The Parmelia was a barque that was used to transport the first civilian officials and settlers of the Swan River Colony to Western Australia in 1829. Parmelia was built in Quebec, Canada in 1825, and registered on 31 May of that year. She was 117 feet (36 m) long, 29 feet (8.8 m) wide and 20 feet (6.1 m) deep in the hold; and she was rated at 443 tons. Johnson (1987) writes that she was more of a plain working girl than the great and beautiful lady of the sea. Parmelia was sent to London, and on 17 November she was transferred from the Quebec to the London register. In 1826 she was used as a troop carrier. Some time in the first half of 1827, Parmelia was sold to Joseph Somes, who was also a director of the British East India Company. For the next year, she operated under charter to the Br