This letter is a photographed copy of a typed transcript of an original. It is dated 28 March 1962 and was written by Ian F. Sloane Esq. of Savernake Station, NSW. Sloane’s great uncle, Hugh Gibson, was the owner of Glenample Station, Vic., where Eva Carmichael stayed to recuperate from her ordeal as the only female survivor of the LOCH ARD shipwreck in 1878. The letter is in reply to an earlier inquiry for information about the LOCH ARD tragedy from Alasdair Loch, 10 Beaconsfield Parade, Lindfield NSW. Most of the letter consists of tantalising asides: about trips to Glenample in 1916 and 1917 and the digging up of an old piano at Loch Ard Gorge; the possession of his uncle’s personal account of the shipwreck and its aftermath; the existence of a painting of Eva when she was staying at the Glenample homestead in 1878; and the disputed ownership of “a very old black iron box” containing letters from relatives of the shipwreck victims (who Hugh Gibson had written to advising of their unhappy fate). Unfortunately the letter, written in haste prior to Sloane’s departure overseas, contains no substantive information. However it concludes with an interesting footnote concerning Eva’s emotional recovery at Glenample. Sloane’s postscript states: “Miss Carmichael was very well after the wreck, full of fun and laughter, until she suddenly cracked, and had a nervous breakdown…Mrs Gibson…got a young girl, the same age as Eva, as her companion[…She] proved trumps and saved Eva’s mind. They became lifelong friends. Both wrote to my aunt till they died. Miss Carmichael stayed about 6 months at Glenample I think.” The shipwreck of the LOCH ARD is of State significance ― Victorian Heritage Number S417A photographic copy of a typed letter-transcript. The original letter was written to Alasdair Loch, Lindfield NSW, and is from Ian F. Sloane Esq. of Savernake Station NSW. It is dated 28 March 1962 and is two pages long.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, letter, alasdair loch, ian f sloane, sloane, loch ard, hugh gibson, eva carmichael, glenample station, tom pearce, glenample homestead

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