John William “Bill” McCandless

John William (Bill) McCandless (son of William John (John) McCandless) travelled in the late 1890’s from Howlong to Wallumbilla, Qld under a false name “William Williams / Williamson” for some reason. Eric McCandless

GEDCOM Note

<p class="MsoNormal">by Eric McCandless.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">John William (Bill / Billy) McCandless is the son of William (John) McCandless and Ernistina Diebert, and was our grandfather. There was only one other child of the marriage, Robert Edward who drowned in a “tank” which I understand is the term used for a local small dam, perhaps elevated from the surrounding ground. Bill’s father somehow disappeared when Bill was young, and he was then raised by with the Bryon/Bryant and/or Diebert family. His half-sister Gus met up with our family in the mid 70’s. She said she was very pleased to meet up with her brother’s family after so many years. I don’t know if she explained the reason for the falling out with the family, but Gus said that she and the rest of the family loved her brother very much, but he didn’t want to have anything to do with the family.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Dad told stories about how his father used to look after sheep for the (Diebert ?) family in the bitter cold when it sometimes snowed around Ganmain. He told stories about how they had to be careful not to get frost bitten on the nose and fingers.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">A few years after his mother died in 1897, Bill and his cousin Alf Diebert rode bicycles up to Wallumbilla. They selected land together and set about clearing and fencing it. Alf’s daughter Bertha Diebert in Wallumbilla took me and showed me the property where they were, and showed me the fence they built along the roadway which is still there today. Bill sold the property in about 1913 and had also worked in and around Roma for various businesses. I have some work references for him which say he was a very good and reliable worker. He then took up as a teamster and travelled between Roma and Charters Towers and Rockhampton with a bullock team. The Dieberts also had bullock teams and that is probably where he learned the trade.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">During our family history research, I came across an old newspaper article about a boy being lost in the bush near Grandfather’s property at Yulebar and a huge search party was assembled including our grandfather Bill. And it was Bill who found the boy after a few days. The article said that he was an extraordinary bushman. I came across a newspaper article around this time, where Bill was injured by his horse rolling on top of him and crushed his ribs and he was transported to Rockhampton hospital by train.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">After meeting and marrying Sophia around Tryphinnia / Edengalba, they settled around Springsure, at first they had a market garden and were doing quite well, suppling vegetables to the surrounding district and Springsure. They grew watermelons, pumpkins, lettuce, carrots, and other vegetables. They used to get water from a well or bore. Then because of drought, the water well started todry up and the water got deeper and deeper and the supply dried to a trickle as well. Dad said he was just a boy and they used to run the old pump engine all night to be able to get enough water, andit was usually his job to stay and sleep with the pump all night. He said he and one of his brothers would often sleep beside the pump. They eventually ran out of water and could no longer continue farming and eventually walked off the farm (sold it or bank took it?). Bill often said to his sons, that if they ever bought a farming property to make sure it had a good water supply. This was one of the points Dad liked about the Bangalow property, having a spring fed creek on the boundary.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">After leaving the farm, Bill took a job on a station property helping out with sheep and wool. He would work with sheep sheparding, drenching, crutching, shearing, and wool pressing. Sophia worked as a house maid and cook. The family including the boys also would pick cotton during the cotton picking season. They would get so much per pound of cotton picked. They would also trap possums, skin them, tan the hides, and sell them. The boys would also shoot kangaroos and tan the hides.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Bill was much older than Sophia. His date of birth is a little unclear but somewhere around 1880-1884. He was a smoker and developed emphysema later in life. His doctor stressed that he needed to give up smoking and apparently he did try, but he also kept a secret stash of tobacco, hidden from Sophia. He and Sophia moved to Rubyvale a few years prior to his death in 1953, but he passed away from emphysema in Springsure hospital and was buried in Springsure cemetery. Uncle Len fell out with his father in the last few years and told me that he never visited his father again after the fall out, and never visited him in hospital before he died or went to the funeral.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Our Mum Beryl once said something odd to me which I didn’t fully understand. She said it was a wonder that the McCandless boys grew up to be as well as they were considering the messed up life and upbringing they had.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <h2><a name="_Toc114478446"></a>John William McCandless (Grandfather) and Cousin Alf on Bicycles to Wallumbilla (1890’s – 1900’s)</h2> <p class="MsoNormal">Our grandfather John William McCandless lived for a while with the Diebert family who were on his mother’s side after his father was no longer with them (either killed or left for another woman - see other story). After his mother died, Bill and his cousin Alf for some reason decided to travel from somewhere near Urana NSW (Urana, Lockhart, Ganmain) to Queensland. The Diebert’s were German and there was a German community living at Wallumbilla, Qld (near Roma) at the time. Perhaps there was a connection or perhaps Bill was looking for his father, or just by chance, but the cousins rode their bicycles all the way and settled there. I do not know how long it took them but by modern roads the distance is about 1300 kilometres. Perhaps they took their time and got jobs along the way. I was told that when their bike tyres perished, they stuffed grass into them to be able to continue their journey. Bertha Diebert told me they travelled under the false names, Alf as Fred Wall (or Ward) and Bill as William Williams ? (how strange that also Uncle Len become William Williams?), the reason is unknown. Perhaps they were both running away from family or police.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Eventually they ended up at Wallumbilla, whether by design or accident. Apparently they selected a 320 acre property between them which was later to become a point of disagreement and disharmony and split them forever. The property may have been granted to them rather than boughtas in those days, the Government gave land to people who were then required to implement certain improvements such as clear and fence the land to be able to keep it.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I have job references for our grandfather who worked various off jobs around the district presumably at the same time he had the property. Grandfather Bill (and perhaps cousin Alf) built a 12 kilometre barbed wire fence to the property which is still there today.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">A short while after they acquired the property, Alf’s father got very ill and Alf travelled back to look after his father. Apparently he stayed back there for a few years before and after his father died and also got married. The Diebert family was reasonably well off at that stage and Alf inherited the majority of the Diebert wealth. The Diebert family were variously into bullock teams, a winery, a pub (where there is a story of being friendly with the Kelly bushranger gang), blacksmithing, wheat, and sheep. With Alf being away from the property for so long and Alf inheriting most of the Diebert wealth, Grandfather Bill was very annoyed and upset and apparently he believed that he should also share some of the wealth inheritedby Alf. Whether for this or other reasons, Grandfather (Bill) John McCandless apparently sold the property for $100 pounds and left to pursue a life as a bullock team owner and contractor. Bullock teams were the semitrailer trucks of their day. The Diebert family also had bullock teams which is where grandfather may have picked up his skills. I am unsure when he started to drove a bullock team, either whilst he still owned the property at Wallumbilla or afterwards, but there are stories of how he drove a team on at least several occasions between Roma and Charters Towers and perhaps further north. I met a person called Hector Crawford at Clermont would vividly remembered our grandfather’s bullock team passing through his family’s property as a kid. Apparently he used to stay overnight or for a while and water and feed the bullocks at Hector’s parent’s property.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Hector himself was a local legend around Clermont at the time I lived there. When I first took over the gold mine, Alex White told me it came with an obligation. He said that a chap called Hector would periodically come to me and I would be expected to buy his gold as Alex had done in the past. So I honoured this obligation and always paid Hector the going rate for his gold and never made anything out of it (in fact lost because of impurities). Hector lived alone in a camp out at Miclere, but I never learned precisely where but I believe it was a bush humpy. He was probably in his late seventies and would go gold mining using a small dry blower and pick and shovel like the old days. He would dress like a hobo without shirt or shoes and despite his years he looked very fit. He would ride a push bike from Miclere into Clermont and back for this supplies. The Clermont police would periodically check up on him just to make sure he was ok. A number of stories circulated about Hector about how fit and independent he was despite his age. One (slightly) embellished story related to me was one very hot summer day Hector was seen riding his bike along the highway and a truckie saw him and felt sorry for him cycling in the heat, so he pulled up alongside Hector as he was riding and called out the window to Hector and asked if he wanted a lift into town. “I would” said Hector, “but not today as I am in a hurry”, and with that Hector put on a burst of speed and cycled off into the distance.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Alf eventually returned to Wallumbilla with his entire extended family and found his cousin Bill had sold the property and was gone. He eventually found that he had settled in Springsure. Alf was very upset with his cousin for selling the property and not giving him his share. Alf bought another property or two with his new wealth and set up for sheep farming. This was not very successful due to drought and dingo attacks and eventually Alf lost most of his money with sheep farming. His youngest daughter Bertha is still living at Wallumbilla.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">When I first met Bertha in 1999, the first thing she said to me was “Where is that 50 pounds your grandfather owes my Dad Alf?” (in a joking manner I think). Bertha said that her father Alf spoke about Bill owing the 50 pounds every day until he died, he was so bitter about it.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">According to Dad, his father Bill would never talk about his family down south and would get angry if the subject was raised. Apparently there were a few letters passed back and forth but generally Bill wanted nothing to do with his past family. One of the Aunts (I think it might have been Aunt Gus) offered to pay for my father’s education down in Brisbane or Sydney but Bill would not allow it.</p>