The Dunedin was one of Duncan's beautiful ships built by Duncans of Port Glasgow for the Albion Line in 1874. She was a vessel of 1250 tons, designed to carry about 400 passengers and capable of very fast passages: none of her runs exceeded 100 days.

The Dunedin had the distinction of being the first ship to carry frozen meat from New Zealand to London. This was in february 1882, when the ship was owned by the Shaw Savill and Albion Company. The ship was fitted with a freezing plant, and the meat was frozen on board, as there were no freezing works in the country. When 1 500 carcasses were on board the equipment broke down, so that Dunedin customers had the honour of purchasing the first New Zealand frozen lamb. However repairs were soon effected, more carcasses arrived on board, and on the 15th the Dunedin sailed out of Port Chalmers on her historic journey.

Her last visit to New Zealand was in 1889 and after discharging her outward cargo she sailed on March 19, 1890, for London with frozen meat and wool. She was then barque-rigged, and was seen once before reaching Cape Horn, but she never reached her destination. This gallant ship was supposed to have foundered during a storm, or else she was sunk by an iceberg.