New biographical entries for:

• Matthew Kitching
• Sydney Walter Jessop
• Patrick McDermott

William Edward Bain (1844 - 1916)

William Edward Bain was born in Longniddry, East Lothian on 17 October 1844, the eleventh child and ninth son of John Bain and Isobella Todd. The circumstances of William birth are interesting given how established the family were at Morriston at the time. It is likely that the family retained strong links with their family in East Lothian.

William's mother died when he was 13, and his father remarried. Little detail is known of his life in Scotland, however a number of things can be assumed. William grew up the son of an affluent man, in a society where the privileges of that lifestyle cannot be underestimated. He would have recieved a good education, and like most of his brothers, would most likely have attended Glasgow University from the age of about 14.

John decided to settle his estate among his children in mid 1860's. For reasons unknown, it appears that William did not recieve his proportion of the estate, because in 1868 when John wrote his will, he left the significant sum £10,000 to William. This is the 2002 equivalent of £500,000 or nearly AUD$1.5 million dollars.

William had most likely left his home in Scotland by that date, as the Maryborough Family History Society makes note of him in its list of Maryborough Scottish Pioneer 1848 - 1868. Williams exact date of emigration is unknown, however it is safe to say that he arrived in Australia some time before 1868, possibly before his father distributed his estate.

John died in 1869, and it is unknown whether in the end he knew that his youngest son had just acquired a wife. William married Elizabeth Chapman on 25 June 1869 at Maryborough Queensland.

Elizabeth Chapman was born on 23 September 1845 in Hull Yorkshire. She was the daughter of Thomas Chapman and Harriet Appleton, and had arrived in Maryborough with her family in 1863. On their marriage certificate his is described as the "son of a gentlemen"

William and Elizabeth produced 5 children (1 son and 4 daughters) between 1870 and 1880:

Williams, brother John joined him in Australia some time before 1871. It is thought that John brought with him Williams inheritance, but this has been unable to be established. In the 1871 Family Geneaology - developed by Charles Rogers, associated of his brother Joseph - both William and John are recorded as a sheep farmers in Queensland. The record indicates they were working the property together.

In February 1872 William became the licensee of the Mary River Hotel in Yengarie. There are a number of records indicating that they sponsored labour from Ireland during this period, including the followig immigration record found McSWEENEY Catherine 24 SF on 9 October 1874

To Mrs. Baynes, Mary River Hotel."

William reapplied for the lease in April 1876 but it was denied for reasons unknown. The family moved on, and Elizabeth had two more children were born, the youngest Mary Ellen died 4 days after she was born.

Family oral history has suggested that William was a gambler, and lost large amounts of money. This could account for the denial of the lease and would explain the disappearance of what was a large amount of money, because when Elizabeth died on 16 September 1881 at age 36, William is described as a labourer. Elizabeth is buried in the Maryborough Cemetary.

The next thirty years of Williams life is a bit of a mystery, but he ended up living near the coal mining town of Torbanlea - about 34 km north west of Hervey Bay and 20 km north of Maryborough - where he died as a result of an accident on 29 July 1916. He was 71 at the time.

Unlike many immigrants who used Maryborough as a landing point and then moved on to other areas of Queensland. William lived out his life in the Hervey Bay Area.

Associated Documents