A wooden-hulled three-masted Barque. It featured a raised quarterdeck (approx. 12.5m long) and was copper-fastened and sheathed with felt and yellow metal to protect the hull.

The Chaudiere spent its early career under British ownership, including a stint with the famous Shaw, Savill & Co. line. In early 1883, it was purchased in either Adelaide or Melbourne by Maurice Coleman Davies, who intended to use the barque exclusively for his expanding timber empire in Australia’s southwest.