During the year 1874 the celebrated builder Robert Duncan built six remarkably fine ships—the Invercargill, Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, Nelson, and Dunedin—to the order of Patrick Henderson, for the New Zealand trade. They were all launched within six months, and the tonnage (1265), length, beam and depth were about the same. These ships were fitted up with every modern convenience and comfort for first-claas passengers and immigrants. They all sailed under the Albion Company's flag until the Albion and Shaw

The Invercargill.

Savill Companies amalgamated, and they were some of the fastest sailers afloat.

the Invercargill made her maiden voyage to Otago in command of Captain Tilly. Leaving Glasgow with 390 passengers on July 16, 1874, she sighted Cape Saunders on October 12, and anchored at Port Chalmers on October 14 after an uneventful passage of 90 days port to port. The following year the ship, under Captain Peacock, made the passage in exactly the same number of days. On her return to England Captain Muir, one of the most capable men afloat, was given command.

As the Invercargill usually carried from 350 to 400 passengers, Captain Muir did not usually go so far south as some other skippers when running down his easting, as he preferred to study the comfort of his passengers, but he made many excellent runs, and on one occasion arrived at Port Chalmers in 79 days from the London docks, or 76 days land to land, Captain Muir ran the ship for nearly twenty years, and never met with any serious accident.