Historical information

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”.

Significance

The letter is connected to the salvaged items from the 1878 LOCH ARD shipwreck, which is of State significance ― Victorian Heritage Number S417

Physical description

Letter 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.