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Story

William O. Gillespie

Map Location

Latitude: 4° 23' 58.949" N
Longitude: 113° 59' 25.613" E

Date

1878-1975

William O. Gillespie
International Drillers on Jubal Island, Egypt. From left to right: James McCrie, James Polley, Elmer Kerby, William Campbell, James Sanson, James Candlish, William Gillespie
William Gillespie and his workers drilling on Jubal Island, Egypt
"A real jungle house or what they give you on a wildcat well, servants quarters and kitchen behind."
Singu Oilfield in Burma (Myanmar) where William Gillespie was operating
International Drillers in Burma. Sitting: Brent Jones, Kaufmen, J. O'Donnell. Standing: C.D. McCrie, J.J. Anderson, W.O. Gillespie, Albert E. Gibson.
William Gillespie in Australia, ca. 1906-1909. Photo courtesy of www.petroliaheritage.com

In his twenty-four years working as an International Driller, William O. Gillespie (Bill to his friends) worked in six countries on four continents. Gillespie began his career in international drilling at the age of 20. An American land development company was looking for an expert to drill for water in Cuba and Gillespie left Canada looking for adventures.

After cutting his teeth in Cuba, Gillespie moved further afield to work for the Shell Trading and Transport Company developing oil extraction in the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia). Before long Gillespie moved to Australia to work for the International Boring Company (Australians use the word “boring” in the same way Canadians use “drilling”). While he worked in Australia for three years, Gillespie was not fond of the country. Men in Australia lived on “dried food and bad water,” wrote Gillespie in a letter to family in Canada.

He was struck by illness in 1909, forcing him to return to Canada for five months to recover. But even illness could not deter Gillespie from international drilling. In December of 1909, having recuperated, he left for Egypt.

Of all the exotic locales visited on his world travels, Gillespie believed Borneo to be the most thrilling. During his time on the island of Borneo, Gillespie wrote: “Don’t think that romance and adventure are dead out here. Piracy still goes on to a certain extent. Last year the Chinese pirates captured a fair sized steamer… No one knows exactly what they intended to do. When it was all over, twelve were dead on the spot.”

Travel was a way for Gillespie to quench his thirst for adventure. He was fascinated by the local traditions of head-hunting in Borneo, collecting books and artifacts on the subject.

In many respects, William Gillespie embodies what it was to be an International Driller. International Drillers were jacks-of-all-trades - people who could work in any environment or condition and show the determination and ingenuity that made Canadian drillers so renowned. When not drilling, Gillespie would build timber dams and bridges for local communities, tend the company’s horses, and fashion horse shoes from discarded pieces of metal. Few can claim a career as diverse as William O. Gillespie.

William Gillespie in Egypt

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