Basil Sellers

Basil Sellers (born 1935) grew up in the Railway Colonies in India, where he was introduced to sports, such as badminton, tennis, and cricket. He migrated with his family to Australia in 1948 and studied at King's College, Adelaide.

Career

Addressing a sculpture unveiling at the SCG

Basil Sellers has been the chief executive and major shareholder of companies such as the Linter Group Ltd, the largest textile company in Australia, and Gestetner PLC, then a UK listed company (now part of Ricoh). He has also held a major investment in AFP, which had various investments, including Elders Ltd (now Fosters Brewery), broadcast media, and mineral resources.

Honours

In February 2018, Sellers was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Bond University in recognition of his charitable work, sports development, and corporate acumen.

In early December 2023, Sellers was awarded the SCG Life Membership status for philanthropy. Sellers is 1 of only 45 people with this status.

Sport

In sport, Sellers played senior basketball, representing South Australia when the team won the Australian Championship in 1958. During the 1980s, he owned the Newcastle Basketball team and served as a Director of the New South Wales Cricket Association (now Cricket New South Wales) from 1984 to 1987. He is a life member of Cricket NSW. His major charitable contributions include donations to the McGrath Foundation, where he finances the salaries of breast care nurses in Australia.

He has donated to sporting initiatives and scholarships, such as to the Barassi Scholarship and the Sydney Swans He is a large contributor to the Club's football centre at the SCG.

Sellers is one of the founders of the Bradman Museum in Bowral, New South Wales, and a life member of the Bradman Foundation. He founded a respite centre in Moruya for elite athletes from the Australian Institute of Sport Canberra, and similar centres in Tweed Heads.

Art

The Basil Sellers Art Prize was founded in 2004 by Basil in the Eurobodalla Shire.

February 2019 was the official opening of the Basil Sellers Exhibition Centre (the Bas) in Moruya, its first purpose-built exhibition space.

Sport and Art

Sellers has been recognised as a keen art collector and patron. Collecting for over 35 years, his collection contains post-war Australian art and many of the European modernists, with a particular interest in the Fauves (1906/7). Sellers has also funded the bi-annual art prize of $15,000 in the Southeast of New South Wales.

In 2007, Sellers launched the Basil Sellers Art Prize which was initiated in 2008, in association with the Ian Potter Museum of Art, the University of Melbourne. The first prize of $100,000 is awarded to an Australian who produces a piece of art that incorporates an image of sport. Basil believes that art in the past has reflected society (wars, religion, ballet, horses, etc.) but in recent years has ignored the vast influence of sport. The award bridges the gulf which exists and connects art and sport and is bi-annual.

In 2009, Sellers' philanthropic support led to the establishment of the inaugural National Sports Museum Basil Sellers Creative Arts Fellowship. This fellowship allows contemporary artists to explore themes related to Australia's sporting heritage using the collections of the National Sports Museum at the MCG. This bi-annual fellowship aims to expand educational and public programs and foster discussions on the intersection of sport and art.

He has recently concluded the Basil Sellers Sports Sculpture Project of ten sculptures erected at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Other initiatives and Donations

Sellers' philanthropy extends to his birthplace, India. He funded the purchase of a property in Chennai for the education of young girls from the slums. With the additional features from the new property ANEW was able to graduate 1000 students per year and find them all full-time employment.

Sellers is involved in the promotion and investment of the winery. He is a major sponsor of the Len Evans Tutorial which aims to improve the quality of Australian wines by training and giving access to the world's best wines. The Tutorial is aimed at wine judges winemakers and sommeliers.

Patronage

He is a First XI patron of the Steve Waugh Foundation and a supporter of the Pick Me UP wheelchair service for the Sir Roden & Lady Cutler Foundation. He is a patron of the LBW Trust, a trust focused on educating disadvantaged youth in developing cricket-playing countries. He is also a Patron of the Chappell Foundation which seeks to help young homeless people in Australia.

Personal

Sellers is married to Clare and has three children from his first marriage, Paul, Darrell, and Libby, and has four grandchildren.

Sellers' only sibling Rex Sellers was a Test cricketer for Australia.

Books

• "From India with Love" by Dr Gloria Jean Moore, 2006 – ISBN 0-9579021-2-3

References

• History of the Sydney Swans
• Basil Sellers Centre – Chennai, India
• Steve Waugh Foundation
• Basil Sellers Art Prize
• Sir Roden & Lady Cutler Foundation
• McGrath Foundation
• Cricket NSW

External links

• ABC: The World Today
• Potter Art Museum, Melbourne University
• The Len Evans Tutorial
• Basil named a Life Member of the SCG (Dec 2023)