Country of registration:
Shipbuilder: Johan Weilback
Build location: Stockholm, Sweden
Build year: 1848
Built for: Johann Caesar Godeffrey & Son, Reiherstieg, Hamburg in 1851.
The fully rigged, 3 mast deep-water sailing ship was a sister ship to the "Caesar Godeffroy" (which sailed to Adelaide and Sydney) and the "Suzzanah Godeffroy". The ship was 44.3 metres in length, 10.5 metres in width and 6.5 metres in depth. It carried a crew of 20 including a surgeon, and had capacity for 40 passengers in the upper deck and 250 passengers in the lower deck. During its relatively short life, the "Peter Godeffroy" had two captains: H E Decker (1851-1855) and S Johannsen (1855-1857). The "Peter Godeffroy" mainly sailed between Europe and Australia, often returning via New Zealand where it would deliver trans-Tasman cargo. The ship was sold to the HAPAG line in April 1857 and re-named the "Weser". Its first journey between Hamburg and New York occurred a few weeks later. In 1858, the ship foundered and was last reported stranded off the West coast of Ireland. It was subsequently lost at sea, with little known of the fate of its passengers and crew. One of the passengers wrote this regarding the captain: "..during the course of the voyage [to Sidney in 1852], Captain Decker was ever ready to meet our wishes with the utmost urbanity,