William George James Mills (7 September 1859 – 20 September 1933), generally referred to as W. G. Mills, was a sheep breeder and politician in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

History

William was born at "Millbrae", Native Valley, near

Nairne, South Australia Nairne is a small township in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia. Nairne is about from Mount Barker, South Australia, in the federal Division of Mayo and in the state electoral district of Kavel. At the 2016 census, Nairne had a populatio ...

, the son of Richard Mills the younger (1840–1870). He was educated at Nairne public school and Rev. A. Law's grammar school at Mount Barker. He gained experience as a jackaroo for Robert Browne, manager of Winnininnie Station in the north of the State. He took over his father's farm around 1880 and continued breeding Merino sheep with some success, purchasing valuable rams from Alick J. Murray, and expanded the farm from , including "Bondleigh" farm, later held by his eldest son, W. Champion Mills. In 1928 he took on his son Alec Mills as partner in "Millbrae". He purchased another property, in the Adelaide Hills, which he named "Sturtbrae", which was later subdivided as Bellevue Heights by his daughters Margaret and May.

Politics

He was in 1915 a foundation member of the Farmers and Settlers' Association, and for five years its president. This Association was to become the nucleus of the Country Party in South Australia. In 1918 he successfully stood for a Northern district seat in the

South Australian Legislative Council The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the South Australian House of Assembly, ...

, and held that seat until 1933, when he declined to stand due to poor health.

Family

He married Elizabeth Martha "Lizzie" Champion (1861–1961) on 19 July 1882; they had five sons and four daughters: *Everlina (1883–1961) married Hugh Ross Patterson on 12 April 1906. *W. Champion Mills (ca.1885 – 20 May 1941) *R(ichard) Surguy Mills (ca.1886 – 26 October 1944) married Barbara Mary *Jack Mills (ca.1889 – 11 April 1917) fought with the 11th Battalion in World War I and died in Rouen of war injuries. *May Mills OBE (19 July 1890 – 29 January 1984), teacher at

Unley High School Unley High School, located in Netherby, South Australia. History Unley High School was founded in 1910 as one of the first public high schools to be established after Adelaide High School in 1908. Initially it was under the control of the H ...

*Margaret Mills, nursing sister at Port Augusta Hospital *Alec Mills (ca.1892 – ) married Phoebe M. Blacket on 29 October 1919. *Thomas Bruce Mills (1894 – 12 August 1915) enlisted for overseas service, but died in Adelaide of meningitis, complication of measles. *Lizzie (1900–) married Ron Loveday of Renmark on 27 August 1924. Most members of the family were buried at Blakiston cemetery.

Bibliography

*Mills, May ''Millbrae and its Founding Family'' Lutheran Publishing House, Adelaide, South Australia, 1973.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, William George Members of the South Australian Legislative Council Australian sheep breeders 1859 births 1933 deaths Liberal and Country League politicians Colony of South Australia people