Philip Frederic Sellheim (1832–1899) was a

Hessian A Hessian is an inhabitant of the German state of Hesse. Hessian may also refer to: Named from the toponym *Hessian (soldier), eighteenth-century German regiments in service with the British Empire **Hessian (boot), a style of boot **Hessian f ...

pastoralist and mining official in Australia in the latter half of the 19th century. He was born on 28 September 1832 at Konradsdorf in the

Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Grand Duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 ...

. His parents were Heinrich and Marian Emma Sophia, née Schaefer. He was educated to a level which enabled him to study

sheep breeding Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. It is a branch of animal husbandry. Sheep are raised principally for their meat (lamb and mutton), milk (sheep's milk), and fiber (wool). They also yield sheepskin a ...

at the Royal Veterinary Academy of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Early life

Sellheim emigrated to Queensland in 1855, and was employed as the manager of Banana station on the Dawson River for four years. He then joined George Dalrymple on an expedition to explore the

Burdekin River The Burdekin River is a river located in North and Far North Queensland, Australia. The river rises on the northern slopes of Boulder Mountain at Valley of Lagoons, part of the western slope of the Seaview Range, and flows into the Coral Sea at ...

catchment.

Pastoralist

In 1861 Sellheim and a partner took up Strathmore (near present-day Collinsville) a pastoral lease on which they ran sheep for five years. In 1866 they were forced off the run by the difficulties of pioneering a remote region infested with spear grass. From 1867 to 1870 he managed

Valley of Lagoons Station Valley of Lagoons Station is a pastoral lease that currently operates as a cattle station in Queensland. It is located approximately west of Trebonne and south of Mount Garnet. The property is located at the headwaters of the Burdekin Riv ...

for

Walter Jervoise Scott Walter Jervoise Scott (1835—1890) was a grazier in Queensland, Australia. He was a pioneer in the Valley of Lagoons. Early life Walter Jervoise Scott was born on 3 April 1835, the son of James Winter Scott and his wife Lucy (née Jervoise ...

Family

Sellheim was naturalized in 1862, and in 1865 he married Laura Theresa Morisset. They had a daughter and two sons, the eldest of whom (

Victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

) became a major-general.

Mining official

In 1874 Sellheim was appointed warden in charge of the new, remote and turbulent

Palmer goldfield The Palmer River is a river located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The area surrounding the river was the site of a gold rush in the late 19th century which started in 1873. Course and features The headwaters of the Palmer River rise in ...

. He was successful in this role, and in 1880 was promoted to

Charters Towers Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits under ...

. In 1888 he was promoted to

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Wide Bay-Burnett District, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River (Queen ...

. These appointments were during a period where

trade unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

were developing, and Sellheim was able to maintain good relations between employers and employees. In 1892 he became under-secretary for mines, in which position he remained until his death at

New Farm New Farm is an inner northern riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , New Farm had a population of 12,542 people. Geography The suburb is located 2 kilometres east of the Brisbane CBD on a large bend of the ...

, on 12 October 1899.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sellheim, Philip Frederic Australian pastoralists 1832 births 1899 deaths People from Wetteraukreis German emigrants to Australia 19th-century Australian businesspeople