Hi again,
I began reading up on the Brickworks trying to find how Bessie would meet some guy around there and read that due to rough weather (cyclones etc) buildings had to be reinforced (built) with cement and/or bricks..
So of course there was a major need for brickmakers in the area...Then of course a railway was needed """"A railway from Cairns to Herberton was approved in 1884. Construction proceeded in stages, Kuranda (1891), Mareeba (1893) and Herberton (1910), which completed a line across the Atherton and Evelyn Tablelands."""

Now this is a long shot BUT many railway workers were steel workers (blacksmiths) as railways are made out of steel!!

In 1913 rolls there is a John OGRADY, Springs, Cairns Railway, Labourer...
What if John and family had gone to Cairns for employment when all the building began??

Kellie