Francis Palmer Selleck

Infobox_Officeholder |
honorific-prefix =
name=Francis Palmer Selleck


caption=
nationality=Australian
order=73rd Lord Mayor of Melbourne
term_start=1954
term_end=1957
deputy =
predecessor=Robert Henry Solly
successor= Sir Frederick William Thomas
birth_date=
birth_place=
death_date=
death_place=
spouse=
party=

(Sir) Francis Palmer Selleck, 1895-1976

Francis Palmer Selleck was the Grandson of the first Francis Palmer Selleck (1824-1883), of Shaugh Prior, Meavy and Plympton, Devon.

Sir Francis Palmer Selleck was the son of Christopher and Emily Selleck, nee Latimer. Christopher Selleck was born at the 'Royal Oak Inn' at Meavy in Devon. He emigrated to Australia before 1890 as he married Emily Latimer at Nathalia, Victoria in 1890.

There were two children of this marriage:1. Francis Palmer Selleck, born 20th August 1895 at Nathalia2. Spencer Revell Selleck, born 21st February 1899 at Nathalia.

On 9 March 1915 Selleck enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. Posted to the 24th Battalion, he served (from September) at Gallipoli as quartermaster sergeant. In May 1916 he was sent to the Western Front where he was commissioned (September), appointed adjutant (September 1917), promoted captain (January 1918), mentioned in dispatches (May) and wounded in action (July). For his work between March and September 1918—making reconnaissances under enemy fire and organizing the battalion's movements—he was awarded the Military Cross. His A.I.F. appointment ended on 23 April 1920. In 1923 he helped to form the Legacy Club of Melbourne, of which he was inaugural treasurer. He has been credited with suggesting the name, 'Legacy'. At All Saints Church, St Kilda, on 22 December 1923 he married with Anglican rites Mollie Constance Maud Miller.

[Australian Dictionary of Biography]

In 1949 he was elected to the Melbourne City Council. He improved its management practices and chaired a committee which recommended ways to achieve economies and raise additional revenue. On 30 August 1954 he was elected Lord Mayor. He held office for three, consecutive, one-year terms. The third term was unexpected: councillors had intended that Sir Frank Beaurepaire would be Lord Mayor during the Olympic Games, but he died in May 1956. Selleck presided over the redevelopment of the city centre, including the neglected sites of the Eastern and Western markets. Recognizing the potential of postwar Melbourne, he advocated increased loans as a means of providing municipal infrastructure. He took advantage of the Olympic Games and the attendant publicity to promote his city.

Selleck gained a reputation for directness and efficiency, characteristics which were sometimes interpreted as irascibility by council staff. He was a self-made man, and his success had been earned. In 1956 he failed to win Liberal and Country Party pre-selection for a seat in the Legislative Council. He was knighted that year and appointed K.B.E. in 1957.

[Australian Dictionary of Biography]

References

Australian Dictionary of Biography: http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A160248b.htm

References