MILLER, David
| Service Number: | Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Major |
| Last Unit: | New South Wales Imperial Bushmen |
| Born: | Glebe, New South Wales, 27 March 1857 |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Civil servant |
| Died: | Natural causes, Glen Innes, New South Wales, 27 November 1934, aged 77 years |
| Cemetery: |
Glen Innes General Cemetery |
| Memorials: |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Major, Officer, New South Wales Imperial Bushmen |
|---|
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Edwards
"David Miller (1857-1934), public servant and soldier, was born on 27 March 1857 at Glebe, Sydney, son of Irish-born Frederick Thomas Miller, timber merchant, and his English wife Martha, née Croxford. After a public school education he joined the New South Wales survey branch of the Department of Lands in February 1875, becoming clerk to the surveyor-general in 1882. He was assistant accountant in the department in 1887. On 2 April 1878 in Sydney he had married Emily Eliza Langdon (d.1883); they had one son. On 23 April 1890 he married Jane Mary Elizabeth Thompson at Harris Park. After a period as chief clerk in the Government Printing Office, he was appointed a treasury inspector in August 1898.
A citizen soldier since 1885, Miller was major commanding the New South Wales Army Service Corps when he embarked with the Imperial Bushmen's Contingent in April 1900 for the South African War, returning after fourteen months service with the Queen's South Africa medal and four clasps. Appointed lieutenant-colonel in 1902 and I.S.O. in 1903, he became honorary colonel in 1912.
On his return from the war Miller had entered the Federal service in November 1901 as the first secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Home Affairs. In Melbourne 'the Colonel' efficiently ordered his rapidly expanding department. C. S. Daley described him as alert and vigorous with an impressive military manner, decisive in his dealings but considered by some to be an over-strict disciplinarian. He dealt diplomatically with a succession of ministers, but had his troubles with King O'Malley, who, making no secret of his contempt for the public service and its procedures, spoke of Miller as the 'gilt-spurred rooster'." - READ MORE LINK (adb.anu.edu.au)
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