FEDERAL Arts Minister Simon Crean provided the perfect backstop for Warrnambool’s Flagstaff Hill in its bid to secure the prized Loch Ard watch at auction this week.
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Not only did he provide funding from the National Cultural Heritage Account, he also declared the gold heirloom (pictured) to be of national significance, which meant it could not leave the country even if purchased by a foreign buyer.
Thankfully, there was no need to enforce the export ban because Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village director Peter Abbott won the Sotheby’s auction bidding at $17,000, thus securing the 1814 timepiece for display beside the famed Loch Ard peacock in Warrnambool. Money was also provided by six local philanthropic funds and an anonymous citizen towards the total price of $20,720.
Yesterday Mr Crean congratulated Flagstaff Hill for its successful bid.
“We are proud to have assisted Flagstaff Hill in bringing this historically significant item to the heart of Victoria’s Shipwreck Coast,” he said.
“The watch is nationally significant because of its strong connection to Australia’s immigration and maritime history.”
It was made by Belfast watchmaker James McCabe about 1814 and owned by the Carmichael family of Ireland.
Rebecca Carmichael had it in her clothing when she drowned in the tragic sinking of the Loch Ard near Port Campbell in 1878.
Her daughter Eva, one of only two survivors, salvaged the watch and took it with her back to Ireland and later gave it to her husband.
It has been held in the family by her grandson Robert Townshend, who died in England on the weekend.
He died at the age of 94, only hours before it was auctioned at his request.
His son Richard plans to visit Warrnambool in April and will be honoured at an official dinner.
Another son, Athelny Townshend, of Suffolk, was his father’s agent in the sale.
He told The Standard yesterday he was delighted the watch that had been in his family for 150 years had found a welcome home at Flagstaff Hill.
“It is reassuring to know that the watch will be well looked after, appreciated by the museum’s many visitors and that the watch’s history and provenance will never be lost,” he said.
“However, just as the watch symbolically and sadly bore witness to the tragic deaths of the majority of the Carmichael family optimistically anticipating a new life in Australia, so the sale of the watch on Tuesday is, coincidentally, also sadly associated with the death of the long-time guardian of the watch, my father, Robert Townshend, only a few hours before Peter Abbott triumphantly punched the air in delight at making the winning bid.”