The "Lady Loch" (above) was a wrought iron, steam-driven lighthouse tender employed in Victorian, South Australian and Tasmanian waters. Built for the Victorian Government in 1886 it was chartered to the Commonwealth in 1915 upon Federal assumption of responsibility for coastal navigational aids.
Wartime restrictions mean that initially, the S.S. Lady Loch was unlikely to be acquired by the Commonwealth - initially the Director of the newly created Commonwealth Lighthouse Services, Joshua Ramsbotham, recommended against the purchase of the S.S. Lady Loch due to its age. However, two years later, at the end of the charter period, the Commonwealth agreed to purchase the vessel for £9,050 less the charter money of £2,100.
It remained in the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service until 1932.
This cache celebrates what could be the last remaining relic of this historic ship. Today a small part of it stands outside the a building known at one time as the H.G. Trace Building, named for the first master employed by the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service, Captain Henry Trace (below). He was master of the Victorian lighthouse tender, the Lady Loch, when it entered into the Commonwealth's jurisdiction.
The cache is available 24/7, although stealth is advised due to the sometime busy environment. BYO Pen.