Here's the song I wrote back last November, which I promised to post. Wrote my own tune to it, but haven't yet recorded it. Most of the background research was thanks to the Australian Government website, but I did find myself looking up "Shipping Times" and such-like!
I was drawn to the story, by the name of the ship, The Loch Ard, and found that she and many other "Loch Line" ships had been built on the Clyde in Scotland: the were the last of the sailing ships that still took the "long way round" to Australia even after the Suez canal had been opened.

THE LOCH ARD SHIPWRECK                           
Aka Ballad of Tom and Eva                        

She was built on the Clyde in 1873
A three-masted iron-hulled clipper was she,
Loch Ard she was named, of the famous Loch Line,
And she sailed for Melbourne with a cargo fine.
For four years more she would ply up and down
Carrying all the things they wanted in Melbourne town,
With hats, clocks, pianos, perfumes, linen, candles, spades
And sleepers for the railways that were then being laid.

Chorus
She sailed away, she sailed away,
Heading for Australia on a warm sunny day,
But what would be her fate, there were none could say,
As she ploughed the Southern Ocean.

Then in March '78 she sailed away again
With 37 passengers and 17 crewmen,
The passage was smooth till they reached the southern seas
By Victoria's Port Campbell all was suddenly unease.
On the first day of June at the early hour of three
Loch Ard's Captain Gibbs no landmarks could he see,
Trapped in swirling fog, Otway lighthouse was not found,
And by Mutton Bird Island, the ship must surely ground.

Chorus

But when the fog lifted, the awful truth did dawn,
Those towering cliffs, far too close in early morn,
The Captain turned her round, and tried to steer away,
But her sails would not fill, she was stuck there in the bay.
He tried to drop the anchor, but in sand it would not hold,
The ship's bow pulled round, and her fate would soon be told,
Despite his desperate efforts there could be no relief,
Loch Ard's death knell pealed as she smashed up on a reef.

Chorus

The top deck parted from the hull, the masts crashed down as well,
One lifeboat was launched but capsized in the swell,
The waves swept o'er the ship, screaming people in the foam,
And those who stayed below the decks would soon be "going home".
But young Eva Carmichael was clinging to a beam,
After 5 hours in the water, she should die it would seem,
But Tom Pearce came to the rescue, when Eva he did save,
Revived with brandy from the wreck, they sheltered in a cave.

Chorus

When Tom went for help, the cliffs he had to scale,
He followed horses' footprints along a muddy trail,
Tom and Eva, sole survivors, you might think there'd be romance,
But Eva soon was homeward bound to Ireland, not a chance.
While Tom stayed in Australia, a hero he was made,
A tune was written for him although now so seldom played.
A medal for his bravery and money was donated,
He was the talk of Melbourne Town, by one and all was feted.

Chorus

In salvaging from the wreck, much treasure was there was found,
A precious Minton peacock to the museum would be bound.
But after you have been there, you still should go and view
Those deadly cliffs that claimed so many lives, spared so few.
More than 50 ships foundered upon this treacherous coast,
The Loch Line out of 25 may have lost the most,
The inlet where young Tom and Eva stumbled back on shore
Is named the Loch Ard Gorge, and will be so evermore.

Chorus
She sailed away, she sailed away,
Heading for Australia on a warm sunny day,
But what would be her fate, you now have heard me say,
As she ploughed the Southern Ocean.