Holding on to an upturned lifeboat,
in heavy fog and battling a ruthless swell, a young English sailor named Tom
Pearce got his first blush of Australia from the water after his ship struck a
reef and sank on June 1, 1878.
Pearce was unbelievably tossed on
waves through an opening in the soaring cliffs at Cape Otway and endured the
wreck of the Loch Ard, washing up on the sand inside a canyon, later named
after the ill-fated ship.
Fast-forward 138 years and this
treacherous and wildly gorgeous stretch of coastline is still putting on a
ferocious program this warm spring
morning in Lorne accommodation.
It's tough not to consider young Tom
and 19-year-old Eva, the just other survivor of the wreck, as we base on a
cliff looking down on that canyon, its abundant yellow beach and the popular 12
Apostle limestone stacks in the distance.
When they were included the water
they likewise ended up being immersed in the story of Victoria's Great Ocean
Road, their tale informed to this day on indications along the cliff-top
tracks, 8 kilometres from Port Campbell.
Considered among the most incredible
seaside drives in the world, the 243-kilometre touring path has also been
called the world's
longest war memorial, having been developed by returned World War I
soldiers and dedicated to the fallen.
To mark its 30th birthday this year,
Scenic has released a brand-new 11-day Victorian Discovery trip taking in this
remarkable coastline. The trip-- a round trip from Melbourne-- checks out the
popular surfing beaches around local
Apollo Bay accommodation and Lorne before going to Loch Ard Gorge and the
Twelve Apostles, Warrnambool, the day spa town of Daylesford and historic gold
rush city of Ballarat.
At the Museum of Australian
Democracy (MADE) in Ballarat we see the initial Southern Cross flag as our
guide regales us with the heroics of Eureka Rebellion leader Peter Lalor.
Stories of fortunes made and lost,
grand structures increasing, pubs burning down and Lalor's journey from rebel
gold miner to Speaker of the Victorian Parliament include depth to the
sight-seeing around the town built during the Victorian gold rush.
In Geelong, the National Wool Museum
is custodian of one of our nation's crucial stories. It commemorates the vital
role played by wool farmers in turning early Australia from a nation of failing
crops into an export powerhouse.
Detailed, a mix of antique machinery
and new technology informs the story of how Australia rode to financial
prosperity on the sheep's back.
Our guide brushes us up on our
primary school history lessons as we walk through an exhibit showing how fleece
ends up being fabric, explaining how farms in this part of Victoria throughout
the growing 1860s produced some of the finest grade wools on earth. To this
day, the best quality wool available is still referred to as Geelong grade in
wool-classing circles.
