Deposit N381 - H B Selby Australia Limited deposit 1

Identity area

Reference code

AU NBAC N381

Title

H B Selby Australia Limited deposit 1

Date(s)

  • 1912 - 1994 (Creation)

Level of description

Deposit

Extent and medium

5.6m. (16 type 1 boxes, 4 type 10 boxes, 1 oversize box)

Context area

Name of creator

(1903 - 1983)

Administrative history

The firm, which specialised in the manufacture, import and supply of scientific instruments, laboratory apparatus, chemicals and industrial and process control equipment, was founded in Melbourne around 1889 by Carl de Beer and traded under the name of his brother Ernest de Beer and Company. Herbert B Silberberg joined the de Beer partnership in 1903 and, later in the same year, bought the de Beers’ shares in the business. Silberberg carried on as de Beer, Silberberg & Company for four months, after which he changed the name to H B Silberberg & Company. In 1912, with the company operating successfully in Melbourne, H B Silberberg and his family established a new business of the same name in Sydney. During the Great War, 1914-18, the German-sounding name ‘Silberberg’ became a liability. The family changed its name to Selby and by 1917 both Sydney and Melbourne businesses were trading as H B Selby & Company. Esmond Selby joined the Sydney business in 1929 and later became its Managing Director. Benn Selby joined the Melbourne business in 1936 and became its Managing Director. Although brought under the ownership of a holding company (H B Selby Australia Limited) in 1949, H B Selby & Company Pty Ltd, Melbourne and Sydney, continued to operate as distinct entities until July 1974 when they became subsidiaries of a new holding company, Selbys Scientific Limited. In 1982-83 H B Selby Australia Ltd (and subsidiaries Selbys Scientific Ltd and Analite Pty Ltd) succumbed to a triple takeover, firstly by Warburton O’Donnell, then by Comeng Holdings Ltd and, lastly, by Australian National Industries (ANI). The Selby name continued through further changes of ownership until 2002, when, as part of the Biolab Group, it was finally dropped.

Name of creator

(1949 - 1983)

Administrative history

H B Selby Australia Limited was registered in Melbourne on 11 April 1949 as a public company and holding company for the Sydney and Melbourne businesses of H B Selby & Company Pty Ltd, importers and suppliers of scientific instruments, laboratory apparatus, chemicals and industrial and process control equipment. During 1982-83, when Selbys succumbed to a triple takeover by Warburton O’Donnell, Comeng Holdings Ltd, then Australian National Industries (ANI), its operating subsidiaries were Selbys Scientific Ltd and Analite Pty Ltd. The Selby name continued through further changes of ownership until 2002, when, as part of the Biolab Group, it was finally dropped.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Stock and price books, share certificates, cost cards, annual reports and financial records, newspaper articles, minutes books, wages books, correspondence, reports of overseas trips, certificates of incorporation, records of subsidiaries including Analite Pty Ltd, H B Selby and Co Pty Ltd, and Selby's Scientific Ltd, photographs and history files. Includes files of the Selby Scientific Foundation.

Accruals

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Researchers must sign an access agreement

Conditions governing reproduction

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Language and script notes

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

NBAC 64; NBAC N220

Related descriptions

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Previous (accession) number

Z404

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Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Dates of creation revision deletion

Entered from deposit description as Z404 on 11 August 2011, revised and converted to N381 by Beth Lonergan, 31 July 2018.

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