James Millner

James Stokes Millner (died 25 February 1875) was a doctor and early pioneer of northern Australia. He was the medical officer to arrive in Port Darwin following George W. Goyder's 1869 expedition to found the first colony in Northern Territory, Australia.

History

On 22 January 1870, Doctor Millner arrived in Darwin with his family on the "SS Kohinoor" as Acting Government Resident of the Northern Territory of South Australia. [Northern Territory Government (2007). [http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/ntas/collection/guides/residents.html#DR%20J%20STOKES%20MILLNER "Chronological listing of Government Residents and Administrators"] . Retrieved on 11 May 2008.] As the South Australian Government’s representative in the Northern Territory, he had jurisdiction over a white population of just forty-four, until the arrival of South Australia’s substantive Government Resident. [Rosenzweig, Paul (1996). [http://www.nt.gov.au/administrator/foundation/docs/excerpts_house_of_seven_gables.pdf "Governors, Residents and Administrators of the Northern Territory"] . Page 5. Retrieved on 11 May 2008.] Millner was described as a tall man, heavily bearded, with thinning hair, who alway wore spectacles. [Picture Australia (2008). [http://www.pictureaustralia.org/apps/pictureaustralia?action=PADisplay&mode=display&rs=resultset-536972&no=9 "Dr. James Millner and Family"] . Retrived on 14 September 2008.]

Doctor Millner was given several roles including; Protector of Aborigines, quarantine officer and registrar of births and deaths, as well as caring for the sick and injured. Doctor Millner established good relations with the aboriginal people, who soon realised he had skills and knowledge they could utilise. [Northern Territory Government (1986). [http://www.ntl.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/25194/Kettle_HistoryNTHealthServ.pdf "History of Northern Territory Health Services"] . Page 2. Retrieved on 11 May 2008.]

In February 1875, after five years service in the north, Doctor Millner resigned and was returning to Adelaide with his second wife (Elizabeth) and their four children aboard the SS Gothenburg. On the evening of 24 February 1875, off the north Queensland coast, the Gothenburg hit a section of the Great Barrier Reef near Holbourne Island, during a cyclone. Early the next morning, Doctor Millner and all his family drowned, along with about 100 other passengers and crew.cite journal | last = Wilson | first = Helen | year = 1992 | pages = 67–86 | title = The Loss of RMSS Gothenburg | journal = Journal of Northern Territory History | volume = 3 | issn = 1034-7488 | id = oclc|31683149 ]

Legacy

The northern Darwin suburb of Millner was named after Doctor Millner. [Northern Territory Government (2007). [http://www.nt.gov.au/lands/lis/placenames/origins/greaterdarwin.shtml#m "The Origin of Suburbs, Localities, Towns and Hundreds in the Greater Darwin area"] . Retrieved on 11 May 2008.]

References