James Zimri Sellar
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James Zimri Sellar (4 November 1830 – 20 December 1906) was an Australian politician who represented the
South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly (also known as the lower house) is one of two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia, the other being the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assem ...
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seat of
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
from 1905 to 1906 for the United Labor Party. Sellar was born in
Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...
in London, England, and migrated to
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
at the age of nineteen. In 1849, he attended the historic meeting at Neale's Exchange to discuss the proposed
Constitution of South Australia The principles of the current Constitution of South Australia, also known as the South Australian Constitution, which includes the rules and procedures for the government of the State of South Australia, are set out in the ''Constitution Act 1 ...
. He became a turner in 1850, and also worked as a shorthand reporter for the ''
South Australian Register ''The Register'', originally the ''South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register'', and later ''South Australian Register,'' was South Australia's first newspaper. It was first published in London in June 1836, moved to Adelaide in 1837, and ...
''. He was involved in a campaign among mechanics at Kooringa, near Burra, for an eight-hour day, becoming their spokesperson. He went to
Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...
during the
Victorian gold rush The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia, approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony and an influx of population growth and financial capi ...
, but returned to South Australia in 1853, and having had some success, established the Vauxhall Tea Company, which he operated for 44 years. He was then a land and estate valuer and general arbitrator for another eighteen years. Sellar was a well-known Congregationalist, attending Thomas Quinton Stow's church from his arrival, and occupied a number of senior positions in the voluntary militia force. Sellar was one of the founders of the National Reform Association, and when that wound up, was the first president of the Adelaide Democratic Club. He was also a member of the Labor League of South Australia at its inception in 1876. He made many unsuccessful attempts for municipal and state office from 1878, but was known for his good humour about his various defeats. He was eventually successful in being elected as a Town of Adelaide councillor for Young Ward, serving from 1891 to 1903 and from 1904 to 1906, being defeated for the final time in the same month he died. He was a staunch advocate of universal suffrage and an opponent of state aid to religion. Sellar was elected to the House of Assembly at the 1905 election, and was re-elected with an increased majority at the 1906 election. He was also a member of the party executive by this time. He died at his home, "St Heliers", on South Terrace, while in office in 1906, after being ill for several weeks, at the age of 76. The ''Herald'' labelled him the "grand old man of the Labor Party", while various colleagues praised him as a lifelong democrat who had been advocating his ideals long before the formation of the Labor Party. He was cremated at the West Terrace Crematorium. He was survived by two daughters; two wives and two sons predeceased him.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sellar, James Zimri 1830 births 1906 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of South Australia Members of the South Australian House of Assembly 19th-century Australian politicians