Newnham was the first steamship to bring Indian indentured labourers to Fiji, arriving at Suva on 23 July 1884 carrying 575 passengers.
Its trip to Fiji was part of a 33,000 mile tour which began on 20 February 1884 in New York under Captain James Johnston.
She sailed to St John, New-Brunswick, loaded a cargo of lumber and on 4 March sailed for Liverpool, then to Cardiff on 29 March, where she loaded coal and departed for Colombo, Ceylon on 5 April, passing through the Straits of Gibraltar, Mediterranean Sea, Suez Canal, Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
On 8 October she was in Calcutta and left on 9 December with 500 coolies for Demerara (British Guinea) and cargo for New York.
On this voyage she travelled 11,500 miles, stopping at Mauritius, Cape Town and St Helena before reaching Demerara (with only seven deaths on board).