Henry Miller

Henry Miller (31 December 1809 – 7 February 1888) was an Australian banker and politician, and a member of the Victorian Legislative Council.

Early life Miller was born in Derry, Ireland, In 1823, Miller senior travelled with a detachment of his regiment in charge of a batch of convicts sent to Sydney, and his family accompanied him.

Early career Shortly afterwards, Miller senior was appointed commandant at Moreton Bay, where he spent eighteen months, and was then transferred to Van Diemen's Land, where he died at Hobart in 1866. After the arrival of the family in what was later Tasmania, Miller junior obtained an appointment as an accountant in the audit office at Hobart, and at the age of twenty-four married Eliza, second daughter of the late Captain Mattinson of the Merchant Service. In July 1852, Miller induced the Legislative Council to petition the Queen to authorise the establishment of a branch of the Royal Mint in Melbourne. Miller supported the ballot and, on the inauguration of the constitution in 1856, he was returned to the Legislative Council for Central Province.

On the formation of the first O'Shanassy ministry in March 1858, Miller became Commissioner of Trade and Customs, was sworn into the Executive Council, and was elected to the Legislative Council for Western Province. In July 1866, he joined the first McCulloch Ministry as Commissioner of Railways, but was forced to resign after he was not re-elected in January 1867, and retired thenceforward from public life.

Miller continued to be a very successful speculator in Melbourne property. When the 1862 Land Act opened up large areas of Victoria to selectors, Miller established the Free Selection Land Investment Society to assist people to purchase land. There was a joining fee of 15 shillings and the mortgage could be paid off with monthly instalments. However, two months' default or a debt of £6 led to fines being imposed or the resumption of the land by the society. Sir Edward Miller (1848–1932), was a member of the Victorian Legislative Council for South Yarra Province 1892–1912. Septimus Miller (1850 – 7 June 1925) The Miller brothers were famous horsemen, known for hunting and steeplechasing, closely associated with their property, Mill Park, and the horse Redleap.