I spent a few hours researching the ship Helen Denny that the Payn(e), Feakins and Friend families came to NZ on. Below is the text of a document I put together. The document is also available as a PDF file with a couple of photos of the ship:
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The Helen Denny made at least two voyages to Napier, the first arrival was on the 22nd of October in 1874 and the second was in 1875. Our families came on the second voyage arriving on 20th September 1875.
The shipping register and passenger list transcription can be found at
http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlists/helendenny.html and the details regarding our families are noted below.
A pretty little vessel that brought many hundreds of passengers to all parts of the Dominion from 1875 until 1896, was the Glasgow built ship, Helen Denny, one of the Shaw, Savill fleet. She was built as a fully rigged ship built in 1866 by Robert Duncan, Port Glasgow. Dimensions 187ft 5in x 31ft 2in x 19ft 1in.
When launched in November 1866 she was first owned by Patrick Henderson & Co., Glasgow. Shaw Savill & Co purchased the Helen Denny in 1872 for the New Zealand Immigrant Trade. She is recorded as making a voyage to Napier in 1874 and was then converted to a Barque rig before her next voyage in 1875.
Although only 728 tons she had a fairly good turn of speed and made many passages between London and the several New Zealand ports, considerably below the average, under a fine old sailor, Captain William Ruthe.
She sailed on the 26th of June 1875 from London to Hawkes Bay carrying 244 passengers on this 85 day voyage (which was a fast trip) under the command of Captain William Ruthe.
The names of the passengers that are most important to us are:
Families:
Feakins, Jacob, 50
Feakins, Charlotte, 50
Feakins, Charlotte, 13, Trans. to Single W.
Friend, James, 45
Friend, Mary A., 33
Friend, John, 2
Payn, William, 33
Payn, Catherine, 28
Payn, Eliza, 10
Payn, James W., 7
Payn, George, 5
Payn, Amy, 9m
Single Men:
Feakins, Horace, 16
Feakins/Teakins, Charles, 13
Single Women:
Teakins, Amy, 20
The list on the website was transcribed from LDS Film #0287450 and the entries for "Teakins" are clearly transcription errors.
Note that the spelling for Payn is still without an "e".
The Helen Denny went on to make numerous voyages between London and many New Zealand ports. One such voyage found her in Honolulu in 1894 when plague struck. One crew member died following her departure and she was quarantined at her next port of call. She was sold in 1896 to Messrs. Turnbull & Co., Christchurch and later, in 1900, to Capt. F Holm. She continued to run regularly in the inter-colonial trade between New Zealand, Australia and around the Pacific through 1913. She was sold finally in 1912 to the Paparoa Coal Co. where she was converted into a coal hulk at Lyttleton. She was towed to Auckland in 1946 before finally being towed out to sea and scuttled in 1948.
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Sources:
http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Ships/Merchant/Sail/H/Helen_Denny(1866).html http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlisth.html
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