Montague Dawson, F.R.S.A., R.S.M.A. (Chiswick 1895-1973 Midhurst)

The iron barque emigrant ship West Australian was built for Park Bros., London by Pile & Spence at West Hartlepool in 1859. Registered at 600 tons, she was measured at 160 feet in length with a 25½ foot beam. Used primarily for the emigrant trade on the London-New Zealand service and captained by James Downie, she was to become instrumental in the settlement of New Zealand. By 1888 she was under the ownership of Williamson, Milligan & Co. of Liverpool but disappears from record in the early 1890s.