Lighthouses of Australia Inc

Mystery anchor of Cape Otway

By Malcolm Brack
Lighthouse kid who grew up at Cape Otway, and now records weather readings for the Bureau of Meteorology

Malcolm Brack and the anchor marked as from Eric the Red at Cape Otway Lighthouse, c. 1970  Photo: Malcolm Brack

When I started taking tours around the Cape Otway lightstation and looking after the accommodation in 1994, I became intrigued by the anchor which is on display between the two sets of cottages and especially the plaque that bears information about this relic of the past. The plaque states that it is part of either Eric the Red or Martha shipwrecks. Several times I have approached both Parks Victoria and the lightstation lessees asking them to find out whether it is indeed part of the famous Eric the Red or less significant but, for Cape Otway lighthouse historically important, Martha.

Let me help to shed some light on this dilemma.

In the late fifties there were two anchors, chain and some shipwreck debris, scattered on the shore east of Point Franklin. I remember seeing them. Twenty years later, one of my brothers and his mates decided to pull the anchors out of the small gutter at low tide and bring it up. One of them was left at Point Franklin and today, little of it is left, is almost rusted away. The second anchor was taken all the way to Cape Otway lightstation, propped up decoratively in the middle of the lawn and fitted with a plaque that identifies it as coming from Eric the Red. Little thought was given to the fact that another ship, Martha, came to a rocky end just 50m off shore from the place where the anchors were originally found.

Eric the Red anchor in front of the Cape Otway Lighthouse Photo: Travel Victoria

When Parks took control of the lightstation in 1996, the anchor was heritage listed because it was understood that it came from Eric the Red. The Martha is listed by Heritage Victoria as an ”unknown” shipwreck. Many parts of the wreck still lie scattered ashore in rock pools. Two bollards can also be seen on the shoreline and the shipwreck itself is visible 50m offshore in 3m of water.

The Martha was sunk in late February 1858 while unloading timber and supplies for the Cape Otway telegraph station, at Parker Inlet. The schooner was 109 tons, owned by an Apollo Bay company. Built in 1847, its length was 69.5 feet, beam 17.8 feet and depth 11.9 feet.

Eric the Red was a large wooden ship of 1580 tons, built in Bath, Maine USA in 1871. It was 198.7ft long, 41.1.feet wide and 17.5 ft deep. On 3rd September 1880, the ship hit the Otway Reef and broke up. I could only imagine that a ship of this size would have also large anchors, while lighter Martha would only need smaller ones. Because of its size, the anchor on display at Cape Otway is, in my opinion, more likely to be of the older Martha. The place where the anchors were found, only around 50m from the site of the shipwreck would also point to Martha.

The answer to the question whether the anchors are actually from Eric the Red, or Martha remains unsolved. Only a thorough examination by experts could possibly solve this mystery. 

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