Historical information

This hub cap nut was recovered from the wreck of the Loch Ard and donated by a friend of the diver.
The ship Loch Ard was built on the River Clyde in Scotland in 1873 for the prestigious Loch Line of colonial clipper ships, designed for the Australian run. It sailed from Gravesend, England on 1st March 1878 carrying 37 crew, 17 passengers and a load of cargo.
The manifest listed an array of manufactured goods being exported to the Colony of Victoria reflecting the affluence of Melbourne at the time. Included in the cargo manifest were straw hats, umbrellas, perfumes, clay pipes, pianos, clocks, confectionary, linen and candles, as well as one timber carriage, 29 chaff cutters and thirty-four pairs of metal axle components for horse drawn wagons and carriages. It is not known if this brass hub nut cap was part of this cargo manifest or was a fitting on the Loch Ard.
There were also items included that were intended for display in the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880 - a diverse general cargo ranging from luxury items to bulk railway iron.
On 1 June 1878, emerging from fog and hearing too late the sound of breakers against the tall limestone cliffs, the vessel struck the southern foot of Mutton Bird Island and sank in 23 metres of water. Of the fifty-four people on board only two survived, one young male crewman, Tom Pearce, and one young female passenger, Eva Carmichael.

Ten days after the Loch Ard tragedy, salvage rights to the wreck were sold at auction for £2,120. Cargo valued at £3,000 was salvaged and placed on the beach, but most washed back into the sea when another storm developed. The wreck of Loch Ard still lies at the base of Mutton Bird Island. Much of the cargo has now been salvaged and some was washed up into what is now known as Loch Ard Gorge. Cargo and artefacts have also been illegally salvaged over many years before protective legislation was introduced in 1976.

One of the most unlikely pieces of cargo to have survived the shipwreck was a Minton porcelain peacock - one of only seven in the world. The peacock was destined for the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880. It had been well packed, which gave it adequate protection during the violent storm. Today, the Minton peacock can be seen at the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum in Warrnambool. From Australia's most dramatic shipwreck it has now become Australia's most valuable shipwreck artefact and is one of very few 'objects' on the Victorian State Heritage Register.

Significance

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.

Physical description

A round brass hub cap nut consisting of a flat, octagonal, hollow nut (with concave sides and green verdigis), a 2cm wide flange and a 2 cm deep threaded shank with brown corrosion. It has a rusty washer corroded onto the flange.