Fiddes, James

FIDDES, James(1838–1900) was born at Tarbolton, Ayrshire, third and youngest son of Benjamin Fiddes, a thatcher, and Jane Andrew. After leaving school he worked as a farm labourer before training as an engineer. After marrying Elisabeth Blythe Nisbit in 1863, he worked from c1865 for the sugar mill engineers W&A McONIE of Glasgow. In the 1871 census Fiddes was listed as a finisher in the engine works. For about seven years from 1875, he represented the company in South America, chiefly in Peru where the firm built large sugar mills. After spending 1882 in Fiji, he moved to Queensland as travelling representative of A&W McOnie, a major supplier of plant as well as entire sugar mills. From 1887 he worked for Robert Cran & Co, of the Millaquin Refinery, supervising erection of the Doolbi Mill, in the Isis Scrub (Childers), before managing from 1894 the Bundaberg Foundry in competition with international and national manufacturers. From 45 applications in October 1895, Fiddes was selected for the Works Department’s post of Sugar Works Engineer under the Sugar Works Guarantee Act to oversee the erection of central sugar mills throughout the Colony. He resigned when construction of the Central Mills was substantially complete and their on-going oversight was transferred in 1898 from Public Works to the Agriculture Department. Fiddes’ close association with the corrupt Robert Robertson (1839–1900), Under-Secretary of Works, and Robertson’s son, Sydney (1871–1951), who was legal adviser to most central mills, was investigated in the 1900 Public Works Royal Commission. Fiddes died in Brisbane.