The house flag of McIlwraith McEacharn & Co. Proprietory Ltd, Melbourne and London. A rectangular yellow flag with a red rampant lion in the centre within a border of double red lines. The flag is made of a wool and synthetic fibre bunting. It has a cotton hoist and is machine sewn. The lion in the centre is stencilled. A rope and Inglefield clip is attached. The design is based on the Royal Standard of Scotland.

McIlwraith McEacharn Limited were established in 1875 in London, the fleet consisted of sailing ships trading under the name of the Scottish Line, with cargo and immigrants to the colony of Queensland. In 1885 an office in Melbourne was opened and the company took an active part in the transport of passengers and cargo at the time of the gold rush in Western Australia. In 1879 ‘Strathleven’ arrived in London from Melbourne with a cargo of frozen meat - one of the pioneer ships in the trade. By 1880 it was making its competitive presence felt in Australian coastal shipping and by 1914 was one of the seven major interstate shipping companies. By this time it had been registered in Australia for number of years.

The major Australian coastal companies took care to integrate their schedules to provide a good service to shipper and passengers. Even though sea travel had dangers to face, travel by train was uncomfortable and gave little competition until well developed in the twentieth century. When World War II started the company had ten ships in its fleet. Pride of place went to the m.v. ‘Kanimbla’ - a fine looking interstate passenger liner of 10,985 gross tons. After the war, although services resumed, they never reached their pre-war level. Improved road/rail facilities and air travel took their toll on McIlwraith McEacharn, along with all other Australian shipping companies. Coastal cargo ships were replaced by bulk carriers to move basic raw materials. State subsidies supported services to outlying parts of Western Australia and across to Tasmania, but many of these have been reduced or removed.

McIlwraith McEacharn like all the coastal companies, foresaw these changes and in the second half of the twentieth century diversified their investment into other industries