & Co., is electroplated nickel-silver and was recovered during the late 1960s to early 1970s from an unnamed shipwreck along the coast of Victoria. The shipwrecks in the area range from around the 1840s to the early 1930s. The spoon is part of the John Chance Collection. This spoon is likely to have been recovered be from the wreck of the Loch Ard (1873-1878) as other cutlery in the Flagstaff Hill’s Shipwreck Collection made by William Page was also recovered from the Loch Ard. The ship’s Manifest included a large quantity of cutlery. Also, other objects in the John Chance Collection were also recovered from wreck of the Loch Ard. In the mid-1800s electroplated cutlery became a popular substitute for the traditional but more costly sterling silver pieces. The ‘new’ cutlery was made from a more common base metal, such as nickel or a nickel alloy, then electroplated (coated) with a very thin layer of silver. The eating utensils looked like the expensive, pure silver version but eventually, through use and wear, the base metal would show. Some producers warranted their electroplated silver to be ‘white throughout’. WILLIAM PAGE & CO., BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - Although the electroplated cutlery of William Page & Co. was made in Birmingham, it does not include the embossed Birmingham Assay’s mark of an ‘anchor’ because the metal used for the spoons is not silver. William Page used various Maker’s Marks on his cutlery. The pattern of five embossed marks on this spoon is a typical example, with the embossed sunken crown containing ‘W P’ being the first in the column of symbols. - ‘W P’, within raised diamond outline, within sunken crown - ‘Cross above Triangle’ symbol within sunken oval - ‘Maltese Cross’ symbol within sunken, six-sided shape - ‘crab-like’ symbol within sunken oval - ‘R D’ within sunken diamond William Page established his business in 1834, according to the text around a printed Trademark. The firm William Page & Co. began electroplating in 1855, and from 1880 it operated from Cranemore Street, Cattle’s Grove and also at 55 Albion St, Birmingham. The firm registered a new Trademark [‘W P’ within a diamond boarder within a sunken diamond] in 1897; previously the Mark were the initials WP within a crown, but the British legislation prohibited the use of a ‘crown’ mark on electroplated ware in 1895. In 1936 the firm became William Page & Co. Ltd and became a supplier of spoons to the British Government in 1938, marking its products with the ‘broad arrow’ symbol. The firm also traded with the brand names Armour, Asrista, Bolivian Silver, Roman Silver, Roumanian Silver, Silverite and Trevor Plate. Although this spoon is not linked to a particular shipwreck, it is very likely to have come from the wreck of the Loch Ard; the ship’s Manifest includes a large quantity of cutlery. Regardless, it is recognised as being historically significant as an example of cutlery carried onboard a ship as either personal belongings or cargo and brought into Colonial Victoria in the 19th to early 20th century; through this we have added opportunity to interpret Victoria’s social and historical themes of those times. The spoon also has significance for its connection with many similar William Page pieces of cutlery in our collection that were recovered from the wreck of the sailing ship Loch Ard (1873-1878). William Page & Co. of Birmingham is one of the renowned 19th century manufacturers and electroplaters and was supplier of spoons to the British Government in 1938. The spoon has added significance, as it was recovered by John Chance, a diver of wrecks, including the Loch Ard, in Victoria’s coastal waters in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Items that come from several wrecks have since been donated to the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village’s museum collection by his family, illustrating this item’s level of historical value.Spoon; teaspoon, electroplate nickel-silver, silver discoloured to brown. Fiddle design. Five embossed Hallmarks. Five embossed Maker’s Marks on back of handle, arranged in a column from tip towards bowl. Made by William Page and Co., Birmingham. The spoon no longer has its silver plating. Bowl has a cut in the side, and is nicked and dented. Embossed Maker Marks - ‘W P’, within raised diamond outline, within sunken crown - ‘Cross above Triangle’ symbol within sunken oval - ‘Maltese Cross’ symbol within sunken, six-sided shape - ‘crab-like’ symbol within sunken oval - ‘R D’ within sunken diamondflagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck artefact, john chance, loch ard, cutlery, flatware, silverware, tableware, eating utensils, dining, spoon, electroplated cutlery, william page & co, william page & co. ltd., birmingham plate, silversmith, antique, vintage, fiddle design, fiddle pattern, teaspoon

This clear, green tinged, Half Whirley (or Whirly) salad oil bottle has been handmade by a glassblower from 1870s-1910s. A bottle with such elaborate decoration would have been sought after as there was no need to decant the sauce into another jug or bottle to make it acceptable for table service. It is possible that this bottle was recovered from the Loch Ard, wrecked in 1878. A diver found the bottle on a shipwreck in the coastal waters of Victoria about 100 years from when it was made. The diver who found this bottle has recovered objects from several different shipwrecks between the late 1950s and early 1970s. A sizeable proportion of those objects was from the wreck of the famous clipper ship Loch Ard. This salad oil bottle may very well have been amongst that ship’s cargo. It is part of the John Chance Collection. A paper titled ‘Glass Bottles from the Loch Ard Shipwreck (1878): A Preliminary Study’ by Iain Stuart, (published in Australian Historical Archaeology, 9, 1991) included a study of twelve salad oil bottles from the wreck of the Loch Ard. The bottles were of this same Half Whirley design (half meaning that it was Whirley on the upper half but not on the lower half of the body), as well as the same colour and size. A diagram of one of these twelve bottles matches the bottle in our collection. The paper mentions that eleven of the twelve bottles have a number on their base, just as this one has. It is estimated that foreign and salad oil bottles totalled four percent of all of the bottles carried as cargo on the ship. The Half Whirley bottle has side seams from below the lip to the base, indicating that the bottle was made in a two-piece mould that included the heel, body, shoulder and neck. The fancy ‘whirly’ twist pattern and panelled sides would have been cut into the mould’s inner surface. The uneven thickness of the ridge around the base comes from adding a separately moulded and embossed base after the bottle was removed from the mould. The applied finish (mouth and lip) was also added to the bottle. The elongated bubbles in the glass are evidence of the glass being mouth blown into the mould, thus forming the shape and pattern from the inside shape of the mould. The bottle probably had a glass stopper with a round top and wedge-shaped shank with a ground surface, allowing the bottle to be re-sealed. The ring between upper and lower lip allows the closure to be sealed and anchored. The embossed numbers are either “133” or “833” and may represent a particular bottle pattern, manufacturer or filler. Although the bottle is not currently linked to a particular shipwreck, it is recognised as being historically significant as an example of bottles imported for use in Colonial Victoria in the mid-to-late 19th century. This whirley salad oil bottle is matches the whirley salad oil bottles recovered from the Loch Ard in the 1990s, adding depth of interpretation to the array of salvaged Loch Ard artefacts in Flagstaff Hill’s collection. The salad oil bottle is an example of the type of food condiment containers that were used in Victoria’s early days. The bottle is also significant as it was recovered by John Chance, a diver in Victoria’s coastal waters in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Items that come from several wrecks, including the Loch Ard, have since been donated to the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village’s museum collection by his family, illustrating this item’s level of historical value. Bottle; glass Half Whirley salad oil bottle, green-tinged, with some opalescence. Handmade, elaborately decorated bottle with round neck and base, and five-sided body. Applied double lip; straight upper, flared lower. The lower neck and shoulder have twisted spiral whirley patterns in the glass. The body tapers slightly inwards towards the base. It has five plain panels, one wider than the others. Side seams run from below the lip to the heel. The heel of the bottle is uneven in width, height and density where it joins the body of the bottle. The base is not level. Embossed characters on base. Glass has elongated bubbles towards the base and orange-brown sediment inside, on one side. Embossed "133" or “833” (the first character may be an “8”) flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck artefact, john chance, glass bottle, antique bottle, handmade, mouth blown, blown bottle, 19th century bottle, collectable, bottle, green glass, tinged green, two piece mould, food bottle, oil bottle, salad oil bottle, whirley, whirly, half whirley, condiment bottle

This letter was written to Alisdair Loch, 10 Beaconsfield Parade, Lindfield (Sydney) NSW, from Frank Townshend Esq., 3 The Square, Holywell, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, England. Its author is a son of Eva Carmichael/Townshend, sole female survivor of the LOCH ARD shipwreck in 1878. It tells of Eva’s struggle in the sea after the LOCH ARD hit the rocks, and of her rescue by the only other survivor, young seaman Tom Pearce. It also relates her return to a privileged life in Ireland, her subsequent marriage to another member of the Anglo-Irish ascendancy, and her three sons. In some places the letter seems in historical error, which is not surprising given the dates involved and the time that elapsed between them (Eva shipwrecked 1878, Son’s birth 1887, Eva’s death 1934, Son’s letter 1962). The writer makes clear he is relying on his memory of what his mother had told him, and he is usually forthright in declaring those things he cannot remember, or remembers indistinctly. An interesting paragraph in the letter answers the contemporary newspaper speculation about a possible romance between the two survivors: “She [his mother, Eva Carmichael] received many proposals of marriage, perhaps a dozen, including one from Tom Pearce. Tom Pearce was, I think, an apprentice. She spoke of him sometimes as a ‘cabin boy’. From his photograph, he was a fine, handsome young man. The reason she declined his offer of marriage was largely the fruit of class distinction, I think; class prejudice being very strong in Ireland, in those days.” The LOCH ARD shipwreck is of State significance ― Victorian Heritage Number S417Typed copy of a letter from Frank Townshend, LOCH ARD survivor Eva Carmichael’s son in England, to Alasdair Loch, Sydney NSW. It is dated 8 March 1962 and consists of four pages. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, letter, frank townshend, eva carmichael, loch ard, alasdair loch, tom pearce

This certificate acknowledges 21 years of service given by James Patten, one of the original 1859 Lifeboat Warrnambool as a boatman and bowman. At the time, all retiring Volunteer lifeboatmen were honoured with this award. It was made as a lithograph that was created by F. W. Strahle at the request of the Department of Lands & Survey, Melbourne, Victoria. During his time of service, James Patten was awarded a medal and certificate by the Royal Humane Society of Australasia for his bravery. Patten and his friend Joseph Lowe, who couldn't swim, were with their friend James Ferrier in a boat on the Hopkins River, Warrnambool, when their boat capsized. Ferrier made it to shore, and Patten tried unsuccessfully to hold onto Lowe and bring him to shore. The event occurred on 18th April 1890. The images on the Certificate show a collage of rescue events performed by the lifesavers; a shipwreck rescue in progress, lifeboat conveying five boatmen using two oars each, and a bowman standing at the bow, a linesman wearing a life jacket and holding a rescue line, a lifesaver ring with images of three sailing ships inside it, a shipwreck near shore, a woman and girl in shallow water, a rescue using a breeches buoy on the lifeline, two rescuers walking towards the survivor, rescue crew wearing waterproof clothing, a rocket machine with a pulley to bring the survivor in a breaches buoy to shore, and a rescue crew member holding a flare. Volunteers at the time received a small payment, or 'retainer'', for their practices and a payment of gratitude for the rescues they attended. Across the years between 1856 to 1979 the combined service in Victoria saved 260 lives. Amazingly, some of the volunteers could not even swim.This certificate shows the State and Local Government's appreciation for the years of service spent by in the endeavour to save lives in peril in and on the local waters in the early 20th Century. The lithographed design depicts the many skills and services performed by the lifesavers of the era.Certificate of Service, unframed, awarded to James Patten on 23rd August 1907, recognising his 21 years of service with the original Warrnambool Life Boat Service as a Boatman and Bowman. Certificate is on rectangular, cream paper, lithographed design, printed and handwritten. Letterhead with the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom and a French motto. Images depict lifesaving crew, lifeboat, rescue equipment and a rescue in progress. The border is waves inside of frame of looped rope. Signatures of Commissioner of Public Works, Secretary of Public Works, and Engineer in charge of Ports and Harbours, Melbourne. Printed from a lithograph produced by F.W. Strahle on 23rd June 1907.MOTTO: "Dieu Droit Et Mon, Ni Soit Qui Mal y" TREXT: "Certificate granted to James Patten as a mark of appreciation of his esteemed services of 21 years as Boatman and Bowman connected with the Departmental Life-Boat service at Warrnambool - dated the 23rd day of August 1907." SIGNATURES: [Commissioner of Public Works], [Secretary of Public Works], [Engineer in charge of Ports and Harbours Melbourne] "Lithographed at the Dept of Lands & Survey - Melb/ by F.W. Strahle, 23.6.07"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff-hill, maritime museum, maritime village, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum & village, james patten, life-saving, lifesaving, rescue, bravery, drowning, joseph lowe, james ferrier, hopkins river, boat accident, certificate of service, 1890, 1907, bowman, boatman, departmental life-boat service, life-boat service, lifeboat service, august 1907, commissioner of public works, public works, ports and harbours melbourne, lands & survey melbourne, f w strahle, lithograph, 1856-1979, 260 lives saved, victorian volunteers, lifeboatmen, retired lifeboatmen

This electroplated silver teaspoon was made by the Sheffield Silver Plate & Cutlery Company Limited from about 1913 to early-1930s. It was recovered from an unknown shipwreck in the coastal waters of Victoria in the late 1960s to early 1970s. The shipwrecks in the area range from around the 1840s to the early-1930s. It is part of the John Chance Collection. Sheffield manufactures produced high quality silverware products. In the mid-1700s a cutler, Thomas Boulsover, invented a process to fuse copper between two sheets of silver, which could still be like solid silver then the edges were bound in silver. Items made this way are now referred to as Old Silver Plate. The modern method of electroplating has a much thinner layer of silver. The firm Sheffield Silver Plate and Cutlery Co. Ltd. was established in 1913 by Mappin & Webb to make spoons and forks using the American Wilzin process, which was a failure. In 1923 the company was incorporated then re-financed and reverted back to the older production method for electroplating. The maker’s stamp usually had the letters “S.S.P. & C. Co Ltd EPNS” and often included an octagon stamp with “SSP”. The firm had the registered trademarks of ‘SILCUTA’ and ‘SILTONA’ and has also used the name ‘Sheffield Nickel & Silver Plating Co. Ltd.’ The firm had manufacturing Works at Priestley Street, Sheffield from 1913 until the 1960s. They also had a London office in 1919 at Atlantic House, 40a Holborn Viaduct, London, E.C.1., then in 1921 at Union Bank Buildings, Charterhouse Street, E.C.1. The company was dissolved in 2000, the last office address being 23 Albemarle Street London, W1S 4AS. Although this spoon is not linked to a particular shipwreck, it is recognised as being historically significant as an example of cutlery, possibly from a passenger’s luggage or imported for use in Colonial Victoria in the 19th to early 20th century. The spoon is the only example in Flagstaff Hill’s collection that is connected to the manufacturer Sheffield Silver Plate and Cutlery Co. Ltd., historically significant also, as in 1939 the same manufacturer was a recognised supplier to the British Government. The spoon is also significant as it was recovered by John Chance, a diver in Victoria’s coastal waters in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Items that come from several wrecks have since been donated to the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village’s museum collection by his family, illustrating this item’s level of historical value.Spoon; teaspoon, nickel plated silver, discoloured to brown. Old English design. Inscription on handle. Made by Sheffield Silver Plate & Cutlery Co Ltd., Sheffield. Spoon has dimpled surface, nicks and dents. Embossed logo within sunken elongated octagon [SSP] Embossed letters following logo, “S S P C & CO LTD EP/NS” flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck artefact, john chance, sheffield, cutlery, eating utensils, electroplate, silver plate, silverware, flatware, antique flatware, old english flatware pattern, spoon, teaspoon, silver flatware, dining, silver plated, epnns, sheffield silver plater & cutlery, ssp, ssp & c co ltd, 20th century silverware

The five types of nails include a stamped steel nail made for wooden flooring; four copper nails used for boat building found at various locations on the island; two steel nails removed from the lantern room door during restoration in 2002 which possibly came with the Chance Bros. lantern room kit delivered in 1862; three galvanised steel nails used to pin the railway track to sleepers and decking on the jetty (the rail track carried a small trolley for unloading stores from supply ships); and a square copper nail found on the rocky shore on Tullaberga Island close to the location of the Monumental City wreck of 1853. The huge American steamer, Monumental City, was wrecked on 15 May 1853. Built in 1850, the ship was the first screw-propulsion steamer to cross the Pacific and was heading back to Sydney after dropping off Californians heading for the Victorian goldfields. Thirty-seven lives were lost, including the owner of the ship, Peter Strobel. A medal was awarded by Sydney residents to Charles Plummer who swam ashore with a line from the wreck. The tragedy renewed the urgency for a lighthouse on Gabo Island, and in 1862 when this was achieved an obelisk was erected as a memorial to those who perished. That year, Victorian PWD architect and designer of the lightstation buildings, Charles Maplestone, gave the following instructions: ‘You may remove the remains of the poor unfortunate shipwrecked of the Monumental City to the site on Gabo you propose but take scrupulous care to collect all the remains and inter them decently under the monument. Pray save any relics’.246 Heritage Victoria has 39 artefacts listed under the Historic Shipwrecks Act (S473) with a clear provenance to the Monumental City. While the copper nail has no documented provenance, it still has contributory significance as part of a diverse assemblage of relics that help to interpret the history of the Gabo Island Lightstation and the numerous shipwrecks that have occurred in its vicinity since the mid nineteenth century..1 Steel nail - flat. Stamped. This type of nail was used for secret nailing of flooring. Source of this nail is unknown. .2 Copper nails. This type of nail was used for boat building. Found at various locations around island. .3 Steel nails. Extracted from lantern room door during restoration 2002. .4 Galvanised steel nails. Used to pin railway track to timber sleepers and decking on jetty. Rail track carried a small trolley used during the unloading of stores from supply ships. .5. Copper nail square. This nail was found on the rocky shore line on Tullaberga Island close to the location of the wreck of the "Monumental City" wrecked May 1853. Nail found in June 2000.

This brass porthole frame was one of the ship's fittings recovered from the wreck of the sailing ship Falls of Halladale. "Falls of Halladale" (1886 to 1908) The Falls of Halladale was an iron-hulled, four-masted barque, used as a bulk carrier of general cargo. She left New York in August 1908 bound for Melbourne and Sydney. In her hold was general cargo consisting of roofing tiles, barbed wire, stoves, oil, benzene, and many other manufactured items. After three months at sea and close to her destination, a navigational error caused the Falls of Halladale to be wrecked on a reef off the Peterborough headland on the 15th of November, 1908. The captain and 29 crew members survived, but her cargo was largely lost, despite two salvage attempts in 1908-09 and 1910. The Court of Marine Inquiry in Melbourne ruled that the foundering of the ship was entirely due to Captain David Wood Thomson's navigational error, not too technical failure of the Clyde-built ship. The Falls of Halladale was built in1886 by Russell & Co., at Greenock shipyards on the River Clyde, Scotland for Wright, Breakenridge & Co of Glasgow. She was one of several designs of the Falls Line of ships named after waterfalls in Scotland. The company was founded between 1870- 1873 as a partnership between Joseph Russell, Anderson Rodger, and William Todd Lithgow. During 1882-92 Russell & Co. standardised designs sped up their building process so much that they could build 271 ships during that time. The Falls of Halladale had a sturdy construction built to carry maximum cargo and was able to maintain full sail in heavy gales, one of the last of the 'windjammers' that sailed the Trade Route. She and her sister ship, the Falls of Garry, were the first ships in the world to include fore and aft lifting bridges. Previously, heavily loaded vessels could have heavy seas break along the full length of the deck, causing serious injury or even death to those on deck. The new, raised catwalk-type decking allowed the crew to move above the deck in stormy conditions.This artefact is important as it is an example of the materials and design of late-19th century ship’s equipment. The object is also significant for its association with the historic sailing ship Falls of Halladale, wrecked in local waters in the early 20th century. The clipper ship Falls of Halladale shipwreck is of historical significance and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, No. S255. She was one of the last ships to sail the Trade Routes. She was one of the first vessels to have fore and aft lifting bridges. The wreck is protected as a Historic Shipwreck under the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976. The vessel is an example of an International Cargo Ship's remains and represents aspects of Victoria’s shipping industry. Porthole frame and porthole, brass; the glass missing, recovered from the wreck of the Falls of Halladale. One screw dog intact. There are nine bolt holes in the frame. The frame has been restored.flagstaff hill, maritime museum, maritime village, warrnambool, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, falls of halladale, shipwreck, peterborough, 1908 shipwreck, russell & co., greenock, wright breakenridge & co. glasgow, clipper ship, porthole, porthole frame, ship’s fitting, brass porthole, reconditioned porthole

The rocket rescue crews used a sand anchor at a beach rescue site to weigh down the rescue apparatus. The crew would connect the steel cables to the connecting cable and then join heavy ropes or chains to the connecting cable. They would then bury the anchor in a trench about three-quarters of a metre deep, keeping the connecting cable’s end free. The length of heavy rope or chain was attached to a pulley block onto the heavy hawser line. The block and a crotch pole were used to keep the hawser line high and taught, keeping the survivors above the sea as they were hauled to shore on a line or in a breeches buoy. Saving lives in Warrnambool – The coastline of South West Victoria is the site of over 600 shipwrecks and many lost lives; even in Warrnambool’s Lady Bay there were around 16 known shipwrecks between 1850 and 1905, with eight lives lost. In 1859 the first Government-built lifeboat arrived at Warrnambool Harbour and a shed was soon built to house it. In 1858 the provision of rocket and mortar apparatus was approved for lifeboat stations in Victoria, and in 1864 a rocket house was built to safely store the rocket rescue equipment. In 1878 the buildings were moved to the Breakwater area, and in 1910 the new Lifeboat Warrnambool arrived with its ‘self-righting’ design. For almost a hundred years the lifeboat and rocket crews, mostly local volunteers, trained regularly to maintain their rescue skills. They were summoned when needed by alarms, gunshots, ringing bells and foghorns. Some became local heroes but all served an important role. By the end of the 1950s, the lifeboat and rescue equipment had become obsolete. Rocket Rescue Method - The Government of Victoria adopted lifesaving methods based on Her Majesty’s Coast Guard in Great Britain. It authorised the first line-throwing rescue system in 1858. Captain Manby’s mortar powered a projectile connected to a rope, invented in 1808. The equipment was updated to John Dennett’s 8-foot shaft and rocket method that had a longer range of about 250 yards. From the 1860s the breeches buoy apparatus was in use. The apparatus was suspended on a hawser line and manually pulled to and from the distressed vessel carrying passengers and items. In the early 1870s Colonel Boxer’s rocket rescue method became the standard in Victoria. His two-stage rockets, charged by a gunpowder composition, could fire the line up to 500-600 yards, although 1000 yards range was possible. Boxer’s rocket carried the light line, which was faked, or coiled, in a particular way between pegs in a faking box to prevent twists and tangles when fired. The angle of firing the rocket to the vessel in distress was measured by a quadrant-type instrument on the side of the rocket machine. Decades later, in about 1920, Schermuly invented the line-throwing pistol that used a small cartridge to fire the rocket. The British Board of Trade published instructions for both the beach rescue crew and ship’s crew. It involved setting up the rocket launcher on shore at a particular angle measured by the quadrant, inserting a rocket that had a lightweight line threaded through its shaft, and then firing it across the stranded vessel, the line issuing freely from the faking board. A tally board was then sent out to the ship with instructions in four languages. The ship’s crew would haul on the line to bring out the heavier, continuous whip line, then secure the attached whip block to the mast or other sturdy part of the ship. The rescue crew on shore then hauled out a stronger hawser line, which the ship’s crew fixed above the whip block. The hawser was then tightened using the block on the shore end of the whip. The breeches buoy and endless whip are then attached to the traveller block on the hawser, allowing the shore crew to haul the breeches buoy to and from the vessel, rescuing the stranded crew one at a time. This sand anchor is part of the rocket rescue equipment and is significant for its connection with local history, maritime history and marine technology. Lifesaving has been an important part of the services performed from Warrnambool's very early days, supported by State and Local Government, and based on the methods and experience of Great Britain. Hundreds of shipwrecks along the coast are evidence of the rough weather and rugged coastline. Ordinary citizens, the Harbour employees, and the volunteer boat and rescue crew, saved lives in adverse circumstances. Some were recognised as heroes, others went unrecognised. In Lady Bay, Warrnambool, there were around 16 known shipwrecks between 1850 and 1905. Many lives were saved but tragically, eight lives were lost.The sand anchor comprises a plank with steel cables and a connecting cable. The rectangular wooden bevelled-edged plank with two pairs of square metal plates bolted through it. Each metal plate has an eyelet and the two steel cable lengths are permanently attached by their eyelets to the plates. The eyelets at each end of the cable lengths are reinforced with rope work and one length also has a ‘U’ bolt shackle connection. The steel connecting cable also has reinforced eyelets at both ends. The plank has a black stencilled inscription on the upper surface. Stencilled in black paint "ANCHOR" "BACKER"flagstaff hill maritime museum & village, flagstaff hill, maritime museum, maritime village, warrnambool, great ocean road, shipwreck, life-saving, lifesaving, rescue crew, rescue, rocket rescue, maritime accidents, shipwreck victim, rocket crew, beach rescue, line rescue, rescue equipment, rocket firing equipment, rocket rescue equipment, rocket apparatus, beach apparatus, breeches buoy, rocket house, rocket equipment, rocket launcher, rocket line, marine technology, beach rescue set, traveller, block, running block, pulley, hawser, faked line, lady bay, warrnambool harbour, port of warrnambool, volunteer lifesavers, volunteer crew, breakwater, rocket rescue method, rocket rescue apparatus, shore to ship, rocket apparatus rescue, stranded vessel, whip line, endless whip, harbour board, sand anchor, rocket set, anchor backer, rescue anchor, beach anchor, backer, anchor, steel cable, wire cable, connecting cable

This bottle was recovered decades later from a shipwreck along the coast of Victoria. It may have been amongst the ship's cargo, its provisions or amongst a passenger's personal luggage. It is now part of the John Chance collection. Stoneware bottles similar to this one were in common use during the mid-to-late 19th century. They were used to store and transport. The bottles were handmade using either a potter's wheel or in moulds such as a plaster mould, which gave the bottles uniformity in size and shape. The bottle would then be fired and glazed in a hot kiln. Makers often identified their bottles with the impression of a small symbol or adding a colour to the mouth. The manufacturer often stamped their bottles with their name and logo, and sometimes a message that the bottle remained their property and should be returned to them. The bottles could then be cleaned and refilled.This stoneware bottle is historically significant for its manufacture and use in the late 19th to the early 20th century. The bottle is also significant as it was recovered by John Chance, a diver, from a wreck on the coast of Victoria in the 1960s-70s. Items that come from several wrecks along Victoria's coast have since been donated to the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village’s museum collection by his family, illustrating this item’s level of historical value.Bottle, salt glazed stoneware, beige, discolouration above base.Noneflagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, john chance, artefact, stoneware, ironstone, pottery, bottle, antique bottle

This light hanging mechanism could have been used for an adjustable chandelier with candle holders. It would likely be attached to the ceiling by its long stem to suspend the light fitting. A chain would have been threaded around each pulley, with one end joined to the top of the light fitting and the other end joined to a counter weight. The four counter weights would allow the light fitting to be raised or lowered to the desired height with little effort, to allow for lighting the candles or change the intensity of the light. This light fitting was once installed on the famous sailing ship, the Loch Ard, which was built in 1873 and tragically wrecked in 1878.The fitting was recovered from the wreck almost 100 years later, at the time it was discovered. LOCH ARD 1873-1878 – The Scottish-built clipper ship Loch Ard was bound for Melbourne in 1878 with 54 people on board. The mixed cargo it carried included items for the 1880 International Exhibition in Melbourne, one of which was the now famous Majorca ware Minton ‘Peacock’ statue. The Loch Ard was wrecked on June 1st when the ship crashed into Mutton Bird Island, east of Port Campbell. The only survivors were Tom Pearce, a crew member, and Eva Carmichael, a young passenger who was rescued by Pearce. The Gibsons, owners of nearby Glenample Homestead, cared for Tom, and for Eva who stayed longer before returning to Ireland. The wreck of the Loch Ard was discovered in 1967, before the introduction of the Victorian historic shipwreck legislation. In 1969 it was decided that all recovered material should be lodged with the Receiver of Wrecks. In 1980 Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum Divers received a permit to recover artefacts from the wreck to safeguard them from looters. In 1982 the site was listed as a Historic Shipwreck, and the Maritime Archaeology Unit recovered loose artefact material. The light fitting is recognised as being historically significant as an example of lighting either as part of the ship ‘Loch Ard’ or part of the ship’s cargo, imported for use in Colonial Victoria in the 19th to early 20th century. Flagstaff Hill’s collection of artefacts from LOCH ARD is significant for being one of the largest collections of artefacts from this shipwreck in Victoria. It is significant for its association with the shipwreck, which is on the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR S417). The collection is significant because of the relationship between the objects, as together they have a high potential to interpret the story of the LOCH ARD. The LOCH ARD collection is archaeologically significant as the remains of a large international passenger and cargo ship. The LOCH ARD collection is historically significant for representing aspects of Victoria’s shipping history and its potential to interpret sub-theme 1.5 of Victoria’s Framework of Historical Themes (living with natural processes). The collection is also historically significant for its association with the LOCH ARD, which was one of the worst and best known shipwrecks in Victoria’s history. Light fitting; hanging mechanism with simple pulley wheels for pendant light. Metal pipe, closed and hooked at one end, stem has three decorative rings, and open end has a short narrower metal pipe inserted. Narrow pipe has a three tiered, scallop-edged dome attached to the end. The dome encloses remnants of broken chain length and is attached to a set of four pulley wheels arrayed in a circle with their edge sat right angles to each other. The light fitting was recovered from the wreck of the Loch Ard.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck artefact, loch ard, victoria, eva carmichael, tom pearce, lighting, lidht fitting, pendant light, chandelier, pulley light, adjustable height light

This small purse belonged to David and Alice Ellis, a young couple married in Dublin in 1855. It has been handed down in the Ellis family until it was donated, together with other personal effects, in 2004 by David and Alice’s granddaughter, daughter of David Ellis Junior. On 6th October 1855 newlyweds David and Alice Ellis set sail for Australia in the brand new Schomberg, considered the most perfect clipper ship. She was built as an emigrant ship in Aberdeen and set sail from Liverpool on her maiden voyage, bound for Melbourne, Australia. She was loaded with 430 passengers plus cargo that included iron rails and equipment intended for building the Geelong Railway and a bridge over the Yarra from Melbourne to Hawthorn. On 27th December 1855, only one day from her Melbourne destination, the Schomberg was grounded on a sand-spit on the Victorian coast near Peterborough. The passengers and crew were all safely rescued by a passing small steamer, the SS Queen, which traded between Melbourne and Warrnambool, and taken to Melbourne. The passengers had been told, when leaving the sinking Schomberg, that all they could take with them was a small basket or handbag. A newspaper article later mentioned that one of the things Alice made space for in her basket was her Bible. (It is unclear whether Alice took any possessions with her onto the SS Queen, but a note accompanying the donation of the Bible and basket states that the items were “left on deck and salvaged as Schomberg went down”.) Another steamer was despatched from Melbourne to retrieve the passengers’ luggage from the Schomberg and Alice was reunited with all of her boxes of belongings. Other steamers helped unload the cargo until the change in weather made it too difficult. Although the Schomberg was wrecked there were no lives lost. At that time David was 23 years old (born in Wales, 1832) and his new bride Alice was 26 (born in Dublin, 1829). They had been given letters of introduction to people in Tasmania so they travelled there from Melbourne. However the couple only stayed on that island for about a year before they returned to the Western District of Victoria. David worked for Mr Neil Black as a gardener for a while then, when the land in the area was made available by the Victorian government, David and Alice claimed a selection of land on Noorat Road in the Terang district. They settled there for the remainder of their lives, expanding their property “Allambah” as opportunities arose. A document accompanying the donation lists the names of six children; William, Grace (c. 1859-1946), Thomas (c. 1866 – 1939), David (c. 1962 – 1953), James and Victor. David died on 13th April 1911, aged 79, at their property. Alice passed away the following year, November 1912, aged 83. Alice’s obituary described her as “a very homely, kindly-natured woman, who was highly esteemed by a large circle of friends; and she was also a firm adherent of the Presbyterian Church”. At the time of Alice’s death she left behind three sons and one daughter. Her daughter Grace Ellis was also a very active member of the Terang Presbyterian Church and a member of the PWMU (Presbyterian Women’s Missionary Union). She was also involved in the Red Cross and other charities. Grace passed away in 1946, aged 87. David and Alice Ellis were amongst the very earlies pioneers of the Terang district of Western Victoria. Their donated possessions are a sample of the personal effects of emigrants to Australia. The donated items are a sample of the personal goods carried aboard a significant migrant ship in 1855. They are also significant for their association with the Schomberg. The Schomberg, which is on the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR S612), has great historical significance as a rare example of a large, fast clipper ship on the England to Australia run, carrying emigrants at the time of the Victorian gold rush. She represents the technical advances made to break sailing records between Europe and Australia. Flagstaff Hill’s collection of artefacts from the Schomberg is significant for its association with the shipwreck, The collection is primarily significant because of the relationship between the objects, as together they have a high potential to interpret the story of the Schomberg. It is archaeologically significant as the remains of an international passenger Ship. It is historically significant for representing aspects of Victoria’s shipping history and for its association with the shipwreck and the ship, which was designed to be fastest and most luxurious of its day Purse, leather, rectangular shape with metal frame and catch. Purse was amongst the possessions of David and Alice Ellis, passengers on the Schomberg when wrecked in 1855.schomberg, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwrecked artefact, warrnambool, shipwreck, purse, leather purse, personal effects, 1855 shipwreck, peterborough shipwreck, ss queen, david ellis, alice ellis, allambah terang, dublin emigrants, terang presbyterian church, western district victoria

Context: A deadeye or bullseye is an item used in the standing and running of sail rigging in traditional sailing ships. It is a smallish round thick wooden disc (usually lignum vitae) with one or more holes through it, perpendicular to the plane of the disc. History Falls of Halladale: The wooden bullseye comes from the Falls of Halladale, a four-masted iron-hulled barque that was built in 1886 for the long-distance bulk carrier trade. The vessel was built for the Falls Line (Wright, Breakenridge & Co., Glasgow, Scotland) at the shipyard of Russell & Co., Greenock on the River Clyde, she was named after a waterfall on the Halladale River in the Caithness district of Scotland. The ship's design was advanced for her time, incorporating features that improved crew safety and efficiency such as elevated bridges to allow the crew to move between forward and aft in relative safety during heavy seas. The Falls of Halladale was the seventh vessel in a series of eight similar iron-hulled sailing ships, all built by Russell & Co and all named after waterfalls in Scotland. The Falls of Halladale was preceded by the Falls of Clyde (1878), the Falls of Bruar (1879), the Falls of Dee (1882), the Falls of Afton (1882), the Falls of Foyers (1883) and the Falls of Earn (1884). The Falls of Halladale was followed by a sister ship, the Falls of Garry (1886). The Falls of Clyde is afloat today and is a major attraction at the Hawaii Maritime Centre in Honolulu. The Falls of Halladale is best known for her spectacular demise in a shipwreck near Peterborough, Victoria on the shipwreck coast of Victoria, Australia. On the night of 14 November 1908, she was sailed in dense fog directly onto the rocks due to a navigational error. The crew of 29 abandoned ship safely and all made it ashore by boat, leaving the ship foundering with her sails set. For weeks after the wreck, large crowds gathered to view the ship as she gradually broke up and then sank in the shallow water. Soon after the accident the ship's master, Capt. David Wood Thomson was brought before a Court of Marine Inquiry in Melbourne and found guilty of a gross act of misconduct, having carelessly navigated the ship, having neglected to take proper soundings, and having failed to place the ship on a port tack before it became too late to avoid the shipwreck. Capt. Thomson's punishment included a small fine and he had his Certificate of Competency as a Master suspended for six months. Today the Falls of Halladale is a popular destination for recreational divers. The wreck is easily accessible by scuba divers about 300 m offshore in 3 to 15 m of water. The hull lies on its collapsed starboard side. Some of the original cargo of 56,763 roof slates remains at the site of the wreck along with corroded masses of what used to be coils of barbed wire. Twenty-two thousand slates were salvaged in the 1980s and used to provide roofing at the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool. An anchor that was recovered in 1974 is on display at the village.The pulley sheave is significant as a salvaged item from the Victorian heritage-listed Falls of Halladale wreck. As an artifact from the wrecked ship, it helps us to remember today the story of the wrecking and is an important reminder of a marine incident in Victoria's maritime history.Carved wooden Bulls Eye/Deadeye, varnished.Noneflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, falls of halladale, shipwreck peterborough, 1908 shipwreck, great clipper ships, russell & co., bulls eye

The Huon Pine whaleboat was made on site by the boat builders at Flagstaff Hill in1989, of the clinker-planked construction method. Whaling was carried out in the 1790s up until the 1970s in the Southern Ocean off the coast of Australia, including southwest Victoria. The whales were hunted for their oil, baleen, meat and other products. It was a lucrative but very dangerous occupation. The small whaleboats with their five crew members were easy to maneuver but also easily overturned by a writhing whale. The Southern Right whales had desirable attributes; they came close to shore, they were slow swimmers and they floated when dead - hence the name 'Right' describing the right whale to hunt. The whale population was greatly reduced until 1979 when the Australian government prohibited whaling. These whales still visit the area annually to breed in the shallow bays along what is now called the Shipwreck Coast of Victoria. The whaleboat represents a significant time in Australia between the 1790s and 1979, when the whaling trade was carried in this area, and around Australia, providing employment and meeting the demand for whale oil, meat and other products. A time during which the population of whales was greatly depleted. Australian whaleboat; a long narrow vessel constructed of clinker-planked Huon Pine timber. It has provision for a crew of 5five oarsmen and a sweep or helmsman. Made in 1989.flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, whaleboat, vessel, clinker built, huon pine whaleboat, whaling, whaleling industry

This Japanese ceramic vase was recovered from the wreck of the S.S. Casino (1882 – 1932) between the late 1960s to early 1970s. It is one of the shipwreck artefacts in the John Chance Collection. The design is an example of vintage basket weave pottery. The base of the vase is stamped ‘MADE IN JAPAN’ , which dates its probable manufacture to circa 1921-1932. The vase has side seams indicating that it was made by joining two moulded sides of the vase together, then adding the round base. The coastal trader SS Casino (1882–1932) had a run of almost 50 years along the coast of Western Victoria. She traded goods and food as well as carrying passengers from port to port on her many voyages. This vase may have been included in her cargo or could have been amongst the personal luggage of the people on board. The ceramic vase is an example of ceramic pottery in Victoria the 1930s. The vase is also significant as it was recovered by John Chance, a diver from the wreck of the Loch Ard in the 1960s-70s. Items that come from several wrecks along Victoria's coast have since been donated to the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village’s museum collection by his family, illustrating this item’s level of historical value. The vase is also significant as it is associated with the S.S. Casino, which played an historical role in Western Victoria, providing transport, communication and trade along the coast between Melbourne and Portland in the late 19th and the early 20th century, visiting the ports at Apollo Bay, Warrnambool and Belfast (Port Fairy). The S.S. Casino was the only regular trader with normal passenger accommodation along the West Coast and the only Western District steamship that was in service between 1854 and 1939, and to be represented in the Victorian Heritage Shipwreck register, and to have been wrecked in the Western District, and to have the wreck located, and to be accessible to divers. The wreck of the S.S. Casino, and its associated relics, is considered an important part of Victorian and Australian cultural heritage and is now protected as a Historic Shipwreck under State and Commonwealth Law in the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act (1976). Vase, round, cream coloured, unglazed ceramic, basket weave design. Wide mouth, short neck that tapers out to wide shoulders and straight down to round base. Seams on each side, mouth to base. Small handle on each side of vase between mouth and shoulder. Front and back of vase have a plain oval space bordered by a floral design. Inscription stamped onto base. Made in Japan. Stamped onto base in black ink "MADE IN / JAPAN"flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, vase, japanese vase, s.s. casino, john chance, vintage pottery, newcastle and hunter river steam navigation company, belfast and koroit steam navigation company, west coast trader, apollo bay, captain middleton, basket weave, ceramic

This bottle was made in Scotland and recovered decades later from a shipwreck along the coast of Victoria. It may have been amongst the ship's cargo, its provisions or amongst a passenger's personal luggage. It is now part of the John Chance collection. Stoneware bottles similar to this one were in common use during the mid-to-late 19th century. They were used to store and transport. The bottles were handmade using either a potter's wheel or in moulds such as a plaster mould, which gave the bottles uniformity in size and shape. The bottle would then be fired and glazed in a hot kiln. Makers often identified their bottles with the impression of a small symbol or adding a colour to the mouth. The manufacturer usually stamped their bottles with their name and logo, and sometimes a message that the bottle remained their property and should be returned to them. The bottles could then be cleaned and refilled. However, this bottle has no identification marks. This stoneware bottle is historically significant for its manufacture and use in the late 19th to the early 20th century. The bottle is also significant as it was recovered by John Chance, a diver, from a wreck on the coast of Victoria in the 1960s-70s. Items that come from several wrecks along Victoria's coast have since been donated to the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village’s museum collection by his family, illustrating this item’s level of historical value.Bottle, salt glazed stoneware, beigeNoneflagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, john chance, shipwreck artefact, stoneware, ironstone, pottery, bottle, antique bottle

This small knob has been manufactured to look like marble. It may have been used as a drawer or door handle, possibly part of the ship's furnishings because it appears to have been broken off its connecting shank. The encrustations on the surface are from being in the sea around 90 years. The knob was recovered from the wreck of the Loch Ard and is part of the John Chance collection. The Loch Ard was a clipper ship built in Scotland in 1873. In 1978 the ship was sailing to Melbourne with 54 people on board as well as a mixed cargo that included items for the 1880 International Exhibition in Melbourne. On June 1st 1878 it was not far from its destination when it crashed into Mutton Bird Island, east of Port Campbell. Only two people survived. The wreck was re-discovered in 1967 and the site is listed as a Historic Shipwreck. (See References and Significance for further information.)This knob is historically significant as it is an example of hardware fittings made and used during the mid-to-late 19th century. This knob is significant for its connection with the John Chance Collection, which is historically significant as an example of artefacts from wrecks that had been lost in the coastal waters of Victoria from thirty to over one hundred years before John Chance and others discovered them. These artefacts are a sample of goods carried as cargo or personal possessions, and of ship hardware of that era. The knob is significant through its connection with the clipper ship Loch Ard (1873-1878), which is historically significant to both Victoria and Australia. The loss of the ship has been described as one of the ‘worst shipwreck tragedies’ and is well known in Victoria for the tragic death of 52 out of the 54 lives on board. The Loch Ard wreck is historically significant as a large international passenger and cargo clipper ship. It is registered on the Victorian Heritage Database VHR S417. The wreck site is labelled as ‘one of Victoria’s most spectacular diving sites’ and the area is a popular tourist site. It is part of Victoria’s Underwater Shipwreck Discovery Trail. Knob or handle; ceramic (faux marble), dome with flat base, brown colour with orange and cream swirls through it, polished surface. Base has two embedded round, rough-edged metal fittings. Encrustations adhere to the polished surface in pleases. Clear tape keeps large broken chip intact. Another chipped area reveals the rough inner surface of the marble.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, john chance, loch ard, knob, handle, door hardware, ceramic, faux marble, vintage, antique, cabinetry, door pull, drawer pull

This olive green bottle was handmade by a glassblower and is the typical shape of a ‘gallon’ type liquor bottle, which has the capacity of one-sixth of an imperial gallon, about 750ml. It was made around the mid-to-late 1800s. The bottle was recovered from an unnamed shipwreck in the coastal water of Victoria. It is part of the John Chance Collection. Glassblowers made bottles like this one by blowing into a long metal pipe or reed with a blob of molten glass at the end of it. The shape of the glass would be blown out to fit into the shape of the mould. Once it set, the glass was removed from the mould and the glassblower would continue using the pipe to create the neck and another tool to finish the base. The bottle would be cracked off the end of the glassblower’s pipe and a blob of molten glass would be added to the top to form the mouth and lip of the bottle. The seal was usually a cork, often held in place with tape. Although the bottle is not linked to a particular shipwreck, it is recognised as being historically significant as an example of bottles imported for use in Colonial Victoria in the mid-to-late 1800s. The bottle is also significant as it was recovered by John Chance, a diver in Victoria’s coastal water in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Items that come from several wrecks have since been donated to the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village’s museum collection by his family, illustrating this item’s level of historical value. Bottle, dark olive green glass, tall thin Gallon type. Lip is straight, deep, with thin horizontal lines in glass. Neck has gradual flare, body has side seams, heel has uneven thickness, and base is concave, without pontil mark. No inscriptions. Glass has imperfections. Handmade in mould. Body has score marks and is worn down one side. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck artefact, john chance, glass bottle, antique bottle, gallon bottle, handmade, mouth blown, pontil mark, blown bottle, liquor bottle, 19th century bottle, collectable, olive glass, green glass, mould, 1800s bottle

This olive green bottle was handmade by a glassblower and is the typical shape of a ‘gallon’ type liquor bottle, which has the capacity of one-sixth of an imperial gallon, about 750ml. It was made around the mid-to-late 1800s. The bottle was recovered from an unnamed shipwreck in the coastal water of Victoria. It is part of the John Chance Collection. Glassblowers made bottles like this one by blowing into a long metal pipe or reed with a blob of molten glass at the end of it. The shape of the glass would be blown out to fit into the shape of the mould. Once it set, the glass was removed from the mould and the glassblower would continue using the pipe to create the neck and another tool to finish the base. The bottle would be cracked off the end of the glassblower’s pipe and a blob of molten glass would be added to the top to form the mouth and lip of the bottle. The seal was usually a cork, often held in place with tape. Although the bottle is not linked to a particular shipwreck, it is recognised as being historically significant as an example of bottles imported for use in Colonial Victoria in the mid-to-late 1800s. The bottle is also significant as it was recovered by John Chance, a diver in Victoria’s coastal water in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Items that come from several wrecks have since been donated to the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village’s museum collection by his family, illustrating this item’s level of historical value. Bottle, dark olive green glass, tall thin Gallon type. Lip is double; rounded upper, flared lower. Neck is slightly bulbous. Body has shoulder seam, then tapers inwards to base. Concave base with small pontil mark. No inscriptions. Handmade in mould. Body has sediment inside, top to bottom. Glass is worn down one side. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck artefact, john chance, glass bottle, antique bottle, gallon bottle, handmade, mouth blown, pontil mark, blown bottle, liquor bottle, 19th century bottle, collectable, olive glass, green glass, mould, 1800s bottle, bulbous neck

This restored porthole frame was recovered from the wreck of the Falls of Halladale at Peterborough Victoria. The Falls of Halladale- The ship was an iron-hulled, four-masted barque, used as a bulk carrier of general cargo. She left New York in August 1908 bound for Melbourne and Sydney. In her hold was general cargo consisting of roofing tiles, barbed wire, stoves, oil, benzene, and many other manufactured items. After three months at sea and close to her destination, a navigational error caused the Falls of Halladale to be wrecked on a reef off the Peterborough headland on the 15th of November, 1908. The captain and 29 crew members survived, but her cargo was largely lost, despite two salvage attempts in 1908-09 and 1910. The Court of Marine Inquiry in Melbourne ruled that the foundering of the ship was entirely due to Captain David Wood Thomson's navigational error, not too technical failure of the Clyde-built ship. The Falls of Halladale was built in1886 by Russell & Co., at Greenock shipyards on the River Clyde, Scotland for Wright, Breakenridge & Co of Glasgow. She was one of several designs of the Falls Line of ships named after waterfalls in Scotland. The company was founded between 1870- 1873 as a partnership between Joseph Russell, Anderson Rodger, and William Todd Lithgow. During 1882-92 Russell & Co. standardised designs sped up their building process so much that they could build 271 ships during that time. The Falls of Halladale had a sturdy construction built to carry maximum cargo and was able to maintain full sail in heavy gales, one of the last of the 'windjammers' that sailed the Trade Route. She and her sister ship, the Falls of Garry, were the first ships in the world to include fore and aft lifting bridges. Previously, heavily loaded vessels could have heavy seas break along the full length of the deck, causing serious injury or even death to those on deck. The new, raised catwalk-type decking allowed the crew to move above the deck in stormy conditions. This artefact is important as it is an example of the materials and design of late-19th century ship’s rigging equipment. The object is also significant for its association with the historic sailing ship Falls of Halladale, wrecked in local waters in the early 20th century. The clipper ship Falls of Halladale shipwreck is of historical significance and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, No. S255. She was one of the last ships to sail the Trade Routes. She was one of the first vessels to have fore and aft lifting bridges. The vessel is an example of an International Cargo Ship's remains and represents aspects of Victoria’s shipping industry. Porthole frame; cast brass circular frame with several fixing holes, and hinged frame for holding the glass window. The frame has two screw dogs and a solid hinge. The porthole frame has been recondition and the layer of concretion has been removed. The porthole frame was recovered from the wrecked FALLS OF HALLADALE.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime village, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, great ocean road, falls of halladale, shippwreck, shipwreck artefact, porthole, pprthole frame, ship's window, ship construction, shipwreck, peterborough, 1908 shipwreck, peterborough shipwreck, russell & co., greenock, wright breakenridge & co. glasgow, clipper ship

This letter was written by Henry Davis, editor of the Warrnambool Standard, to Joseph Archibald, curator of the Warrnambool Museum. Dated 11 October 1883, it refers to Davis’s recovery of a saturated volume of ‘Longfellow’s Poems’ from the sea at Loch Ard Gorge. The retrieval of this book, and its possible connection with one of the survivors from the LOCH ARD shipwreck in 1878, prompted Archibald’s letter of 1 December 1883 to Eva Carmichael, and Eva’s reply of 21 January 1884 (No, it was not her book). Miss Carmichael’s reply to Archibald’s inquiry (2290.4) and the water-damaged book itself (541) are both in the Flagstaff Hill collection along with this letter from Davis, which connects the two. The Davis letter reads: “Dear Sir, ― This book was found by me in the waves which broke on the sands [….] the Gorge where Tom Pearce rescued Miss Carmichael after the wreck of the ill-fated ‘Loch Ard’. I ran in with the receding waves and picked up the soddened volume, and, coincidentally, the first illustrations that met my gaze, on parting its dripping pages, was that portraying the fair maiden in the ‘Wreck of the [Hersperus’.] On the Bluff, 200 feet above me, were the dead forms of Mrs and one of the Misses Carmichael, whilst [by] them, stiff and [….] were two gentlemen passengers [by] the wreck[ed] [v]essel]. Having just left them before [….] [my] capture in the Gorge, you may imagine [m]y feelings on alighting upon, under such circumstances, Longfellow’s beautiful and sympathetic poem. Yours truly, H.W. Davis.” The book referred to here is The Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1877, Nimmo, London. It is on display under glass in the Great Circle Gallery at the Maritime Village, alongside a typed transcript of the Davis letter. A 1996 audit of the rare book collection at Flagstaff Hill notes: “Inscribed ‘Loch Ard June 1 1878’ in pencil within ― believed to be a salvage from the shipwreck”. The letter is connected to the salvaged items from the 1878 LOCH ARD shipwreck, which is of State significance ― Victorian Heritage Number S417Letter from H. Davis, editor of the Warrnambool Standard, to J. Archibald, curator of the Warrnambool Museum. It was handwritten in ink on “Standard Office, Warrnambool” letterhead note paper, and dated 11 October 1883. The cursive script appears carelessly written and the original single sheet of paper is in poor condition (torn and creased). At some stage the original document has been backed with stiff cardboard and then sealed in a clear plastic cover.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, loch ard, longfellow’s poems, eva carmichael, joseph archibald, henry davis, warrnambool standard

This rescue line-throwing rocket set was made for the Dennett rocket system, which was used by the Rocket Rescue crews in South West Victoria from around the 1860s to the 1890s. John Dennett - John Dennett was from Carisbrooke, in the Ilse of Wight, UK. In 1826 he invented, patented and demonstrated an improved method of rocket powered, line firing rescue equipment for saving lives. The rockets had a longer range than the mortars being used, they were lighter, needed less preparation time, only needed one line for repeated shots, and fewer people were needed to move the equipment. Very favourable reports of Dennett’s rockets were received by those in charge of His Majesty’s Naval and Military services. In 1832, Dennett’s rocket-thrown line was sent out to the wreck of the ‘Bainbridge’, and was responsible for nineteen survivors coming ashore in two boatloads, along the fired line. Dennett’s rocket received national fame, and a one-year contract to supply rockets to the Coastguards. He became known as ‘Rocket Man’ and his rockets were used in rescues at least until 1890, when his son Horatio was running the business. A rocket weighing 23 lb would have a range of about 250 yards (228 metres), on average. Saving lives in Warrnambool – The coastline of South West Victoria has had over 600 shipwrecks and many lost lives; even in Warrnambool’s Lady Bay there were around 16 known shipwrecks between 1850 and 1905, with eight lives lost. In 1859 the first Government-built lifeboat arrived at Warrnambool Harbour and a shed was soon built to house it, followed in 1864 by a rocket house to safely store the Rocket Rescue equipment. In 1878 the buildings were moved to the Breakwater area, and in 1910 the new Lifeboat Warrnambool arrived with its ‘self-righting’ design. For almost one hundred years the lifeboat and rocket crews, mostly local volunteers, trained regularly to maintain and improve their skills, summoned when needed by alarms, gunshots, ringing bells and foghorns. Some became local heroes but all served an important role. By the end of the 1950s the lifeboat and rescue equipment had become obsolete. Rocket Rescue Method - The first use of a lifesaving rocket rescue system is often credited to Captain Manby and his invention of a life mortar, first used in 1808 to fire a line onto a ship to rescue lives. Henry Trengrouse’s invention of 1820 was the first to use a sky rocket’s power to throw a line, and his invention included a chair for carrying the shipwrecked victims to shore. In 1832 John Dennett invented a rocket specifically for shore to ship rescue. It had an iron case and an 8 foot pole attached and could shoot the line as far as 250 yards (about 230 metres). From the 1860s the rocket rescue apparatus was in use. It comprised a breeches buoy and traveller block that was suspended on a line and manually pulled to and from the distressed vessel carrying passengers and items. Colonel Boxer, who had invented an early line-thrower, designed a rocket in 1865 with a range from 300 to 470 yards. It was the first two-stage rocket, with two rockets placed one in front of the other in a tube that carried the rescue line. The hemp line was faked, or coiled, in a particular way in a faking box to prevent twists and tangles when fired, and the angle of firing the rocket was measured by a quadrant-type instrument on the side of the rocket machine. Schermuly invented the line-throwing pistol around 1920, which used a small cartridge to fire the rocket. Victoria’s Government adopted lifesaving methods based on Her Majesty’s Coast Guard in Great Britain, which used Colonel Boxer’s rocket apparatus rescue method. The British Board of Trade published instructions in 1850 for both the beach rescue crew and ship’s crew. It involved setting up the rocket launcher on shore at a particular angle measured by the quadrant, inserting a rocket that had a light-weight line attached, then firing it across the stranded vessel. A tally board was then sent out with instructions in four languages. The ship’s crew would haul on the line to bring out the continuous whip line and attach the whip block to a mast or sturdy part the ship. The rescue crew on shore then hauled out a heavier hawser line, which the ship’s crew fixed above the whip block. The hawser is then tightened using the block on the shore end of the whip. The breeches buoy and endless whip are then attached to the traveller block on the hawser, allowing the shore crew to haul the buoy to and from the vessel, rescuing the stranded crew one at a time. The rocket system could also be used from one ship to another.The Dennett rocket set is quite rare - there are not many examples in existence and little information is available. This Dennett's rocket set is significant for its connection with local history, maritime history and marine technology. Lifesaving has been an important part of the services performed from Warrnambool's very early days, supported by State and Local Government, and based on the methods and experience of Great Britain. Hundreds of shipwrecks along the coast are evidence of the rough weather and rugged coastline. Ordinary citizens, the Harbour employees, and the volunteer boat and rescue crew, saved lives in adverse circumstances. Some were recognised as heroes, others went unrecognised. In Lady Bay, Warrnambool, there were around 16 known shipwrecks between 1850 and 1905. Many lives were saved but tragically, eight lives were lost.A Dennett rocket set in six parts; the rocket head, three shafts (poles) and two rocket-head toting boxes. The rocket head, mounted on one of the shafts, is a long, red painted, iron tube with rounded ends and a protruding fitting around each end. The wooden rocket shafts are octagonal, with a metal sheath at the ends, carved elongated slots towards each end, and a scribed channel above the black foot. The rocket head toting boxes are thick timber, covered in fabric and painted black. They have a hinged wooden lid that slants downwards from back to front, and a metal closure. Small deliberate holes, in groups of four, on the box’s sides, indicate missing attachments, likely to have been handles. Impressed one a shaft "8"flagstaff hill maritime museum & village, flagstaff hill, maritime museum, maritime village, warrnambool, great ocean road, shipwreck, life-saving, lifesaving, rescue crew, rescue, rocket rescue, maritime accidents, shipwreck victim, rocket crew, beach rescue, line rescue, rescue equipment, rocket firing equipment, rocket rescue equipment, rocket apparatus, beach apparatus, petticoat breeches, breeches buoy, rocket house, rocket shed, lifeboat men, rocket equipment, rocket machine, rocket head, rocket launcher, rocket line, marine technology, william schermuly, line-firing pistol, line throwing gun, schermuly pistol, pistol rocket apparatus, beach rescue set, traveller, block, running block, pulley, hawser, faking, faking box, faked line, rescue boat, lifeboat, lady bay, warrnambool harbour, port of warrnambool, tramway jetty, volunteer lifesavers, volunteer crew, breakwater, lifeboat warrnambool, rocket rescue method, rocket rescue apparatus, captain manby, mortar, henry trengrouse, sky rocket, john dennett, shore to ship, colonel boxer, two-stage rocket, italian hemp, quadrant, schermuly, line-throwing pistol, line throwing cartridge, rocket apparatus rescue, stranded vessel, tally board, light line, whip line, endless whip, petticoat buoy, traveller chair, traveller block, her majesty’s coast guard, harbour board, line thrower, line throwing, beach cart, hand barrow, sand anchor, hawser cutter, life jacket, faking board, irish hand barrow, rocket head toting box, explosives, rocket shaft, rocket pole

This olive green bottle was handmade by a glassblower and is the typical shape of a ‘gallon’ type liquor bottle, which has the capacity of one-sixth of an imperial gallon, about 750ml. It was made around the mid-to-late 1800s. The bottle was recovered from an unnamed shipwreck in the coastal water of Victoria. It is part of the John Chance Collection. The elongated bubbles in the glass are likely from the glass being blown into a mould. Glassblowers made bottles like this one by blowing into a long metal pipe or reed with a blob of molten glass at the end of it. The shape of the glass would be blown out to fit into the shape of the mould. Once it set, the glass was removed from the mould and the glassblower would continue using the pipe to create the neck and another tool to finish the base. The bottle would be cracked off the end of the glassblower’s pipe and a blob of molten glass would be added to the top to form the mouth and lip of the bottle. The seal was usually a cork, often held in place with tape. Although the bottle is not linked to a particular shipwreck, it is recognised as being historically significant as an example of bottles imported for use in Colonial Victoria in the mid-to-late 1800s. The bottle is also significant as it was recovered by John Chance, a diver in Victoria’s coastal water in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Items that come from several wrecks have since been donated to the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village’s museum collection by his family, illustrating this item’s level of historical value. Bottle, dark olive green glass, tall thin Gallon type. Mouth is applied roughly, lip is straight and narrow. Body has no visible seams; tapers gently inwards to base. Concave base is deep and has a pontil mark. No inscriptions. Handmade bottle has elongated air bubbles and imperfections in glass.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck artefact, john chance, glass bottle, antique bottle, gallon bottle, handmade, mouth blown, pontil mark, blown bottle, liquor bottle, 19th century bottle, collectable, olive glass, green glass, mould, 1800s bottle

This electroplated teaspoon made by Walker & Hall of Sheffield. It was recovered from an unknown shipwreck in the coastal waters of Victoria in the late 1960s to early 1970s. The shipwrecks in the area range from around the 1840s to the early 1930s. It is part of the John Chance Collection. Walker & Hall’s Marks on this teaspoon, the SHIELD and the FLAG, date the spoon between 1910 and before 1920. The letters, possibly N S, within a shield may stand for Nickel Silver. The first Sheffield licence to make electroplated pieces of work was granted to John Harrison in 1843. One of his employees, George Walker, had been sent to learn electroplating skills at Elkington’s in Birmingham, who had patented the process discovered by Dr John Wright. Walker left Harrison in 1845 and started up his own company with Samuel Coulson and William Robson, to become George Walker & Co., electro-platers and gilders, taking out a licence with Elkington’s. In 1848 Robson retired and Henry Hall joined the partnership, operating at Electro Works at 11 Howard Street Sheffield, with a showroom in at 45 Holborn Viaduct, London. The firm had changes in the partnership and by 1853 it was called Walker & Hall. Over the years the company grew, with branches in the UK and overseas in Australia and South Africa. Then John Bingham, and later his brother Charles Bingham, became involved in the business, increasing profits. In 1861 the firm registered its first Trademark, a stamped ‘Flag’ with a banner with letters ‘W & H’. In 1884 Walker & Hall were one of the largest manufacturers and the second to introduce a voluntary system of using dating marks for silver plate, based on the alphabet and styles of shields or figures. The firm grew and prospered. It was described as ‘comprehensive … touching almost every department of Social life’, selling all manner of silverware and other goods. In 1920 the firm became Walker & Hall Limited and continued to expand in the goods produced and the member employed. Then the effects of war brought economic depression and fewer people able to afford the quality luxury goods. Eventually, in 1963, the company amalgamated with Mappin & Webb and Elkington & Co., becoming British Silverware Ltd. Although the spoon is not linked to a particular shipwreck, it is recognised as being historically significant as an example of cutlery, perhaps part of a passenger’s luggage or imported for use in Victoria in the early 20th century. This spoon is significant for its association with makers Walker & Hall, famous for silverware and silver plate in the mid-19th to early-20th century. It is the only example in Flagstaff Hill’s shipwreck artefact collection. The spoon is also significant as it was recovered by John Chance, a diver in Victoria’s coastal waters in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Items that come from several wrecks have since been donated to the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village’s museum collection by his family, illustrating this item’s level of historical value. Spoon, teaspoon, electroplated, silver-bronze colour with dark flecks. Old English design. Maker’s Marks on back of spoon. Made by Walker & Hall, Sheffield.Embossed individual stamps “W”, “&”, “H”, “S” Embossed shape [SHIELD] with letters within, possibly “N S” Embossed shape of [FLAG] with letters with “W & H” flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck artefact, john chance, sheffield, cutlery, eating utensils, electroplate, silver plate, silverware, flatware, antique flatware, old english flatware pattern, spoon, teaspoon, silver flatware, dining, silver plated, epnns, 20th century silverware, walker & hall, george walker, henry hall, john wright, elkington

The photograph shows some of the hundreds of sightseers who visited the site of the wreced Falls of Halladale, watching the fully rigged ship slowly disintegrate over two months or more. The Falls of Halladale was a four-masted sailing ship built in 1886 in Glasgow, Scotland, for the long-distance cargo trade and was mostly used for the Pacific grain trade. The ship was sturdy. It could carry maximum cargo and maintain full sail in heavy gales. It was one of the last of the ‘windjammers’ that sailed the Trade Route, and one of the first vessels to include fore and aft lifting bridges, which kept the crew safe and dry as they moved around the decks in stormy conditions. It was one of several Falls Line ships named after the waterfalls of Glasgow by its owner, Wright, Breakenridge & Co of Glasgow. On 4th August 1908, with new sails, 29 crew, and 2800 tons of cargo, the Falls of Halladale left New York, bound for Melbourne and Sydney via the Cape of Good Hope. The cargo on board was valued at £35,000. It included 56,763 tiles of American slate roofing tiles, 5,673 coils of barbed wire, 600 stoves, 500 sewing machines, 6,500 gallons of oil, 14,400 gallons of benzene, plumbing iron, 117 cases of crockery and glassware and many other manufactured items. The Falls of Halladale had been at sail for 102 days when, at 3 am on the 14th November 1908, under full sail in calm seas with a six knots breeze behind and misleading fog along the coast, the great vessel rose upon an ocean swell and settled on top of a submerged reef near Peterborough on south-west Victoria’s coast. The ship was jammed on the rocks and began filling with water. The crew launched the two lifeboats and all 29 crew landed safely on the beach over 4 miles away at the Bay of Islands. The postmistress at Peterborough, who kept a watch for vessels in distress, saw the stranding and sent out an alert to the local people. A rescue party went to the aid of the sailors and the Port Campbell rocket crew was dispatched, but the crew had all managed to reach shore safely by the time help arrived. The ship stayed in full sail on the rocky shelf for nearly two months, attracting hundreds of sightseers who watched her slowly disintegrate until the pounding seas and dynamiting by salvagers finally broke her back, and her remains disappeared back into deeper water. The valuable cargo was largely lost, despite two salvage attempts in 1908-09 and 1910. Further salvage operations were made from 1974-1986, during which time 22,000 slate tiles were recovered with the help of 14 oil drums to float them, plus personal artefacts, ship fittings, reams of paper and other items (a list of items held at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village is included below). The Court of Marine Inquiry in Melbourne ruled that the foundering of the ship was entirely due to Captain David Wood Thomson’s navigational error, not too technical failure of the Clyde-built ship. The shipwreck is a popular site for divers, about 300m off-shore and in 3 – 15m of water. Some of the original cargo can be seen at the site, including pieces of roof slate and coils of barbed wire. ABOUT THE ‘FALLS OF HALLADALE’ (1886 - 1908) Built: in1886 by Russell & Co., Greenock shipyards, River Clyde, Scotland, UK. The company was founded in 1870 (or 1873) as a partnership between Joseph Russell (1834-1917), Anderson Rodger and William Todd Lithgow. During the period 1882-92 Russell & Co., standardised designs, which sped up their building process so much that they were able to build 271 ships over that time. In 1886 they introduced a 3000 ton class of sailing vessel with auxiliary engines and brace halyard winches. In 1890 they broke the world output record. Owner: Falls Line, Wright, Breakenridge & Co, 111 Union Street, Glasgow, Scotland. Configuration: Four-masted sailing ship; iron-hulled barque; iron masts, wire rigging, fore & aft lifting bridges. Size: Length 83.87m x Breadth 12.6m x Depth 7.23m, Gross tonnage 2085 ton Wrecked: the night of 14th November 1908, Curdies Inlet, Peterborough south west Victoria Crew: 29The Falls of Halladale shipwreck is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register (No. S255). It was one of the last ships to sail the Trade Routes. The ship was one of the first vessels to have fore and aft lifting bridges. The wreck is an example of an International Cargo Ship and represents aspects of Victoria’s shipping industry. The wreck is protected as a Historic Shipwreck under the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act (1976).Photograph, behind glass in a timber frame. Image of a group of people seated on the ground with the stranded barque, the Falls of Halladale, in full sail nearby in the water. The photograph was taken at Peterborough, southwest Victoria, on November 13th 1908. A typed inscription is below the picture.Typed beneath photograph "Falls of Halladale 1886 - 1908"flagstaff hill, maritime museum, maritime village, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, great ocean road, shipwreck, peterborough, falls of halladale, 1908, barque, scotish, 4-masted, sailing ship, 1886, glasgow, trade, grain trade, cargo, windjammer, fore and aft bridges, falls line, wright, breakenridge & co, american slate, roofing tiles, barbed wire, sewing machines, oil, benzene, port campbell rocket crew, sightseers, salvage, captain david wood thomson, captain thomson, navigational error, clyde-built, russell & co

The rocket line faking box with lid has a frame inside with a specifically designed perimeter of faking pegs. The rocket shot line has been faked, or skilful wound, around these pegs to prevent it from tangling. The line is stored in the box, ready for attaching to the line throwing rocket. Some line faking boxes have a false base that is removed before firing the line-throwing pistol, leaving the line to feed out from the box when the rocket is fired. After the line is attached to the rocket the box tilted slightly and faced towards the wreck to allow it to be freely dispatched. The equipment often includes more that one faking box to make allowance for possible errors, broken lines or the need for a heavier line. Saving lives in Warrnambool – The coastline of South West Victoria is the site of over 600 shipwrecks and many lost lives; even in Warrnambool’s Lady Bay there were around 16 known shipwrecks between 1850 and 1905, with eight lives lost. In 1859 the first Government-built lifeboat arrived at Warrnambool Harbour and a shed was soon built to house it. In 1858 the provision of rocket and mortar apparatus was approved for lifeboat stations in Victoria, and in 1864 a rocket house was built to safely store the rocket rescue equipment. In 1878 the buildings were moved to the Breakwater area, and in 1910 the new Lifeboat Warrnambool arrived with its ‘self-righting’ design. For almost a hundred years the lifeboat and rocket crews, mostly local volunteers, trained regularly to maintain their rescue skills. They were summoned when needed by alarms, gunshots, ringing bells and foghorns. Some became local heroes but all served an important role. By the end of the 1950s the lifeboat and rescue equipment had become obsolete. Rocket Rescue Method - The Government of Victoria adopted lifesaving methods based on Her Majesty’s Coast Guard in Great Britain. It authorised the first line-throwing rescue system in 1858. Captain Manby’s mortar powered a projectile connected to rope, invented in 1808. The equipment was updated to John Dennett’s 8-foot shaft and rocket method that had a longer range of about 250 yards. From the 1860s the breeches buoy and traveller block rocket rescue apparatus was in use. It was suspended on a hawser line and manually pulled to and from the distressed vessel carrying passengers and items. In the early 1870s Colonel Boxer’s rocket rescue method became the standard in Victoria. His two-stage rockets, charged by a gunpowder composition, could fire the line up to 500-600 yards, although 1000 yards range was possible. Boxer’s rocket carried the light line, which was faked, or coiled, in a particular way between pegs in a faking box to prevent twists and tangles when fired. The angle of firing the rocket to the vessel in distress was measured by a quadrant-type instrument on the side of the rocket machine. Decades later, in about 1920, Schermuly invented the line-throwing pistol that used a small cartridge to fire the rocket. The British Board of Trade published instructions for both the beach rescue crew and ship’s crew. It involved setting up the rocket launcher on shore at a particular angle measured by the quadrant, inserting a rocket that had a light-weight line threaded through its shaft, and then firing it across the stranded vessel, the line issuing freely from the faking board. A tally board was then sent out to the ship with instructions in four languages. The ship’s crew would haul on the line to bring out the heavier, continuous whip line, then secure the attached whip block to the mast or other sturdy part the ship. The rescue crew on shore then hauled out a stronger hawser line, which the ship’s crew fixed above the whip block. The hawser was then tightened using the block on the shore end of the whip. The breeches buoy and endless whip are then attached to the traveller block on the hawser, allowing the shore crew to haul the breeches buoy to and from the vessel, rescuing the stranded crew one at a time. This rocket line faking box is significant for its connection with local history, maritime history and marine technology. Lifesaving has been an important part of the services performed from Warrnambool's very early days, supported by State and Local Government, and based on the methods and experience of Great Britain. Hundreds of shipwrecks along the coast are evidence of the rough weather and rugged coastline. Ordinary citizens, the Harbour employees, and the volunteer boat and rescue crew, saved lives in adverse circumstances. Some were recognised as heroes, others went unrecognised. In Lady Bay, Warrnambool, there were around 16 known shipwrecks between 1850 and 1905. Many lives were saved but tragically, eight lives were lost.Rocket line faking box with loose fitting lid, painted blue on the outside. Rectangular box has two rope handles within wooden rope holders fixed onto each long side and one at each end. The box has a hook and ring at the base each end for releasing the top from the inserted faking frame. The line faking frame is inside the box. It has seventeen wooden pegs along each long side of the frame and three pegs along each short side. A continuous length of rocket line has been faked around the pegs in a specific pattern.flagstaff hill maritime museum & village, flagstaff hill, maritime museum, maritime village, warrnambool, great ocean road, shipwreck, life-saving, lifesaving, rescue crew, rescue, rocket rescue, maritime accidents, rocket crew, beach rescue, line rescue, rescue equipment, rocket firing equipment, rocket rescue equipment, rocket apparatus, beach apparatus, petticoat breeches, breeches buoy, rocket house, rocket shed, lifeboat men, rocket equipment, rocket machine, rocket head, rocket launcher, rocket line, marine technology, line-firing pistol, line throwing gun, beach rescue set, traveller, hawser, faking, faking box, faked line, lady bay, warrnambool harbour, port of warrnambool, volunteer lifesavers, volunteer crew, breakwater, lifeboat warrnambool, rocket rescue method, rocket rescue apparatus, shore to ship, italian hemp, line-throwing pistol, line throwing cartridge, rocket apparatus rescue, stranded vessel, tally board, light line, whip line, endless whip, petticoat buoy, traveller chair, traveller block, her majesty’s coast guard, harbour board, line thrower, line throwing, beach cart, hand barrow, sand anchor, hawser cutter, life jacket, faking board, welsh hand barrow, rocket set, rocket line faking box, faking frame

The rocket line faking box has a frame inside with a specifically designed perimeter of faking pegs. The rocket shot line has been faked, or skilful wound, around these pegs to prevent it from tangling. The line is stored in the box, ready for attaching to the line throwing rocket. Some line faking boxes have a false base that is removed before firing the line-throwing pistol, leaving the line to feed out from the box when the rocket is fired. After the line is attached to the rocket the box tilted slightly and faced towards the wreck to allow it to be freely dispatched. The equipment often includes more that one faking box to make allowance for possible errors, broken lines or the need for a heavier line. Saving lives in Warrnambool – The coastline of South West Victoria is the site of over 600 shipwrecks and many lost lives; even in Warrnambool’s Lady Bay there were around 16 known shipwrecks between 1850 and 1905, with eight lives lost. In 1859 the first Government-built lifeboat arrived at Warrnambool Harbour and a shed was soon built to house it. In 1858 the provision of rocket and mortar apparatus was approved for lifeboat stations in Victoria, and in 1864 a rocket house was built to safely store the rocket rescue equipment. In 1878 the buildings were moved to the Breakwater area, and in 1910 the new Lifeboat Warrnambool arrived with its ‘self-righting’ design. For almost a hundred years the lifeboat and rocket crews, mostly local volunteers, trained regularly to maintain their rescue skills. They were summoned when needed by alarms, gunshots, ringing bells and foghorns. Some became local heroes but all served an important role. By the end of the 1950s the lifeboat and rescue equipment had become obsolete. Rocket Rescue Method - The Government of Victoria adopted lifesaving methods based on Her Majesty’s Coast Guard in Great Britain. It authorised the first line-throwing rescue system in 1858. Captain Manby’s mortar powered a projectile connected to rope, invented in 1808. The equipment was updated to John Dennett’s 8-foot shaft and rocket method that had a longer range of about 250 yards. From the 1860s the breeches buoy and traveller block rocket rescue apparatus was in use. It was suspended on a hawser line and manually pulled to and from the distressed vessel carrying passengers and items. In the early 1870s Colonel Boxer’s rocket rescue method became the standard in Victoria. His two-stage rockets, charged by a gunpowder composition, could fire the line up to 500-600 yards, although 1000 yards range was possible. Boxer’s rocket carried the light line, which was faked, or coiled, in a particular way between pegs in a faking box to prevent twists and tangles when fired. The angle of firing the rocket to the vessel in distress was measured by a quadrant-type instrument on the side of the rocket machine. Decades later, in about 1920, Schermuly invented the line-throwing pistol that used a small cartridge to fire the rocket. The British Board of Trade published instructions for both the beach rescue crew and ship’s crew. It involved setting up the rocket launcher on shore at a particular angle measured by the quadrant, inserting a rocket that had a light-weight line threaded through its shaft, and then firing it across the stranded vessel, the line issuing freely from the faking board. A tally board was then sent out to the ship with instructions in four languages. The ship’s crew would haul on the line to bring out the heavier, continuous whip line, then secure the attached whip block to the mast or other sturdy part the ship. The rescue crew on shore then hauled out a stronger hawser line, which the ship’s crew fixed above the whip block. The hawser was then tightened using the block on the shore end of the whip. The breeches buoy and endless whip are then attached to the traveller block on the hawser, allowing the shore crew to haul the breeches buoy to and from the vessel, rescuing the stranded crew one at a time. This rocket line faking box is significant for its connection with local history, maritime history and marine technology. Lifesaving has been an important part of the services performed from Warrnambool's very early days, supported by State and Local Government, and based on the methods and experience of Great Britain. Hundreds of shipwrecks along the coast are evidence of the rough weather and rugged coastline. Ordinary citizens, the Harbour employees, and the volunteer boat and rescue crew, saved lives in adverse circumstances. Some were recognised as heroes, others went unrecognised. In Lady Bay, Warrnambool, there were around 16 known shipwrecks between 1850 and 1905. Many lives were saved but tragically, eight lives were lost.Rocket line faking box with loose fitting lid, painted black on the outside. Rectangular box has two rope handles within wooden rope holders fixed onto each long side and one at each end. The box has a hook and ring at the base each end for releasing the top from the inserted faking frame. The line faking frame is inside the box. It has seventeen wooden pegs along each long side of the frame and three pegs along each short side. A continuous length of rocket line has been faked around the pegs in a specific pattern.flagstaff hill maritime museum & village, flagstaff hill, maritime museum, maritime village, warrnambool, great ocean road, shipwreck, life-saving, lifesaving, rescue crew, rescue, rocket rescue, maritime accidents, rocket crew, beach rescue, line rescue, rescue equipment, rocket firing equipment, rocket rescue equipment, rocket apparatus, beach apparatus, petticoat breeches, breeches buoy, rocket house, rocket shed, lifeboat men, rocket equipment, rocket machine, rocket head, rocket launcher, rocket line, marine technology, line-firing pistol, line throwing gun, beach rescue set, traveller, hawser, faking, faking box, faked line, lady bay, warrnambool harbour, port of warrnambool, volunteer lifesavers, volunteer crew, breakwater, lifeboat warrnambool, rocket rescue method, rocket rescue apparatus, shore to ship, italian hemp, line-throwing pistol, line throwing cartridge, rocket apparatus rescue, stranded vessel, tally board, light line, whip line, endless whip, petticoat buoy, traveller chair, traveller block, her majesty’s coast guard, harbour board, line thrower, line throwing, beach cart, hand barrow, sand anchor, hawser cutter, life jacket, faking board, welsh hand barrow, rocket set, rocket line faking box, faking frame

April Meeting (Newsletter No. 233, Apr. 2017) Our meeting at 8.00pm on Wednesday 12th April 2017 is our Annual General Meeting, which includes the presentation of annual reports and the election of office bearers for the coming year. The official notification of the Annual General Meeting and Agenda are on page 8 in this Newsletter. At this meeting we are pleased to have as our guest speaker Dr. Andrew Lemon, a great friend of EDHS and a Fellow and the immediate Past President of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. Andrew is an independent Melbourne historian, author of numerous books on local history, shipwrecks, biography, schools and sport and winner of national literary awards. He has been awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters by the University of Melbourne for his published works. Andrew edited the Victorian Historical Journal throughout the 1990s and served on the Library Board of Victoria and the Heritage Council. Andrew is a very entertaining presenter and in our 50th Anniversary year he has chosen to speak about ‘Fifty years of the EDHS - and why it matters.’1:03:34 duration Digital MP3 File 75 MB andrew lemon, audio recording, eltham district historical society, meeting, society meeting

The Douay (Douai) Rheims Bible is an English translation of the Latin Vulgate Bible (which had been the Latin Bible used by the Catholic Church since the 4th century). It was produced by Roman Catholic scholars in exile from Elizabethan Protestant England at the English College of Douai (then in the Spanish Netherlands but later part of France). The New Testament translation was published in 1582 at Rheims where the English College had temporarily located in 1578. The Old Testament was translated shortly afterwards but was not published until 1609-1610 in Douay (which makes it older than the King James version). The completed work was the only authorized Bible in English for Roman Catholics until the 20th Century. Its purpose was to uphold the Catholic tradition in the face of the Protestant Reformation and was produced as an alternative to the several Protestant translations then in existence. Prior to it being published, the Roman Catholic practice had restricted personal use of the Bible, in the Latin Vulgate, to the clergy. Bishop Richard Challoner issued a series of revisions (1749 - 1772) intended to make the translation more easily understandable and subsequent editions (including this one) were based upon this revision. In 1871, an edition of the Douay - Rheims Bible was published by Thomas Kelly & Sons of Philadelphia (and later, New York). Thomas Kelly described himself as a "Publisher, Printer, Binder, Lithographer and Steel Plate Engraver". In 1876, Thomas Kelly won an award (a Diploma of Honor and a Medal of Merit) for "the Best Catholic Bibles and Prayer Books" at the International Centennial Exhibition held in Philadelphia and his firm continued to print editions of the Bible throughout the 1870's but little is known of him after 1880 when this edition was published. This Bible has been in the Kermond family from 1888 until 1984 when Laurence Kermond (its last owner) died. The Kermonds were an old Warrnambool family with ties to the district going back to the mid 1840's. Joseph Kermond's mother, Catherine (1818 - 1895) and her husband John Kermond,, an ex-convict (1809 - 1877), had moved from Tasmania around 1843 and were living in the Warrnambool area in 1844 where their eldest son was born. They had six more children born at Port Fairy (or Belfast as it was then called). Catherine is buried at the Tower Hill cemetery. The last owner of the Bible was Laurence Kermond (1918 - 1984). He was the great grandson of John and Catherine Kermond and was a well known painter who lived in the Merimbula and Paynesville areas of N.S. W. and Victoria during the 1970's and early 1980's. The story of Joseph Kermond finding the Bible on a beach on the Shipwreck Coast near Peterborough on the southern coast of Victoria, Australia is plausible as it was not uncommon for items from shipwrecks to be washed ashore. However this Bible would not have come from the wreck of the Loch Ard as the dates don't align. The Loch Ard was wrecked in 1878 and this Bible was printed in 1880. It appears to have been printed for the Australian market as there is a page (with an engraved portrait) dedicated to the "Most Rev. Roger Bede Vaughan, O. S. B. Archbishop of Sydney, N. S. W.". It may also have been aimed at the Irish immigrants as the four "Family Register" pages are decorated with borders of shamrocks. The donor found the Bible in a box of secondhand books on a market stall in Gippsland and recognised its links to the Shipwreck Coast through the name of previous owners (a well-known Warrnambool name) and the story of it being found on a beach near Peterborough. This Bible is a rare example of Douay and Reims Catholic Bible of the late 19th century that was once a treasured item belonging to the Kermond family - one of Warrnambool's early settlers. It also has a most unusual story attached to it - being found (and rescued) washed up on a local beach and almost one hundred years later, being rescued again from a secondhand book stall.This Catholic Bible is an 1880 edition of a "Douay Bible and Rheims Testament", printed and published by Thomas Kelly of New York. Its full title is "The Holy Bible translated from the Latin Vulgate Diligently Compared with The Hebrew, Greek and Other Editions in Various Languages". It is revised with annotations by the Right Rev. R. Challoner D.D. The Bible has brown leather embossed front and back covers decorated with identical ornate gilt patterns and a central picture of a cross. It has two coloured illustrations and numerous black and white lithographs and engravings including portraits of past popes, events and places from Bible stories and decorative borders. The Bible includes the Old and New Testaments, approbations from Pope Pius the Sixth and Archbishops of the United States and other countries (including Archbishop Vaughan of Sydney), a Family Register with handwritten notes on births, deaths and marriages from the Kermond family (as well as a description of how they obtained the bible), a Catholic dictionary of the Bible, a history of the Holy Scriptures, a chronological list of heretics (Theological history) and a description of the "Centennial Award - Diploma of Honor and medal of Merit" won by Thomas Kelly (for the "Best Catholic Bible") at the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876. The Records section has a note on the Memoranda page written by William John Kennard in 1920.Spine: HOLY BIBLE Title Page: THE/ HOLY BIBLE /TRANSLATED FROM/ THE LATIN VULGATE/ DILIGENTLY COMPARED WITH/THE HEBREW, GREEK AND OTHER EDITIONS/ IN VARIOUS LANGUAGES/ THE OLD TESTAMENT WAS FIRST PUBLISHED BY THE ENGLISH COLLEGE AT DOUAY, A.D. 1600 / AND THE NEW TESTAMENT, BY THE ENGLISH COLLEGE AT RHEIMS, A.D. 1582./ REVISED WITH ANNOTATIONS/ BY THE RIGHT REV. R. CHALLONER D.D./ TOGETHER WITH REFERENCES, AND AN HISTORICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX./ NOW CAREFULLY CORRECTED ACCORDING TO THE CLEMENTINE EDITION OF THE SCRIPTURES/ NEW YORK / THOMAS KELLY, PUBLISHER/ 17 BARCLAY STREET. / 1880 Dedication Page: DEDICATION OF THE ORIGINAL EDITION/ TO/ THAT LOYAL, RELIGIOUS AND ENLIGHTENED BODY OF MEN / THE/ CATHOLICS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA/ IN ADMIRATION OF THE STEADY ZEAL WITH WHICH THEY HAVE KEPTTHE/DEPOSIT OF FAITH/ BEQUEATHED THEM BY THEIR FOREFATHERS/ AND HANDED DOWN, WITHOUT INTERRUPTION OT ADULTERATION, TO THEIR GRATEFUL POSTERITY/ THIS EDITION/ OF THE/DOUAY BIBLE AND RHEIMS TESTAMENT/ IS / WITH GRATITUDE FOR PAST FAVORS AND HOPES OF FUTURE ENCOURAGEMENT/ MOST RESPECTFULLY ENSCRIBED. Handwritten note: ""This Holy Book was found . on the beach . near Peterborough Vic. having been washed ashore . from the wreck of the Loch Ard, (sailing ship) in the year 1888 . By .Joseph . Kermond; and presented to . his mother . Catherine Kermond , who in turn passed it - on . to her youngest . son ; one Jacob Kermond. He in turn presented . it to his son . William John Kermond , (the writer), 23/3/20)" [Original punctuation]flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, shipwreck coast, peterborough, kermond, kermond family, loch ard, bible, douay and rheims bible, catholic bible, thomas kelly and sons publiisher, douai, rheims, holy bible, religious bible, catherine kermond, john kermond, william john kermond'

This tablespoon was recovered from an unknown shipwreck in the coastal waters of Victoria in the late 1960s to early 1970s. The shipwrecks in the area range from around the 1840s to the early 1930s, and this particular spoon dates from about 1866 to 1932. It is part of the John Chance Collection. This spoon has the embossed names of Pompton and Silver and appears to have other marks that have worn off. The Pompton brand was used on silver flatware made by Cooper Brothers & Sons. Ltd of Sheffield. In Australia the Pompton Silver cutlery was advertised for sale in Sydney in the mid-1920s. The spoon is likely to be plated silver or silver plate, which is a base metal such as nickel or nickel alloy with copper and/or zinc that has been plated or coated with a thin layer of silver. Wear on the metal will cause the base metals to appear through the silver plating. Some manufacturers gave a warranty that the cutlery was ‘white throughout’ but didn’t necessarily say it was solid silver. Cooper Brothers was established in 1866 by brothers Thomas and John William Cooper in High Street, Sheffield. They bought Don Plate Works in 1872. By 1876 they were at Bridge Street and in 1885 they purchased the works at 44 Arundel St Sheffield. In 1895 the firm became Cooper Brothers & Sons Ltd. By 1914 they had branches in London, Sydney, Melbourne and Montreal, advertising as silversmiths, silver cutlers, electroplaters, Britannia Metal smiths and cutlers, particularly spoons and forks. The firm also used the trademarks of DON SILVER, POMPTON SILVER and a logo of a Cooper (barrel maker) in different formats. Cooper Brothers & Sons had a reputation for producing good quality silver and silver plate. In 1900 they registered their Maker’s Mark of the letters ‘CB&s’ within a shield. They also used the Sheffield Assay Hallmark of a Crown. A diagram on a Copper Brothers & Sons, Don Plate Works, advertisement showed three styles of cutlery; No. 393, Old English, and Fiddle. They announced that they were the ‘sole makers of the celebrated “Don” brand of nickel silver spoons and forks’. A burglary in NSW in 1929 listed a stolen flatware set as ‘all Sheffield Silver plate and branded Pompton Silver Works A.1.’. It was ‘guaranteed to wear white throughout’ and was a ‘good, medium quality, nickel silver line’. Cooper Brothers & Sons Ltd. was acquired in 1983 by Frank Cobb & Co. Ltd. Although the spoon is not linked to a particular shipwreck, it is recognised as being historically significant as an example of cutlery either as part of the ship’s flatware service or imported for use in Colonial Victoria in the 19th to early 20th century. The spoon is significant for its association with renowned makers Cooper Brothers of Sheffield, makers of silverware from the 1860s to the 1980s and exporters into the Colonies. The spoon is also significant as it was recovered by John Chance, a diver in Victoria’s coastal waters in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Items that come from several wrecks have since been donated to the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village’s museum collection by his family, illustrating this item’s level of historical value. Spoon; plated silver tablespoon with brown base metal. Handle is Old English design and is embossed - some marks are worn and unidentifiable. Branded Pompton Silver.Embossed within two rectangular shapes “POMPTON” and “SILVER” (other marks have worn off)flagstaff hill, warrnambool, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, john chance, cutlery, flatware silver, silver plate, antique flatware, old english flatware pattern, eating utensils, spoon, tablespoon, silverware, dining utensil, cooper brothers, don plate works, pompton silver, sheffield silver