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Collection of 151 documents relating to the Commonwealth Shipping Line

Date1949 - 1956

Object numberANMS0903

NameArchive series

MediumPaper based material

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from McIlwraith McEacharn Limited

Terms

DescriptionThese 151 documents from the McIlwraith McEacharn Limited collection detail the proposal to acquire the Commonwealth Shipping Line. The series consists of four draft agreements; two contracts; two sale of government vessels documents; two reports; one acquisition proposal; four financial statements relating to the commonwealth fleet; two newspaper clippings; one legal extract; one Shipbuilding journal; four sets of meeting notes and seven documents relating to the sale of government vessels; one policy statement; five privitisation submissions; two parliamentary documents; 109 letters and four memorandums relating to the privatisation and acquisition of commonwealth ships. The documents span the period 1949 - 1956.HistoryThe shipping firm of McIlwraith, McEacharn & Co was founded in London in February 1875 by Andrew McIlwraith and Malcolm Donald McEacharn. McIlwraith, McEacharn & Co entered the Australian trade in 1887 bringing cargo and immigrants from Britain to Queensland. They also entered the coal trade. They entered into the fierce competition for passenger trade in the first decades of the twentieth century when competition for passengers required companies to provide more than converted cargo vessels. In 1909 their ship KAROOLA won a reputation for its salubrious accommodation and its size, and was the first Australian ship to exceed 7,000 tons. The company maintained the advantage in 1912 by commissioning KATOOMBA, which was larger and more luxurious than all its generation of passenger ships. With the growth of rail and road transport, Australian shipping declined during the twentieth century. McIlwraith, McEacharn & Co was a survivor and bought the fleets of James Paterson and Huddard Parker in 1961. In 1957 McIlwraith, McEacharn & Co together with Adelaide Steamship Company and Melbourne Steamship Company, set up Bulkships Pty Ltd to work the heavy ore trade and bought four ships. In 1964 it merged shipping interests with those of the Adelaide Steamship Company to form Associated Steamships. They had a combined fleet of 12 conventional cargo vessels, which they replaced with three container ships. McIlwraith McEacharn continued in the shipping trade until the 1990s when their ships were sold to a US company.SignificanceThis collection is significant in recording a comprehensive history of an Australian shipping company from the 1870s to the 1990s.