Selhurst

Selhurst is a private home on Melton Hill and is not publically accessible. It was built between 1914 and 1915 for John Alexander Carpenter, the manager of Burns Philp Company, as his private residence. Carpenter managed Burns Philp’s Cairns branch office from 1907 to 1914, when became the biggest net earner of any branch in Australia. Carpenter purchased land on Melton Hill on 22 October 1914. The family were in residence by April 1915 and the property was transferred to his wife on 18 December 1916. While it is not known who designed and constructed the building it is possible that Townsville architect Walter Hunt designed it. The house was sold to the Burns Philp Company in 1919, as a manager's residence, after Alexander Carpenter was transferred to New Zealand as General Manager. The subsequent manager, F E Loxton was transferred from Cairns and he and his family took up residence at Selhurst in December 1919. The house continued as the manager's residence until 1976 when Burns Philp sold its Townsville office. The house remains part of a suite of large villa residences built for managerial staff, lawyers and doctors on Melton Hill.