Lady Loch
Victoria's government steamer of 1886, used as a lighthouse tender for the colony and later the Commonwealth.
The ship
Lady Loch was a 487-ton iron steamer built in Melbourne by Campbell, Sloss & McCann in 1886 for the Department of Trade and Customs of the colonial government of Victoria. She was named for the wife of the Governor, Sir Henry Loch.
She was the colony's largest fleet auxiliary, armed with a 6-inch gun and two Nordenfelt guns, and she worked as Victoria's lighthouse tender, carrying stores, equipment and keepers to the lights.
After Federation the Commonwealth took over coastal lights. It chartered Lady Loch in 1915 and bought her in 1917. She was sold in 1920, bought back in 1925 when more tonnage was needed for the lights, and sold again in 1935 to become a hulk on the Brisbane River. She was scuttled at Dunwich, Moreton Bay, in 1962.
Gabo Island
As Victoria's lighthouse tender she served the colony's lights, and Gabo Island was a Victorian light. We have not yet found a record naming a particular Lady Loch voyage to Gabo Island.
Not yet confirmed:
- A dated Lady Loch visit to Gabo Island.