The Avon , formerly known as Dunolly, was a 1,572 ton, iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

 sailing ship

Sailing ship

The term sailing ship is now used to refer to any large wind-powered vessel. In technical terms, a ship was a sailing vessel with a specific rig of at least three masts, square rigged on all of them, making the sailing adjective redundant. In popular usage "ship" became associated with all large...

 with a length

Length

In geometric measurements, length most commonly refers to the longest dimension of an object.In certain contexts, the term "length" is reserved for a certain dimension of an object along which the length is measured. For example it is possible to cut a length of a wire which is shorter than wire...

 of 255.6 feet, breadth of 37.6 feet and depth of 22.6 feet. She was built by Charles Connell

Charles Connell

Charles Connell was a Canadian politician, now remembered mainly for placing his image on a 5-cent postage stamp...

 of Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 in 1884 for John Brown of Glasgow. The Nourse Line

Nourse Line

The Nourse Line was a shipping company formed by Captain James Nourse in 1861. After taking delivery of his first ship, the Ganges, in 1861, Nourse went on to build up one of the last great fleets of sailing ships.- Early life of James Nourse:...

 bought the ship in 1890 and renamed it the Avon after the River Avon

River Avon, Devon

The River Avon, also known as the River Aune, is a river in the county of Devon in the south of England. It rises in the southern half of Dartmoor National Park in an area of bog to the west of Ryder's Hill. Close to where the river leaves Dartmoor a dam was built in 1957 to form the Avon reservoir...

 in the south west of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. She was primarily used by the Nourse Line for the transportation of Indian indentured labourers

Indian indenture system

The Indian indenture system was an ongoing system of indenture by which thousands of Indians were transported to various colonies of European powers to provide labour for the plantations...

 to the colonies.