James Sinclair Millner (29 November 1919 – 24 January 2007) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

corporate executive. He was head of many large organisations including chairman of the

NRMA NRMA (formerly National Roads and Motorists' Association) is an Australian organisation offering roadside assistance, advocacy for motorists and road-users, motoring advice, car servicing, International Driving Permits, travel and other services ...

, chairman of Washington H. Soul Pattinson,

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 Brickworks is Australia's largest brick manufacturer, consisting of four divisions – Building Products Australia, Building Products North America, Industrial Property, and Investments. Building Products Australia includes Austral Bricks (th ...

, Choiseul Investments, Queensland Mines Limited and

NBN Television NBN is an Australian television station based in Newcastle, Australia. The station was inaugurated on 4 March 1962 as the first regional commercial television station in New South Wales, and has since expanded to 39 transmitters throughout Nort ...

.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 Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

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 , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

before studying pharmacy at

The University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. At the breakout of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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 Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. History First prison Before Changi Prison was constructed, the only penal facility in Singapore was at Pearl's Hill, beside t ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, then later

Sandakan Sandakan (, Jawi: , ) formerly known at various times as Elopura, is the capital of the Sandakan District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second largest city in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu. It is located on the Sandakan Peninsula and east coast of ...

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

. 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 Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated 2 ...

. Jim Millner married Jean Purdie in 1948. On his return, Millner completed a Materia Medica (Pharmacy) course in 1947 at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, and joined the family company, Washington H. Soul Pattinson, 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