Montague David "Monty" Miller, born 7 July 1839 in

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...

(present day

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

), was an Australian trade unionist, secularist, and revolutionary anarchist-

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

chiefly active in the states of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and, in his most productive period, in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. His activism with unions and the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...

(IWW), during the early years of the twentieth century, saw him acting as a speaker and organiser for these sometimes illegal groups, leading to his conviction for conspiracy in 1916.

Biography

Miller's parents took him to the Port Philip District (later known as Victoria), at the age of six weeks. They lived first at

Port Fairy Port Fairy (historically known as Belfast) is a coastal town in south-western Victoria, Australia. It lies on the Princes Highway in the Shire of Moyne, west of Warrnambool and west of Melbourne, at the point where the Moyne River enters the ...

, and then moved to the Ballarat goldfields where Miller was apprenticed to a joiner. Miller's father was himself a carpenter. Miller would work at his trade throughout his life, as a contractor where possible to avoid having to work under a master, although he is also reported as having turned his hand to a variety of bush labour. At the age of 15, Miller took part in the

Eureka Rebellion The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the British administration of the colony of Victoria, Australia during the Victorian gold rush. It culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, which ...

– an uprising at Ballarat by self-employed miners, who were opposed to the policies of an authoritarian British colonial regime in Victoria. During the rebellion, he was involved in hand-to-hand fighting against members of the British 40th Regiment. Although the rebellion failed, it contributed to the introduction of democracy in Australia. Miller married in Ballarat at the age of twenty and shortly afterwards moved to Melbourne. He was early exposed to Chartist ideas which were influential in Ballarat at the time, and also early adopted his lifelong atheism.Annie Westbrook, Monty Miller - An Appreciation by Angela (Annie) Westbrook, ''International Socialist'' December 1920. Archived online at http://www.takver.com/history/monty_miller.htm. The building trades, to which Miller belonged, were at the forefront of early Victorian unionism. His political career involved working with the unions and the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

, but he maintained a disillusioned view of political parties and structures, moving within the radical spectrum. He was a founding member of the Melbourne Anarchist Club in 1886. He appears to have moved to Perth in 1897, the end of an economic boom in the state, a period of political reformations and larger scale social change. The Western Australian branch of the anarchist and socialist international movement, the

, was founded by his friend Westwood and could accommodate his views. His membership in the later illegal organisation (the IWW - or 'Wobblies') brought about imprisonment and conviction in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, when he participated in the campaign opposing conscription. Tried along with a group of other men, his advanced age of over 80 made him perhaps one of the oldest to have been convicted on this charge. Many of his friends and colleagues were to assist in his defence, including Annie Westbrook and Willem Siebenhaar (sacked and consequently charged), and this high-profile case was to have a significant impact on the socialist and union movements and to the conscription debate. Miller was released after serving a few weeks of his sentence as the Judge had offered Miller, and another defendant, Sawtell, two years imprisonment or to be

bound over In the law of England and Wales and some other common law jurisdictions, binding over is an exercise of certain powers by the criminal courts used to deal with low-level public order issues. Both magistrates' courts and the Crown Court may issue b ...

for the same period to 'be of good behaviour and to keep the peace.' Miller was re-arrested in 1917 in Sydney at the age of 84 and sentenced to six months imprisonment with hard labour at Long Bay Gaol on the charge of belonging to an unlawful association.Joe Toscano
''Australian Anarchist History - Monty Miller''
''Anarchist Age Weekly Review'' Number 215 2 September 1996 His Sydney arrest was apparently because he broke his bond. In his last years he remained committed to theories of socialist society emerging in the youthful nation. Bitter post war divisions existed in Australia at that time, yet harassment by the media and suppression by conservative governments of political opposition did not dissuade Miller from promoting his revolutionary aims. He was buried at

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

, with the mourners singing the '' Red Flag'' at his funeral on 17 November 1920. Some critics and left wing historians have identified Miller as a hero for later communist or socialist causes in Australia. Certainly he was very non-sectarian in his activism. However the poet,

Harry Hooton Henry (Harry) Arthur Hooton (9 October 1908 – 27 June 1961) was an Australian poet and social commentator whose writing spanned the years 1930s–1961. He was described by a biographer as ahead of his time, or rather "of his time while the majo ...

, claimed that Miller unambiguously identified as an anarchist, and Miller's friend and fellow Wobbly Annie Westbrook in her obituary also states this; early socialist movements had embraced the flourishing anti-authoritarian schools of Australian anarchism. Miller remained a committed atheist who believed decentralised socialism was an historical inevitability, contrasting the often theological or dialectical theory of his contemporaries. He was survived by three daughters and one son, and by grandchildren, his wife and a second son having predeceased him.Annie Westbrook, ''International Socialist'' December 1920. Archived online at http://www.takver.com/history/monty_miller.htm.

References

* * * * Matters, Leonard W., (Mrs.), ''Australasians Who Count in London'' and ''Who Counts in Western Australia'', London, J. Truscott, 1913. Held at the

J S Battye Library The J S Battye Library (more properly known as the J. S. Battye Library of West Australian History) is an arm of the State Library of Western Australia. It stores much of the state's historical records and original publications including books, ...

, Perth

Biography

References

Further reading