Collection of 58 documents relating to West Coast Shipping Agencies Ltd
Date1976 - 1977
Object numberANMS0877
NameArchive series
MediumPaper
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from McIlwraith McEacharn Limited
DescriptionThese 58 documents from the McIlwraith McEacharn Limited collection relate to the establishment of West Coast Shipping Agencies Ltd. The series consists of three West Coast Shipping Agencies company meeting agendas; one certificate relating to the Companies Act; one set of conference notes; one declaration concerning a superannuation fund; eight company discussion notes; four rsvp lists for meetings; eight sets of meeting Minutes; 14 meeting notes; two company notices; three memorandums of association; eight letters, three memorandums and two telegrams relating to meeting agendas, appointment of company directors and superannuation. The documents span the period 1976 - 1977.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.