The loss of his father in 1874 caused the Welsby family to sell their substantial house in Ipswich, Queensland and move to Brisbane.
Welsby was a prolific sportsman, particularly in the field of Yachting, Fishing and Rugby Union in 1928 and was its president from 1929 to 1939.He was foundation secretary of the Brisbane Gymnasium. Welsby was a passionate yachtsman and owned a number of boats over the years including Rip, Charm, Vagabond, Bohemian, Amity and the motor launch Sunbeam. He was Commodore of the Squadron between 1903 to 1909 and donated the
Amity Cup. In 1918 he published "The History of the Royal Queensland Yacht Club."
Education
In his senior year he won prizes in History, Arithmetic and Latin.
Career
In 1885, Welsby formed a partnership with Captain George Wallace to operate maritime ventures. The business undertook to do survey work and make coal sales. A substantial part of the business was the recovery of cargo from wrecked vessels. Welsby became a leading figure in the Brisbane establishment of the day. This was reflected in his appointment to the boards of a variety of leading Brisbane companies including the Engineering Supply Company of Australia and the Royal Bank of Queensland. His board career culminated with his appointment as the Chairman of Directors of Queensland Brewery Ltd in 1907. This last appointment established him as one of Brisbane's elite.
Achievements
It is for his literary works, particularly his histories of Moreton Bay, that Welsby is perhaps best known. Welsby was an intellectual, a polymath and a voracious reader and collector of books. Born only 35 years after the Brisbane River was first seen by Europeans, he was acutely aware of the dramatic growth and development of Queensland that was occurring around him and the need to record these events in writing. He helped to found the Historical Society of Queensland in 1913 and later became its president.Upon his death, he bequeathed to the Society a vast library of books that he had accumulated throughout his life.
Welsby was a rarity among historians. Not only was he in a position to record contemporary history, he was also an avid consumer of everything else written on the subject by others Moreover, he was also born early enough to talk to a few eye witnesses to the earliest days of Moreton Bay.
One of the great achievements of his historical writings is to flesh out much of the detail that is omitted by other historians. Welsby had a truly intimate knowledge of Moreton Bay and its environs. He had traveled personally to almost every part of the region. He was particularly knowledgeable of the Bay Islands which he spent a lifetime exploring in a succession of yachts.
Works
Schnappering, 1905, (Outeridge Printing Company, Brisbane) is a rambling, humorous book that deals deals with fishing in Moreton Bay.
Early Moreton Bay, 1907, (Outeridge Printing Company, Brisbane) deals mainly with yachting and shipwrecks in the Bay.
The Discoverers of the Brisbane River, 1913, (H.J. Diddams & Co, Brisbane) deals with the discovery of the River by Matthew Flinders, the Glasshouse Mountains and the HMS Bounty mutiny.
Memories of Amity, 1922, (Watson Ferguson, Brisbane) is a historical book focusing on Stradbroke Island. The book comprises twelve articles previously published in the Moreton Bay Courier newspaper.
Sport and Pastime in Moreton Bay, 1931 (Simpson, Halligan and company, Brisbane) deals further with fishing and sport in the Bay.
Bribie the Basket Maker, 1937, (Barker's Bookstores, Brisbane) deals with the convict "Bribie" and Bribie Island
Politics
Welsby stood for Parliament for the seat Fortitude Valley in 1899, 1902 and 1909 but was unsuccessful. In 1911 he was finally elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland for the seat of Brisbane North as a Ministerialist. He later took the newly created seat of Merthyr in 1912 but subsequently lost his seat when the Ryan Labor Government was swept to office in 1915.
Welsby was by no means a natural politician. Although his magnetic personality and sharp intellect drew people to him, the daily intrigue and backstabbing of politics was anathema to him. Nevertheless, he was able to make his mark on the parliament by advancing the causes of the Ipswich railway workshops, the transformation of St Helena Island into a recreational park, and by advocating that the Brisbane Tramways Company be acquired and operated by the government.
Interests
Business,sport,literature,politics,collector of books.He was particularly knowledgeable of the Bay Islands which he spent a lifetime exploring in a succession of yachts.
