P000134 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

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 English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Person created 1993-10-20 human Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn updated 2026-04-29 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P000134b.htm person Selwyn Alfred Richard Cecil CMG FRS AACR2 28 July 1824 18 October 1902 Place of Birth Kilmington, Somerset, England Place of Death Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Geologist Alfred Selwyn was appointed Victorian Government Geologist in 1852, taking up his position in early 1853. With the establishment of the Geological Survey in 1855 he was in addition appointed Director of the Survey. His work was to survey the geological resources of Victoria, particularly gold and coal, and, in setting up the Survey, to train geologists and surveyors on his staff. The results of his work included numerous reports and over 60 geological maps printed in colour by highly skilled lithographic printers. He was dogged persistently by the instability generated by frequent changes of government and inadequate resources. Selwyn was one of the casualties of the Victorian Government's retrenchments in 1869, as was the Geological Survey. He lost his job and the Survey was abolished. Selwyn went to Canada and enjoyed a highly distinguished career as Director of the Canadian Geological Survey from 1869 to 1894. A number of the geologists and surveyors on his staff in Victoria themselves went on to distinguished careers in other colonies. The Selwyn Range in the Canadian Rocky Mountains is named in his honour. 1845 1845 Career event - Joined the Geological Survey of Great Britain 1852 1855 Career position - Government Geologist, Victorian Chief Secretary's Department 1854 1855 Career position - Member of Council, Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science 1854 1855 Career position - Member of Council, Philosophical Society of Victoria 1855 1859 Career position - Member, Philosophical Institute of Victoria 1855 1860 Career position - Government Geologist, Victorian Surveyor General's Department 1855 1869 Career position - Director, Geological Survey of Victoria 1856 1857 Career position - Vice-President, Philosophical Institute of Victoria 1858 1860 Career position - Member, Board of Science, Colony of Victoria 1859 1869 Career position - Member, Royal Society of Victoria 1862 1864 Career position - Member of Council, Acclimatisation Society of Victoria 4 Feb 1868 4 Feb 1868 Career event - Associate (AssocInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London [very briefly an Associate] 1869 1869 Career position - Government Geologist, Victorian Department of Crown Lands and Survey 1869 1894 Career position - Director, Geological Survey of Canada 1871 1902 Award - Fellow, Geological Society, London 1874 1902 Award - Fellow, The Royal Society, London (FRS) 1876 1876 Award - Murchison Medal, Geological Society, London 1878 1878 Award - Knight of the Legion of Honour 1882 1882 Award - Elected to the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina 1882 1902 Award - Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1884 1884 Award - Clarke Medal, Royal Society of New South Wales 1886 1886 Award - Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) 1894 1894 Life event - Retired Aplin, Christopher D'Oyly Hale (1819 - 1875)

Christopher Aplin worked with Alfred Selwyn on the Geological Survey of Victoria, 1856-1868, and acted as Director in Selwyn's absence in 1864.

 Daintree, Richard (1832 - 1878) Clarke Medal, Royal Society of New South Wales (1878 - )

Awarded the Medal 1884

 Victorian Department of Crown Lands and Survey, Colony and State of Victoria (1857 - 1983)

Government Geologist 1860 - 1869

 Acclimatisation Society of Victoria (1861 - 1872)

Member of Council 1862 - 1864

 Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science (1854 - 1855)

Member of Council 1854 - 1855

 Victorian Exploring Expedition (1860 - 1861)

Member of the Exploration Committee of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria (later Royal Society of Victoria) 1857 - 1866

 Royal Society of Victoria (1859 - )

Member 1860 - 1869

 Philosophical Institute of Victoria (1855 - 1859)

Member 1855 - 1859; Vice-President 1856 - 1857

 Philosophical Society of Victoria (1854 - 1855)

Member of Council 1854 - 1855

 Geological Survey of Victoria (1852 - )

Director 1855 - 1869

 Board of Science, Colony of Victoria (1858 - 1860)

Member 1858 - 1860

 Selwyn Medal, Geological Society of Australia - Victorian Division (1996 - )

The Victorian Division of the Geological Society of Australia has awarded the Medal since 1996

 Intercolonial Exhibition of Australasia (1866 - 1867)

Juror for the Exhibition

Wikidata

VIAF - Virtual International Authority File

 Selwyn, Alfred R C (1824-1902)

Trove

 'Selwyn, Alfred Richard Cecil', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Selwyn, Alfred Richard Cecil Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Journal Article: Memorial or Sketch of the Life of the Late Dr. A. R. C. Selwyn Ami, H. M. Memorial or Sketch of the Life of the Late Dr. A. R. C. Selwyn 1904 Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada 10 Journal Article: A Century in the History of the Geological Survey of Canada Alcock, F. J. A Century in the History of the Geological Survey of Canada 1947 Canadian Mining Journal 68 Book Section: Selwyn, Alfred Richard Cecil (1824-1902), geologist Branagan, D. F.; Townley, K. A. Selwyn, Alfred Richard Cecil (1824-1902), geologist Melbourne Melbourne University Press 1976 Australian dictionary of biography, volume 6: 1851 - 1890 R - Z Bede Nairn 102-103 Journal Article: The Geological Survey of Victoria Under Alfred Selwyn, 1852-1868 Darragh, Thomas A. The Geological Survey of Victoria Under Alfred Selwyn, 1852-1868 1987 Historical Records of Australian Science 7 1 1-25 Conference Proceedings: The History of Geology in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century: the Story in Australia, and in Victoria, from Selwyn and McCoy to Gregory 1853 to 1903 Pierson, Roger The History of Geology in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century: the Story in Australia, and in Victoria, from Selwyn and McCoy to Gregory 1853 to 1903 Melbourne Earth Sciences History Group, Geological Society of Australia 2007 Book Section: Alfred Richard Cecil Selwyn,1824-1902 Zeller, Suzanne Alfred Richard Cecil Selwyn,1824-1902 Oxford Oxford University Press 2004 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Journal Article: Australian-Canadian Links in a Geological Chain: Sir William Logan, Dr Alfred Selwyn and Henry Y. L. Brown Zeller, Susanne and Branagan, David Australian-Canadian Links in a Geological Chain: Sir William Logan, Dr Alfred Selwyn and Henry Y. L. Brown 1994 Special edition of Scientia Canadensis 17 1&2 71-102 Journal Article: Eminent Living Geologists Woodward, H. Eminent Living Geologists 1899 Geological Magazine 6 Parliamentary paper: Building stone Board on Claims to Reward for the Discovery of the Building Stone Building stone Melbourne John Ferres, Government Printer 1858 Journal Article: Alfred Selwyn - 19th century trans-Atlantic connections via Australia Branagan, D. F. Alfred Selwyn - 19th century trans-Atlantic connections via Australia 1990 Earth sciences history 9 2 143-57 Journal Article: Obituary - Alfred Charles Selwyn, C.M.G., LL.D., F.R.S. [In Anniversary Address.] Lapworth, C. Obituary - Alfred Charles Selwyn, C.M.G., LL.D., F.R.S. [In Anniversary Address.] 1903 Proceedings of the Geological Society in Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society 59 lxi-lxiii Resource: Australian geology hall of fame Geological Society of Australia Australian geology hall of fame Earth Sciences History Group, Geological Society of Australia 2022 ESHG Biographies Resource: Civil Engineer Membership Forms, 1818-1930 Institution of Civil Engineers, London Civil Engineer Membership Forms, 1818-1930 ancestry.com Journal Article: The Origins of the Acclimatisation Society of Victoria: Practical Science in the Wake of the Gold Rush Gillbank, Linden The Origins of the Acclimatisation Society of Victoria: Practical Science in the Wake of the Gold Rush 1986 Historical Records of Australian Science 6 3 359-374 Journal Article: Biographical Sketch of the Founders of the Geological Survey of Victoria Dunn, E. J.; and Mahony, D. J. Biographical Sketch of the Founders of the Geological Survey of Victoria Melbourne J. Kemp 1910 Bulletins of The Geological Survey of Victoria 23 48 Book: The Cranbourne meteorite Murphy, Sean The Cranbourne meteorite North Melbourne Australian Scholarly publishing 2023 Resource: Science and the making of Victoria Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre Science and the making of Victoria 2001 Edited Book: History and role of government geological surveys in Australia Johns, R.K. History and role of government geological surveys in Australia Adelaide South Australian Government Printer 1976 Book: Dictionary of Australian biography Serle, Percival Dictionary of Australian biography Sydney Angus & Robertson 1949 Journal Article: A story of human endeavour: the Cape Paterson coal field, Victoria Enever, Jim A story of human endeavour: the Cape Paterson coal field, Victoria 2017 Journal of Australasian Mining History 15 21-46