Cairns, What was a selector.?

Question

One of my ancestors was listed as a Selector in or at Cairns what does that mean. Thanks

Answer 1

It means he or she "selected" a block of land for development, usually for agriculture. It means that the ancestor was one of the pioneers of the area by taking an undeveloped block of land from the government when the land was first released. They probably got the land cheap, or even free, on condition that they did a certain amount of development (like clearing or fencing) in the first years of getting the land.