The story of the Loch Ard Peacock is a great piece of our local maritime history which has now been preserved on the heritage register

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The story of the wreck of the Loch Ard is one the south west's most dramatic shipwrecks - on the morning of June the first, 1878, the ship was destroyed on the rocks at the entrance to what is now known as Loch Ard Gorge just near Port Campbell.

There were three survivors - Tom Pearce - a member of the crew, Eva Carmichael - a passenger, and an earthenware glazed peacock made by Minton in the UK.

The fact that something so fragile could've survived the violence of a shipwreck is quite remarkable.

At 144cm tall, the peacock is quite a substantial piece which it's believed was on its way to the Great Exhibition of Melbourne in 1880 where it would've been on display in the exhibition buildings.

Today the peacock is at the centre of the museum at Flagstaff Hill in Warrnambool which tells the story of the Loch Ard every night during a sound and laser show.

The importance of the peacock has just received a boost with its inclusion on the Victorian Heritage Register.

Dr Ron Sproston - a volunteer at Flagstaff Hill - prepared the submission for the Heritage Council and conducted a huge amount of research into the peacock and its various owners over the years.

According to Dr Sproston, 'the peacock remained in the private ownership of the Miller family (Mr James Miller having bought the original salvage rights) until 1943 when it was purchased by Mr Frank Ridley-Lee'.

The peacock was offered for sale in 1975 and was purchased by Flagstaff Hill with funds raised by 'the people of Warrnambool, Fletcher Jones Stores and the State Government'.

The peacock's inclusion on the heritage register is a welcome recognition of its importance to our local maritime history, but it also represents much more.

As Dr Ron Sproston says - 'I like to think it represents the hopes and aspirations ... of so many of those migrants who came out in similar circumstances aboard a ship, and those of course who didn't make it'.