Buttermere

Official Number 76414

The Buttermere was an iron barque built by the Whitehaven Ship Building Company and launched in January 1877 for Fisher & Sprott, of Liverpool. She was commanded by Capt.S.Ogilvie for most of her career. Her first voyage was from Liverpool to San Francisco, where she arrived in July 1877. She spent several years making voyages to New Zealand and she arrived at Otago from Calcutta on the 28th February 1879. On the 3rd March 1880 she arrived at Wellington from London, after a 90 day passage, with passengers and a general cargo. Other Whitehaven-built vessels, such as the Loweswater and Grasmere, were also taking passengers and goods to New Zealand in the same period.

In about 1889 the Buttermere was sold to German owners based on the River Elbe. She was renamed Freia and was still listed in the shipping registers in 1900.

Sources :

1. "Shipbuilding in Whitehaven - A Checklist" by Harry Fancy, Whitehaven Museum (1984).
2. Mystic Seaport Library has a Ship Register Search facility. The Buttermere is included in these American registers for the years 1878-1889. Masters named as Capt.S.Ogilvie until 1886, then Capt.J.Owens.
3. Arrivals in New Zealand, from Otago Witness newspaper, Saturday, 8th March 1879 (website) and 16th March 1880, page 15 (website).
4. Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1883-4: Buttermere, barque, 1031 gross tons, owned by Fisher & Sprott, registered at Liverpool, master Capt.S.Ogilvie.
5. Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1889-90: Buttermere, barque, 1031 gross tons, official no.76414, signal letters QMDP, owned by Fisher & Sprott, registered at Liverpool, master Capt.J.Owens, annotated "now named Freia". In Supplement, Freia, ex-Buttermere, owned by C.Brandt, registered at Blankense.
6. Mystic Seaport Library Ship Register Search facility lists the Freia in American registers from 1890 to 1900 (as a German vessel, registered at Blankenese).
   
7. Photo available at the San Francisco Public Library.

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