On 1 March 1878, the Loch Ard, an iron-hulled Clipper ship, set sail for Australia.

On board was over 2000 tons of cargo, 36 crew and 18 passengers. Among them was a Dr Carmichael, his wife and their six children, including daughter Eva (Eveline). The doctor was bringing his family halfway across the world to start a whole new life at a medical practice in Sydney.

Given what ended up happening to the Loch Ard on what is now called Victoria’s Shipwreck Coast, it is ironic that the ship left from a port, ominously called “Gravesend”.

The 2-month journey from England to Australia was relatively uneventful, until the ship came closer to the Victorian coast, not far from Port Campbell.

On the night of 31st May, believing they would be sailing into Melbourne’s Port Philip Bay the very next day, the passengers held a small celebration - an end-of-voyage party.

But their joy would be short-lived.

Into the Raging Sea

About 4am the next morning, confused by thick fog, inaccurate instruments and other factors, the captain was unsure of precisely where the ship was. (Navigation in those pre-GPS days was not as accurate as today and a ship could easily be several nautical miles away from where the captain thought it was.)

As the mist parted briefly, the crew could see breaking waves, an ominous sign that they were much closer to the rugged Victorian coastline than they thought. As enormous limestone cliffs loomed out of the darkness, the captain urgently called for the crew to change sails and turn the ship away.

But it was too late. The ship struck rocks and began sinking almost immediately. The mast broke, crashing onto the boat and killing several crew and passengers instantly. Others were thrown overboard into the turbulent waters dashing up against the sheer cliffs of Mutton Bird island. The ship went down in just 10 minutes, with no time to launch the lifeboats.

Eva Carmichael, just 18 years old, was swept into the raging seas, never to see her family again. Clad only in a nightdress she clung desperately to a chicken coup for many hours as she was tossed about by the violent waves, fearing any moment would be her last.

Meanwhile, a young apprentice named Thomas Pearce, also 18, had been swept ashore into the gorge. Exhausted by his ordeal, he lay recovering on the sand after hours spent clinging to an upturned lifeboat.

In the pale light of morning, young Thomas heard Eva’s desperate screams for help, and bravely swam back out into the wild waters to rescue her.

The Long Night in the Cave

After bringing her ashore, Tom found a cave for them to shelter in. For hours they huddled together, soaking wet and traumatised by their ordeal, waiting and wondering if anyone else had survived. They had no food or water, but Tom managed to find some rum that had washed ashore to keep them warm.

It was a cold and terrible night in that cave.

The following morning Tom told Eva he would go for help. He scrambled up the cliff of the gorge only to be confronted by an empty and alien landscape. He was surrounded in all directions by low scrub - tea tree, casuarina and bracken. There was not a sign of human habitation anywhere.

Stumbling through the scrub, his feet and legs bloodied, he came across some cattle tracks. He was smart enough to follow them and soon came across the nearby Glenample Homestead, belonging to the Gibson family (later of Gibsons Steps fame). It was the only human habitation for dozens of square miles.

The family quickly put together a rescue party and returned to the gorge to rescue Eva. But on arrival they could not find her.

Finally, after many hours, she was discovered hiding in the bushes. She’d heard the voices of the rescue party, but being so traumatised by the sinking and loss of her family, she was scared as to who they might be.

The Romance That Never Was

She was taken back to the homestead where she and Tom were cared for and recovered fully.

When news of the sinking and the dramatic survival of Tom & Eva reached the rest of Australia and Britain, the public revelled in the romantic possibilities ahead for these two young people. After all Tom had risked his life to save Eva – what more romantic thing could a young man do for a beautiful young woman. But whatever the social pressure for the two to get together and the wishes of romantics all across the world, it could never be.

Eva was from a wealthy background and Tom was a mere cabin boy. She could never lower herself to be romantically involved with him, no matter what her heart may have felt.

Eva eventually returned to Ireland and married.

A Gold Medal and a Broken Heart

For his bravery, Tom was awarded the first ever Gold Medal award by the Victorian Human Society. But his life was tinged by tragedy.

Not only could he never have married the beautiful young woman whose life he had saved, but shipwrecks became his life. He had already survived the sinking of the Eliza Ramden in 1875, then the Loch Ard in 1878, before another ship he was on went down the very next year in 1879.

Even more cruelly his two sons and his stepfather all died in shipwrecks too.

Despite the fact that Tom & Eva, never became the young lovers the world wished them to be after the sinking of the Loch Ard, there is a possible twist to the tale.

Rumour persists to this day that when Tom was recovering from his final shipwreck Eva went to take care of him.

So perhaps, in her heart, she did really always carry a torch for this brave young man who plunged into the terrifying waters and swam his heart out to rescue her. What young woman wouldn’t be thrilled by such heroics?

Echoes of the Past

And so we will never really know what happened in that cave at Loch Ard Gorge that night, as the two young strangers sought to recover from the deep trauma of their experience. Or what they spoke about or felt during their long recovery together at Glenample Homestead.

On a beautiful summers day, when you walk along the cliffs towards The Razorback or the look out towards the Island Arch, and gaze down onto the beach, waves lapping gently against the sand, it can be hard to imagine what a terrifying ordeal it must have been for poor Eva and Tom as they struggled to stay alive in the stormy seas.

That night was almost winter. It would have been extremely cold with chill winds blowing off the Southern Ocean and waves crashing almost one third of the way up the towering 30 metre cliffs. And they must have wondered if they would ever be rescued.

On Victoria’s Shipwreck Coast, only some 240 wrecks of the estimated 700 ships lost have been discovered. So we will never know, how many other times, another Tom or an Eva made it ashore, only to be confronted by towering, insurmountable cliffs. And who may have spent their last few days dying of thirst and starvation, only to have their bodies washed back out to sea and their stories lost forever. Not remembered like the tale of Thomas Pearce and Eva (Eveline) Carmichael.

But as you stand at Tom & Eva’s lookout and gaze down onto the rugged beauty of Loch Ard Gorge today, spare a thought for those two young people. And the love story that could have been.

Where is Loch Ard Gorge?

Loch Ard Gorge is located in Victoria, Australia, within the Port Campbell National Park.

It is a major stop along the famous Great Ocean Road, situated on the "Shipwreck Coast" roughly 230 kilometers (about 143 miles) southwest of Melbourne.

Loch Ard Gorge are only a 3–5 minute drive (approx. 4 km) west of the Twelve Apostles, making the two sites easy to visit in one trip.

Port Campbell is about a 10-minute drive east the gorge.

From Melbourne The drive takes approximately 4 to 4.5 hours via the scenic Great Ocean Road (coastal route) or about 3 hours if you take the faster inland route via Colac (Princes Highway).

Need an expert guide?

Check out Great Ocean Road private tours by Melbourne Touring Company.