The Albion Shipping Company, 1869 Ships.
In 1869 Duncan, of Glasgow, built the two fine little composite ships, James Nicol Fleming (afterwards renamed the Napier) and the Otago, for Patrick Henderson. They were sister ships of 993 tons register. Their top strake and bulwarks were of iron, but their bottoms were of wood with pure copper sheathing.
The Otago, by the way, must not be confused with a little iron barque of 346 tons, which was owned in Adelaide and at one time commanded by Joseph Conrad.
Patrick Henderson’s Otago was eventually sold to the Portuguese and renamed Ermilla. She was torpedoed and sunk by the Germans early in the war.
It was in 1869 that Patrick Henderson made his first venture in iron ships, Scott, of Greenock, building him the two sister ships Jessie Readman and Christian McCausland, of 962 tons register. These were fine handy little ships, good for 11 knots on a taut bowline, and equally good off the wind. They made very good outward passages with their ’tween decks full of emigrants, and loaded wool home. In those early days all the New Zealand wool was pressed on board before being stowed; this was generally done by a temporary crew of beachcombers, as it was the regular thing for a crew to run on arrival in the Colonies, however comfortable the ship was. The crew picked up for the run home was usually a fine one, of real sailormen, who had tired of the land after a short spell of working ashore.