Identity area
Reference code
AU NBAC N381
Title
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
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
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.
Repository
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
Language of material
Script of material
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Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Previous (accession) number
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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.