Horace Clive Miller

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(30 April 1893 – 27 September 1980) was a pioneering Australian aviator and co-founder of MacRobertson Miller Airlines. He flew in the 1929 Western Australian Centenary Air Race, winning handicap honours. The main road to

Perth Airport Perth Airport is an international airport, international, domestic airport, domestic and general aviation airport serving Perth, Western Australia. It is the List of the busiest airports in Australia, fourth busiest airport in Australia meas ...

Terminal 1 is named Horrie Miller Drive in honour of the aviator. On 2 December 1938 He married Mary Durack

Early life

Miller was born on 30 April 1893 in

Ballarat, Victoria Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Australian census, 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australi ...

. He was the younger of two children born to Mary Ann (née Hurley) and John Pettigrew Miller. Miller's Irish-born mother died of

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...

when he was an infant. He and his older sister were raised by their father, a clerk. He left school at a young age and moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, working various menial jobs before joining the

Sunshine Harvester Works The Sunshine Harvester Works was an agricultural equipment factory in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded by industrialist H. V. McKay, and engineering development was headed by H. B. Garde. History Early years Having established an agri ...

as an apprentice. During this time he became interested in aviation and built his first model aircraft.

Early years in aviation

After completing his apprenticeship at Sunshine, Miller joined the Tarrant Motor Company where he became acquainted with fellow aviation pioneers

Harry Hawker Harry George Hawker, MBE, AFC (22 January 1889 – 12 July 1921) was an Australian aviation pioneer. He was the chief test pilot for Sopwith and was also involved in the design of many of their aircraft. After the First World War, he co-fo ...

, Harry Kauper, and Harry Busteed. In 1913 he followed the "three Harrys" to England where they had begun working for the

Sopwith Aviation Company The Sopwith Aviation Company was a British aircraft company that designed and manufactured aeroplanes mainly for the British Royal Naval Air Service, the Royal Flying Corps and later the Royal Air Force during the First World War, most famously ...

. He learned to fly there and "won repute for his knowledge of aerodynamics".

Personal life

In 1934, Miller married Jean Auburn Knox, with whom he had one daughter. They divorced in 1938 and in the same year he married burgeoning novelist

Mary Durack Mary Durack (20 February 1913 – 16 December 1994) was an Australian author and historian. She wrote '' Kings in Grass Castles'' and ''Keep Him My Country''. Childhood Mary Durack, born in Adelaide, South Australia, to Michael Patrick Dura ...

, the daughter of Western Australian pastoralist

Michael Durack Michael Patrick Durack, (22 July 1865 – 3 September 1950) was a pastoralist and pioneer in Queensland and Western Australia, known as "M.P." or to the family as "Miguel". He was the son of Patrick Durack and Mary Costello, both Irish-Austra ...

. The couple had four daughters and two sons, including Robin Miller Dicks who followed her father into aviation. Miller suffered a stroke in 1977 and died on 27 September 1980 in Dalkeith, Western Australia, aged 87. His ashes were interred at the cemetery in Broome.

Footnotes

References

* ''Access road to new

International Airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

to be named "Horrie Miller Drive" in honour of WA pioneer aviator''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

, 1 Dec. 1984, p. 40 * Dunn, Frank, (1984) ''Speck in the sky : a history of Airlines of Western Australia'' Perth, W.A: Airlines of W.A * Lewis, Julie (1987) ''Interview with Dunbar Hooper, and Horrie Miller'' (reference to Woods, Jimmy, 1893-1975 and WA Airways )

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, ...

Oral History transcript * Miller, Horace Clive (Horrie) (1968 or 1976) ''Early birds : magnificent men of Australian aviation between the wars'' Adelaide : Rigby, Series Seal books * Court, Charles, Sir, (1995) ''Horace Clive Miller ("Horrie Miller"), 1893-1980 : from barnstorming joyrides to boardrooms / an address by Sir Charles Court in presenting the 1995 Sir Norman Brearley oration at W.A. Club, Perth, W.A. on 23 August 1995''. Perth, W.A.: Civil Aviation Historical Society (W.A. Division), 1995. *

National Archives of Australia The National Archives of Australia (NAA), formerly known as the Commonwealth Archives Office and Australian Archives, is an Australian Government agency that is the National archives, official repository for all federal government documents. It ...

World War
service records search
accessed 7 July 2007.

accessed 16 June 2011.

accessed 6 August 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Horace Clive 1893 births 1980 deaths People from Perth, Western Australia People from Ballarat Australian military personnel of World War I Royal Australian Air Force officers Australian aviators Officers of the Order of the British Empire Airline founders Australian company founders MacRobertson Miller Airlines