James Sinclair Millner (29 November 1919 – 24 January 2007) was an Australian corporate executive. He was head of many large organisations including chairman of the NRMA, chairman of

Washington H. Soul Pattinson Washington H Soul Pattinson trading as Soul Pattison, is a publicly listed Australian investment company. History In 1872, Caleb Soul and his son Washington Handley opened a pharmacy store in Pitt Street, Sydney. In 1886, Lewy Pattinson opened ...

New Hope Coal New Hope Coal is an Australian thermal coal-mining company. New Hope's operations include New Acland Mine, Jeebropilly Mine, and Queensland Bulk Handling. New Hope Coal is 61.11% owned by Washington H. Soul Pattinson and is headquartered in Br ...

, Brickworks Limited, Choiseul Investments, Queensland Mines Limited and NBN Television.Who's Who in Australia (Crown Content Melb, 2007) pp 1444: Millner, James Sinclair (1919 - 2007)

Biography

Millner was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

on 29 November 1919. His father Thomas George Millner was a colonel in the Australian Army and his mother Mary was the daughter of businessman

Lewy Pattinson Lewy Miall Pattinson (10 March 1852January 1944) was an English businessman, who founded the pharmaceutical firm Washington H. Soul Pattinson. Early life and immigration from England Lewy Miall Pattinson was born to parents Wiliam Pattinson ...

. Millner grew up in

Cheltenham, New South Wales Cheltenham is a suburb in the Northern Sydney region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cheltenham is 18 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Hornsby Shire. ...

, and attended Newington College before studying pharmacy at The University of Sydney. At the breakout of World War II Millner enlisted in the Army Service Corps Officer Training School and was posted to Malaya. When Singapore fell, he became a prisoner of war in Changi Prison Singapore, then later Sandakan, Borneo. He was released at the cessation of hostilities in 1945, shipping out to

Morotai Morotai Island ( id, Pulau Morotai) is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern Indonesia's Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is one of Indonesia's northernmost islands. Morotai is a rugged, forested island lying to the north of Halmahera. It ha ...

and then Balikpapan. Jim Millner married Jean Purdie in 1948. On his return, Millner completed a Materia Medica (Pharmacy) course in 1947 at the University of Sydney, and joined the family company,

, where he rose to be director in 1957. Millner was Chairman of Washington H. Soul Pattinson from 1969 to 1998, when he was succeeded by his nephew,

Robert Millner Robert Dobson Millner (born 4 September 1950) is an Australian corporate executive. He is the chairman of Washington H. Soul Pattinson, Australia's second oldest publicly-listed corporation, and the chairman of New Hope Coal, Brickworks Limi ...

Philanthropy and community

Millner supported financially the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

, the

Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney is a heritage-listed major botanical garden, event venue and public recreation area located at Farm Cove on the eastern fringe of the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government a ...

and served on the council of Newington College. His widow, Jean Millner, endowed the Jim Millner Bursary at Newington giving a boy the opportunity to attend the College from Year 7 until the completion of Year 12. In the 1983

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

, Millner was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for "Service to industry and the community".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Millner, James (Jim) 1919 births 2007 deaths People educated at Newington College World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Businesspeople from Sydney Members of the Order of Australia Members of Newington College Council Australian prisoners of war 20th-century Australian businesspeople