History of the Dunedin Model Ship
The
Dunedin was one of six iron colonial clippers built by Robert Duncan of Port Glasgow,
in 1874, for Patrick Henderson’s Albion Line.
The maritime historian, Basil
Lubbock, said of these vessels that ‘there were few more perfect specimens of
the shipbuilders’ art’.
The
Dunedin and her sister vessels were designed to carry emigrants to
New Zealand,
and their outward passages were made in under 80 days. In 1881, the
Dunedin was
fitted with refrigeration machinery.
The
Dunedinsailed from Port Chalmers, on February 15th 1882, with the
first cargo of
New Zealand frozen sheep. She arrived in
London on 26th May, having made a 98 day passage.
The
Dunedin was lost
at sea in March 1890. The model shows the ship fitted with a ventilating
chimney for her refrigeration engine. Modelled without this modification, the
Dunedin offers an original and excellent example of a magnificent iron clipper.
