Subsequent to the wrecking of the Light of the Age marine concretions and corrosion products formed a cement capping over the cargo, stabilising and protecting it. The site of the Light of the Age was found by divers in late 1960s, and soon became a popular diving site. Huge amounts of intact crockery were removed from the wreck by boatloads of divers, including distinctive brown glazed teapots with legs (one diving author named it 'the Teapot Wreck' (Denmead, 1973: 78-82), 'Greek Key' patterned transferware, Cooper & Wood Portobello black glass three piece bottles, and sauce, preserve and condiment bottles often with contents (gooseberries, raspberries, olives) and seals intact. Larger items including a signal cannon and an anchor were removed from the site, while divers seeking souvenirs commonly used cold chisels to chip objects free of the concretion 'cap' which had stabilised and protected the remaining cargo for so long. In 1982 this situation was drastically changed when someone used explosives to further break concretions. However the charge was too powerful resulting in the site's complete destruction and the remaining items to become scattered and broken. Abraded and worn ceramic objects washed up on the beach are invariably collected by beachgoers, including fragments of crockery, figurines and animal figures used for 19th century household decoration and toys. The Light of the Age is archaeologically significant as the wreck of an international immigrant ship with an inward bound cargo. It is historically significant for its association with both the Black Ball and White Star Lines which carried thousands of immigrants to Australia. Built in 1855 and lost on 16 January 1868 now lies at Point Lonsdale Beach, half a mile west from Point Lonsdale, Port Phillip Heads.01- 1 shallow bowl, 02- 1 sweet bowl, 03- 1 willow pattern service dish, 04- 2 ladle cups [no handles], 05 06- 2 egg cups, 07- 2 bread and butter plates, 08- 1 condiment bowl lidWedgwood deep saucer; Pearl stone china, Ribbon, Wedgewood Willow Pattern service dish, Staffordshire Stone China, Fenton, No10shipwrecks, salvage, crockery, light of the age, clippers

Letter written while seaman Percy Dusting was on HMAT Ballarat when it was torpedoed in 1917 as well as copies of his War Service record WWIWar experiences WWI. Troop shipsFolder containing letter from Seaman Percy Dusting to his mother and sisterletter, war service records, hmat ballarat, 1917, wwi

The barque David Clarke was launched in 1816 and may have been broken up at Batavia in 1854. She sailed one of the last voyages under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). In 1842 she transported more than 300 convicts to Hobart. She was last listed in Lloyd's Register in 1854.In 1839 she carried mainly Scots assisted migrants to Australia, and was the first immigrant ship to sail from the Great Britain directly to Port Phillip.Scale model of the barque David Clarkemigrant ships, convict ships, port phillip, boat models