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This stamp depicting a Shaw Savill & Albion vessel was issued in 1940 by the New Zealand post office and features the full-rigged ship Dunedin. In 1882, by the introduction of refrigerating machinery on board the vessel, she laid the foundation of the frozen meat industry between New Zealand and this country. She was chartered by the New Zealand and Australian Land Co., Ltd., who, in co-operation with the Albion Line, had the ship fitted with a Bel-Coleman cold air freezer. In the following year the Dunedin was taken over by the Shaw Savill Line when they purchased the Albion Line. For nine consecutive trips the ship was chartered to carry frozen meat cargoes.
The Dunedin was an iron ship of 1,250 tons, built in 1874 by R. Duncan & Co., Ltd, at Port Glasgow, for the Albion Line of P. Henderson. She was lost in March, 1890, while on a voyage from Oamaru to London. On that voyage she was barque rigged. No trace or indication of her fate was ever found.

New Zealand SG621, 759 1259
 Sea Breezes 11/47

Built as an iron full rigged vessel under yard No 75 by Robert Duncan & Co., Glasgow for the Albion Line in Glasgow.
08 August 1873 keel laid down.
03 March 1874 launched under the name DUNEDIN.
Tonnage 1.320 gross, 1.249 net, dim. 241 x 36.1 x 29.9ft. (draught), length with bowsprit 250 ft.
Ship rigged with an iron wire rigging, and an iron lowermost and bowsprit, with iron lower yards and lower main topsails.
The contract price to build DUNEDIN was £19 per nrt. When the builder made up the bill the total cost was £25.871. 5 shillings 5 pence.
After closing the books he made a loss of £2.121. 5 shillings 5 pence.

The DUNEDIN was one of a class of 8 ordered by the Albion Line, and all the ships of the class were named after towns in New Zealand.
The class was special built for the emigrant trade between England and New Zealand, the DUNEDIN with a long poopdeck of 70ft., half being fitted out as saloon accommodation, the other half being for the single women.
Officers cabins were on the break of the poop, then second class accommodation with three small saloons with sleeping cabins on either side, more were in the tweendeck directly below and completely separated from the steerage accommodation. On the after part were six cabins for the 16 first class passengers situated around a large and well lighted saloon with two bathrooms. The Captain cabin was situated aft.
She could carry about 450 passengers, most in the tweendeck. On the outward voyage in addition to emigrants, she carried all sorts of goods, gear and animals. On the homeward voyage cargo was scare, mostly loaded with bales of wool, cask pelts, tallow and cases of preserved meat, sometimes gold and a few saloon passengers.

After the first trials of shipment of frozen meat took place at the end of 1870 across the North Atlantic, owners of shipping companies sailing to New Zealand and Australia were dreaming of well-paid freights from down under to England.

On 06 December 1879 the first small trial shipment left Australia on board STRATHLEVEN, loaded at Sydney and Melbourne. She arrived early February 1880 at London. After discharging the meat was found to be in good condition.

In 1880 the Bell-Coleman refrigerating machine became available, which was a great improvement, James Galbraith of the Albion Line was interested. He signed an agreement with the New Zealand and Australia Land Company, where Albion Line had to equip one of her best good sailing ships into a refrigerated vessel, fitting her out with a cooling machine and insulating the holds, the afore said company had to find a cargo of up to 7.500 sheep carcasses, and paid a freight of 2½ pence per lb. from New Zealand to London.

Friday 13 May 1881 after the DUNEDIN arrived at the Clyde, she was fitted out as a reefer vessel under personal supervision of Mr. Coleman.
During test runs the machinery temperature of minus 40 degs. Celsius was achieved, much lower than was necessary to carry meat.
24 August 1881 she sailed from the Clyde with on board a general cargo and 50 passengers under command of Capt. Whitson, arriving early November in Port Chalmers, New Zealand.
After discharging cargo she commenced to load mutton carcasses.

At that time there was not a single freezing plant in New Zealand so the carcasses had to be frozen on board.
Every morning 240 carcasses arrived by train from the Tatara Estate, killed the day before, and after hanging 24 hours to cool down they were dispatched to the vessel in wagons.

The carcasses were loaded in the tweendeck of the DUNEDIN, in which the temperature was kept so low that the carcasses got partially frozen. When the carcasses came on board she were hung on hooks a slight distance apart, so that they cooled down gradually.
After 24 hours they were packed in a course calico bag, after which they are loaded into the lower holds and stowed close together. In this hold the temperatures is kept at minus 30 degrees Celsius and after 24 hours the meat is thoroughly frozen.

Monday 12 December there was a setback, the crankshaft and some of the casting of the refrigerating machine broke down, the 500 carcasses already loaded had to be discharged and sold locally. After repairs the freezing operation re-commissioned.

15 February after loading around 5.000 sheep carcasses DUNEDIN sailed from Port Chalmers. During this voyage there was a continual anxiety by the crew that the sparks from the funnel of the cooling machinery placed between the fore and mainmast – would set the sails on fire. On 26 May, after 98 days at sea she arrived in London. After discharging the cargo was found in perfect condition, and sold on Smitfield market for an average of 6½ per lb.

Shortly after this successful trip the Albion Line was sold to the Shaw Savill Company on 06 November 1882, and the two companies amalgamated under the title of Shaw Savill & Albion Co. Ltd.
The DUNEDIN was sold to the new-formed company for £17.494. 16 shillings cash.

She was kept in the New Zealand trade from the U.K.
31 December 1889 after a passage of 95 days from London she arrived at Port Chalmers, after discharge she made a short coastal voyage to Oamaru were she loaded a cargo of frozen meat.
24 March 1890 she sailed from there under command of Capt. Roberts and a crew of 34.
She was spoken to only once before passing Cape Horn, and never heard from again.
Probably she had a collision with an iceberg and sank or was foundering during a storm.

DUNEDIN completed 12 voyages to Port Chalmers, three to Auckland and two to Lyttelton, none of her passages exceeded 100 days.

She was the first sailing vessels that carried a full cargo of frozen meat, and the first vessel to carry a full cargo of frozen meat from New Zealand or Australia.

Source: Paddy Henderson by Dorothy Laird. New Zealand Shipwrecks by C.W.N. Ingram.