Glen, what era does she come from and what size is the actual ship.
You can then pinpoint it down to what section it would come under for Lloyds register of shipping. either under or over 100 ( i think) tons, but it might be feet.
then you can go to Lloyds ship finder at either your local main library or Lloyds itself and see if a ship of that name was actually registered.
Usually if it was real it was registered for insurance properties.
see here
http://www.lr.org/about_us/shipping_information/faqs.aspxThis is what I like about the modelling game....the research that you put into it.
If it was a real ship, then you can go to the local newspapers of the area, ( ie Lossiemouth) and put in a request for old photos of her...people just love helping in this way. but the main thing is to assertain firstly that she actually existed.
are there any builders names on the plans, who drew them and such, they all give clues.
ps, what suberb of the great city do you live in. I spent two years based in Scullin when teaching at Campbell high school.
if you PM me a picture of the boat on the plan via my email address, i'll see what I can do.
neil.