In the opinion of Johns, Captain John Mason of Port Fairy was the first to describe the ship as being constructed of a dark timber which had the appearance of cedar or mahogany, in a letter to the "Melbourne Argus" on 1 April 1876. Mason clarified his account in "The Australasian" on 1 November 1890, expressing uncertainty about the provenance of the ship and stating that he did not think it was made of mahogany, however, by this time the title Mahogany Ship had already become the popular name for the wreck, thanks to the work of journalist John Stanley James (also known as "The Vagabond").