R. W. Miller was an Australian company that had interests in

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s and

shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ex ...

. The company was named after its founder Robert William Miller (1879-1958).

History

R. W. Miller was founded in 1923 as a colliery proprietor and coal dealer. It became involved in the

coastal coal-carrying trade of New South Wales The Coastal coal-carrying trade of New South Wales involved the shipping of coal—mainly for local consumption but also for export or coal bunkering—by sea to Sydney from the northern and southern coal fields of New South Wales. It took place i ...

to convey coal between Newcastle and Sydney. R. W. Miller owned many

coal mines Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

in the

Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and ...

. In 1942, a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

was purchased in Petersham. This was followed by the purchase of many

s. In 1967, the Miller's Brewery was sold to

Tooheys Tooheys is a brewery in the suburb of Lidcombe, in Sydney, Australia. It produces beers and ciders under the ''Tooheys'' and '' Hahn Brewery'' trademarks, and is part of the Lion beverages group which was acquired by the Japanese Kirin Company ...

, followed by the pubs in 1968. In the late-1960s and early-1970s,

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reage ...

Ampol Ampol Limited is an Australian petroleum company headquartered in Sydney, New South Wales. Ampol is the largest transport energy distributor and retailer in Australia, with more than 1,900 Ampol-branded stations across the country . It also ope ...

and Howard Smith built up substantial shareholdings with takeover offers by the latter two resulting in a protracted takeover battle resulting in an important legal case and subsequent appeal to the Privy council, ''

Howard Smith Ltd v Ampol Petroleum Ltd ''Howard Smith Ltd v Ampol Petroleum Ltd'' is a leading company law case, concerning the duty of directors to act only for "proper purposes". This duty has been codified into the Companies Act 2006 section 171, and arises particularly in cases i ...

.'' In 1979, Howard Smith's shareholding was increased to 67% in 1979 when it acquired Ampol's shareholding and in February 1985 it took 100% ownership. In 1988, R. W. Miller merged with

Coal & Allied Coal & Allied is an Australia coal mining company. Operating mines in the Hunter Region, it is a subsidiary of Yancoal. History Coal & Allied was formed in 1960 when Caledonian Collieries and J & A Brown & Abermain-Seaham Collieries merged. H ...

.Coal & Allied Rebuilds in Hunter
''

Australian Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New S ...

'' 30 September 1988

References

{{Reflist Coal companies of Australia Companies based in Sydney Companies formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Defunct shipping companies of Australia Hospitality companies of Australia 1923 establishments in Australia