This part of the coastline along the Great Ocean Road is known as the Shipwreck Coast. The story is told of the loss of the Loch Ard In 1879. which ran aground near here. There were only 2 survivors. One of them was a 19-year-old sailor apprentice named Tom Pearce, and the other a 19-year-old Irish girl called Eva Carmichael, who was travelling with her family.
Tom was first to wash ashore and hearing a woman’s cries for help, he bravely headed back into the water to save her. The two soon became famous amongst Victorians, with Tom being welcomed as a hero. After about three months, Eva decided to return back to Europe where she went one to marry an aristocrat. Tom remained a sailor and returned to England where he died at the age of 49, known as a hero of his time.