ONE of the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame's founders and greatest supporters, Ranald Chandler died on the Gold Coast on Tuesday at 88.
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As the deputy chairman of the Hall of Fame the Barcaldine grazier, poet and raconteur helped raise $7m to bring the historical displays at the national museum into being through events such as the annual endurance ride and the Last Great Cattle Drive.
He flew his 1963 Piper Cherokee all over Australia seeking funding and support for the development and promotion of the museum, and took leather plaiting schools throughout Australia with his friend RM Williams.
Jane Grieve worked alongside Ranald in the early days of the Hall's history and said it was his strong personality that underpinned the project.
"He was a walking bibliography of Queensland's families, and expressed a huge responsibility for honouring his people, and rural Australia," she said.
William Ranald Macpherson Chandler was granted a Member of the Order of Australia in 2001 for his service to the community, particularly the preservation of Australia's rural heritage through the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Centre.