This rather dramatic photo shows what remained after the ‘Hole in the Wall’ (St Michael’s Arch) collapsed in 1867.The structure stood on the North Avalon rockshelf and was given a variety of names by the locals – ‘The Stone Lady’ and ‘Lot’s Wife’ being the most popular.
During the 1920s the single weathered stone on top had more the shape of a peaked cap which gave the formation the title “The Foreign Legion’s Soldier’. This particular photo shows Gwen Searl posing by the structure in 1944 whilst on her honeymoon. The Norfolk Pines and the surf club, including the dressing sheds show on the extreme right of the picture. The last reliably dated photo of the ‘Stone Lady’ indicates that she stood at least until 1962.
