Selby, Isaac

Description

Agent TypePersonActivities & OccupationsHistoriansHistoryBorn in 1859 in Kent, England, Isaac Selby migrated with his family to New Zealand in 1868. An auto-didact, he accumulated a vast store of knowledge about history, religion, philosophy, science and literature.

He arrived in Melbourne in 1882 and made a living from public lecturing and debating; he was a formidable advocate for temperance and Protestantism and a fire-brand anti-Catholic. Moving between Melbourne and San Francisco, he was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment in the latter in 1904 for firing a shot at the judge who had granted his wife a divorce. Dispatched back to Australia upon his release, he resumed lecturing and debating, often accompanying his performances with musicians and singers.

He formed the Old Cemetery and Soldiers' Memorial Fund in 1918 to save the old Melbourne Cemetery; published in 1924 'The Old Pioneers' Memorial History of Melbourne'; and in 1925 'Memories of Maoriland'. A sometime minister of the Church of Christ, Carlton, he remained active on the speakers' circuit until the 1950s.

Accession

Dates

Date1859-1956

Names

Given NameIsaacFamily NameSelby

University of Melbourne Archives

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Selby, Isaac