Loch Ard Gorge
Encyclopedia
Port Campbell National Park
Port Campbell is a national park in Victoria, Australia, 190 kilometres south-west of Melbourne.-Features:The Port Campbell National Park is a protected national park in Victoria, Australia, 190 kilometres south-west of Melbourne; featuring an array of sheer cliffs overlooking offshore...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, about 10 minutes drive west of The Twelve Apostles. It is a visible example of the process
Process (science)
In science, a process is every sequence of changes of a real object/body which is observable using the scientific method. Therefore, all sciences analyze and model processes....
of erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
in action.
History
The gorge is named after the clipper ship Loch ArdLoch Ard (ship)
The Loch Ard was a ship which was wrecked at Muton bird Island just off the Shipwreck Coast of Victoria, Australia in 1878. The name was drawn from Loch Ard, a lake which lies to the west of the village of Aberfoyle, and to the east of Loch Lomond...
, which ran aground
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
on nearby Muttonbird Island on the 1st of June, 1878 approaching the end of a three-month journey from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. Of the fifty-four passengers and crew, only two survived: Tom Pearce, a ship's apprentice, and Eva Carmichael, an Irishwoman immigrating with her family, both of whom were 18 years of age. According to memorials at the site, Pearce was washed ashore, and rescued Carmichael from the water after hearing her cries for help. Pearce then proceeded to climb out of the gorge to raise the alarm to local pastoralists who immediately set into plan a rescue attempt.
The arch of the nearby Island Archway collapsed in June 2009. The feature now appears as two unconnected rock pillars. They have since been officially named Tom and Eva after the two teenage survivors of the Loch Ard shipwreck.
General
The gorge is accessed via the Great Ocean RoadGreat Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road is a stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Warrnambool. The road was built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and is the world's largest war memorial; dedicated to casualties of World War I...
, several kilometres past The Twelve Apostles. Stairs allow visitors access to the beach which is otherwise undeveloped. There are numerous plaques and a small museum detailing the sites history, as well as a rest area, and cemetery housing many of the people that died.
This was the location for a number of scenes of the 1982 film The Pirate Movie
The Pirate Movie
The Pirate Movie is a 1982 musical and comedy film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Christopher Atkins and Kristy McNichol. The film is loosely based on Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. The original music score is composed by Mike Brady and Peter Sullivan...
and also the 1999 TV series Journey to the Center of the Earth
Journey to the Center of the Earth
A Journey to the Center of the Earth is a classic 1864 science fiction novel by Jules Verne. The story involves a German professor who believes there are volcanic tubes going toward the center of the Earth...
with Treat Williams
Treat Williams
Richard Treat Williams is a Screen Actors Guild Award–nominated American actor and children's book author who has appeared on film, stage and television...
. The uncommon Rufous Bristlebird
Rufous Bristlebird
The Rufous Bristlebird is a species of bird in the Dasyornithidae family.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitat is temperate forests.It is threatened by habitat loss.-Australia:...
(Dasyornis broadbenti) is often observed around the Gorge.
See also
- Great Ocean RoadGreat Ocean RoadThe Great Ocean Road is a stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Warrnambool. The road was built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and is the world's largest war memorial; dedicated to casualties of World War I...
- Loch ArdLoch ArdLoch Ard is a body of fresh water in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park of the Stirling District in Scotland. -Overview:...
- London ArchLondon ArchLondon Arch is a natural arch in the Port Campbell National Park, Australia.The arch is one of the tourist attractions along the Great Ocean Road near Port Campbell in Victoria...
- The Gibson Steps
- The GrottoThe Grotto, VictoriaThe Grotto is a sinkhole geological formation and tourist attraction, found on the Great Ocean Road outside Port Campbell in Victoria, Australia...
- Shipwreck CoastShipwreck CoastThe Shipwreck Coast of Victoria, Australia stretches from Moonlight Head to Cape Otway, a distance of approximately 130km. This coastline is accessible via the Great Ocean Road, and is home to the limestone formations called The Twelve Apostles....