Edward Millen
Encyclopedia
Edward Davis Millen was an Australian journalist and politician who served as the first Minister for Repatriation
.
Millen emigrated to Australia from England around 1880 and established himself as a journalist, subsequently serving in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
from 1894 to 1898, during which time he fiercely opposed the proposed Federation
despite supporting the principle. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
from 1899 until his election to the Australian Senate
as a Free Trader
from New South Wales at the first federal election in 1901. Millen led the conservative parties in the Senate from 1907 until shortly before his death in 1923.
He served as Vice-President of the Executive Council
(1909–10) and Minister for Defence
(1913–14) in two short-lived Liberal
governments before his appointment as the first Minister for Repatriation in 1917. He organised the new department and co-ordinated Australia's repatriation effort, and was briefly acting Prime Minister
in 1919, when he settled a seamen's strike. Millen resigned from the ministry in February 1923 and died later that year, his illness attributed to his heavy workload in the post-war years.
in 1860 to John Bullock Millen, who was a pilot of the Cinque Ports
, and Charlotte (née Davis). He migrated to New South Wales
in 1880, having been educated in England and employed in the marine insurance
business. On 19 February 1883 he married Constance Evelyn Flanagan at Bourke
; they settled as graziers in Brewarrina
. Millen, who had worked as a journalist in Bourke and Walgett
and wrote for the Central Australian and Bourke Telegraph (of which he reputedly became part-owner), became editor of the Western Herald and Darling River Advocate around 1889, part-owning the business together with Philip Chapman until 1901. During this period he also worked as a land agent
, acquiring an office in O'Connell Street in Sydney
and a house in Burwood
by 1902.
Millen stood for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
as the Free Trade
candidate for Bourke
in 1891, but was defeated; he contested the seat again in 1894 and won. He became known as a strong advocate for land reform
, urging changed pastoral conditions and suggesting additional government assistance to deal with Australia's dry climate, particularly during the 1890s drought
.
, and in 1896 was active at the Bathurst
People's Federation Council. His distrust of Edmund Barton
's leadership led to his defeat as a candidate for the Australian Federal Convention
in 1897. In the Legislative Assembly, he objected strenuously to the proposed nature of the Senate
, calling equal representation for all states "objectionable and dangerous", and claimed that the New South Wales conventional delegates were elected because of their proficiency at "political business", absolving New South Wales of the obligation of endorsing their decisions. As a result, Millen opposed the 1898 Federation referendum, becoming a founding member of the Anti-Convention Bill League in April.
At the 1898 election, Millen was defeated by nine votes by a National Federal
candidate. Having overcome his opposition to Federation, he was appointed to the New South Wales Legislative Council
on 8 April 1899 as one of Premier George Reid
's twelve appointments to guarantee the passage of legislation for the 1899 referendum. At the first federal election in March 1901, Millen stood for the Senate as a Free Trade candidate and was elected as the second of six senators for New South Wales. He resigned his Legislative Council seat in May of that year.
's unofficial leadership of the Free Trade Senators in 1901. He advocated against high tariffs and bounties, claiming that industries that could not withstand free trade
were "not entitled to much consideration at [the Senate's] hands". He was also a vigorous supporter of the White Australia policy
, advocating the cessation of Kanaka
immigration and the gradual deportation of those who had already arrived in Queensland
; his opposition was based on a concern that "inferior labour would ... tend to degrade labour throughout the Commonwealth", as well as concerns about racial purity.
Millen succeeded Symon as leader of the Free Traders in the Senate in 1907, and following the Fusion with the Protectionist
s in 1909 became Leader of the Government in the Senate and Vice-President of the Executive Council
under Prime Minister Alfred Deakin
; he would lead the various conservative parties in the Senate continuously until his death. In 1913, following Joseph Cook
's one-seat victory in the election
, Millen became Minister for Defence
, a position he held at the outbreak of World War I
. In April 1914 he refused Winston Churchill
's suggestion that Australia need not maintain a fleet in its own territorial waters, and expressed "the sharpest criticism of the British" in a memorandum tabled in the Senate. He continued to privately criticise Britain's management of the war, but the Cook Government ultimately placed the navy under the control of the British Admiralty in August 1914. He oversaw the initial recruitment of 20,000 men for the Australian Imperial Force
and initialised the defence proposals for the war, but following the Labor Party
's victory at the 1914 election
he returned to leading the Opposition in the Senate, although he did become a member of the parliamentary war committee.
, Millen was included in Billy Hughes
's Nationalist
ministry in February 1917, initially as Vice-President of the Executive Council but by September as Australia's first Minister for Repatriation
, dealing largely with veterans' affairs. Together with Major Nicholas Lockyer, the controller of repatriation, Millen had responsibility for the creation of a new governmental department
. The many returned servicemen in the department's staff, most of whom had little administrative experience, caused problems; Charles Bean
wrote in 1918 that soldiers had "a dread of Millen as a politician first, last and all the time". Millen organised the passage of the War Service Homes Act 1918–19, which established the War Service Homes Commission, but the administration of the scheme by Commissioner J. T. Walker led to a series of parliamentary inquiries by the joint committee of public accounts. Walker's appointment by Millen came into question, and the resulting investigation into the Commissioner's accountability to the Minister and to Parliament has been described as "one of the fullest examinations of ... ministerial responsibility for the actions of an autonomous public corporation in the history of the Commonwealth Parliament".
Millen introduced the Australian Soldiers Repatriation Bill, which provided for a paid repatriation commission and higher pensions for servicemen, into the Senate in March 1920. In response to the bill, and vigorous lobbying of Hughes by the veterans' movement, the bill faced difficulty in its passage and Senator Josiah Thomas
successfully moved a resolution that a minister in one house might appear on the floor of the other, which would have allowed Millen to address the House of Representatives
, where he was facing fierce criticism from the Country Party, although ultimately neither house acted on the resolution.
During Hughes's absence in Europe
in mid-1919, the acting Prime Minister
was the Treasurer
, William Watt
; Millen served as acting Prime Minister when Watt fell ill during July. Millen and Watt brought a successful resolution to the seamen's strike. In 1920 he was sent to Geneva
as Australia's delegate to the first meeting of the General Assembly of the League of Nations
, where he secured mandated Pacific protectorates for Australia despite opposition from Japan
. He returned to Australia in 1921, having arranged for the funding of Australia's debts and reorganised Australia House
.
Millen's heavy workload had begun to affect his health and he considered retirement, but he ultimately decided to continue and was re-elected to the Senate at the 1922 election
. He retired from the ministry in February 1923, and in March was granted leave of absence because of his deteriorating health. He died aged 63 from chronic nephritis
on 14 September 1923 at Caulfield
in Melbourne
, survived by his wife and two daughters. Presbyterian services were held at Parliament House
in Melbourne and St Stephen's Church in Sydney, and Millen was given a state funeral
. He is buried at Rookwood Cemetery
.
described him as unequalled in Senate leadership, and George Pearce
remembered him as "one of the ablest and most destructive critics the Federal Parliament ever had".
Minister for Veterans' Affairs (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Veterans' Affairs oversees income support, compensation, care and commemoration programs for more than 400,000 veterans and their widows, widowers and dependants....
.
Millen emigrated to Australia from England around 1880 and established himself as a journalist, subsequently serving in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
from 1894 to 1898, during which time he fiercely opposed the proposed Federation
Federation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
despite supporting the principle. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...
from 1899 until his election to the Australian Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
as a Free Trader
Free Trade Party
The Free Trade Party which was officially known as the Australian Free Trade and Liberal Association, also referred to as the Revenue Tariff Party in some states and renamed the Anti-Socialist Party in 1906, was an Australian political party, formally organised between 1889 and 1909...
from New South Wales at the first federal election in 1901. Millen led the conservative parties in the Senate from 1907 until shortly before his death in 1923.
He served as Vice-President of the Executive Council
Vice-President of the Executive Council
The Vice-President of the Federal Executive Council is a position in Australian federal governments, whose holder acts as presiding officer of the Federal Executive Council in the absence of the Governor-General....
(1909–10) and Minister for Defence
Minister for Defence (Australia)
The Minister for Defence of Australia administers his portfolio through the Australian Defence Organisation, which comprises the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force. Stephen Smith is the current Minister.-Ministers for Defence:...
(1913–14) in two short-lived Liberal
Commonwealth Liberal Party
The Commonwealth Liberal Party was a political movement active in Australia from 1909 to 1916, shortly after federation....
governments before his appointment as the first Minister for Repatriation in 1917. He organised the new department and co-ordinated Australia's repatriation effort, and was briefly acting Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
in 1919, when he settled a seamen's strike. Millen resigned from the ministry in February 1923 and died later that year, his illness attributed to his heavy workload in the post-war years.
Early life
Millen was born in Deal, KentDeal, Kent
Deal is a town in Kent England. It lies on the English Channel eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town...
in 1860 to John Bullock Millen, who was a pilot of the Cinque Ports
Cinque Ports
The Confederation of Cinque Ports is a historic series of coastal towns in Kent and Sussex. It was originally formed for military and trade purposes, but is now entirely ceremonial. It lies at the eastern end of the English Channel, where the crossing to the continent is narrowest...
, and Charlotte (née Davis). He migrated to New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
in 1880, having been educated in England and employed in the marine insurance
Marine insurance
Marine insurance covers the loss or damage of ships, cargo, terminals, and any transport or cargo by which property is transferred, acquired, or held between the points of origin and final destination....
business. On 19 February 1883 he married Constance Evelyn Flanagan at Bourke
Bourke, New South Wales
-Transportation:Bourke can be reached by the Mitchell Highway, with additional sealed roads from town to the north , east and south . The town is also served by Bourke Airport and has Countrylink bus service to other regional centres, like Dubbo...
; they settled as graziers in Brewarrina
Brewarrina, New South Wales
Brewarrina is a small town in North West New South Wales, Australia on the banks of the Barwon River in Brewarrina Shire. It is 98 km east of Bourke and west of Walgett on the Kamilaroi Highway, and 808 km from Sydney. Brewarrina has had its population decrease from 1,197 persons in...
. Millen, who had worked as a journalist in Bourke and Walgett
Walgett, New South Wales
Walgett is a town in North-West New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Walgett Shire. It is at the junction of the Barwon and Namoi rivers and near the junction of the Kamilaroi and Castlereagh Highways...
and wrote for the Central Australian and Bourke Telegraph (of which he reputedly became part-owner), became editor of the Western Herald and Darling River Advocate around 1889, part-owning the business together with Philip Chapman until 1901. During this period he also worked as a land agent
Land agent
Land agent may be used in at least three different contexts.Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large landed estate for a member of the landed gentry of the United Kingdom, supervising the farming of the property by farm labourers and/or...
, acquiring an office in O'Connell Street in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and a house in Burwood
Burwood, New South Wales
Burwood is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Burwood is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of Burwood Council....
by 1902.
Millen stood for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
as the Free Trade
Free Trade Party
The Free Trade Party which was officially known as the Australian Free Trade and Liberal Association, also referred to as the Revenue Tariff Party in some states and renamed the Anti-Socialist Party in 1906, was an Australian political party, formally organised between 1889 and 1909...
candidate for Bourke
Electoral district of Bourke
Bourke was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1880 to 1904, including the town of Bourke. It elected two members simultaneously between 1882 and 1894, with voters casting two votes and the first two candidates being elected.-Members...
in 1891, but was defeated; he contested the seat again in 1894 and won. He became known as a strong advocate for land reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
, urging changed pastoral conditions and suggesting additional government assistance to deal with Australia's dry climate, particularly during the 1890s drought
Federation Drought
In Australia, the Federation Drought is the name given to a prolonged period of drought that occurred around the time of Federation in 1901.Though often thought of as a long drought, until the record dry year of 1902 the period was actually one of a number of very dry spells intercepted with wetter...
.
State politics
Millen was a foundation member of the New South Wales Australasian Federation League in 1893, formed to campaign for the unification of the six Australian colonies into a single CommonwealthCommonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
, and in 1896 was active at the Bathurst
Bathurst, New South Wales
-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...
People's Federation Council. His distrust of Edmund Barton
Edmund Barton
Sir Edmund Barton, GCMG, KC , Australian politician and judge, was the first Prime Minister of Australia and a founding justice of the High Court of Australia....
's leadership led to his defeat as a candidate for the Australian Federal Convention
Constitutional Convention (Australia)
In Australian history, the term Constitutional Convention refers to four distinct gatherings.-1891 convention:The 1891 Constitutional Convention was held in Sydney in March 1891 to consider a draft Constitution for the proposed federation of the British colonies in Australia and New Zealand. There...
in 1897. In the Legislative Assembly, he objected strenuously to the proposed nature of the Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
, calling equal representation for all states "objectionable and dangerous", and claimed that the New South Wales conventional delegates were elected because of their proficiency at "political business", absolving New South Wales of the obligation of endorsing their decisions. As a result, Millen opposed the 1898 Federation referendum, becoming a founding member of the Anti-Convention Bill League in April.
At the 1898 election, Millen was defeated by nine votes by a National Federal
Protectionist Party
The Protectionist Party was an Australian political party, formally organised from 1889 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. It argued that Australia needed protective tariffs to allow Australian industry to grow and provide employment. It had its greatest strength in Victoria and in...
candidate. Having overcome his opposition to Federation, he was appointed to the New South Wales Legislative Council
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...
on 8 April 1899 as one of Premier George Reid
George Reid (Australian politician)
Sir George Houstoun Reid, GCB, GCMG, KC was an Australian politician, Premier of New South Wales and the fourth Prime Minister of Australia....
's twelve appointments to guarantee the passage of legislation for the 1899 referendum. At the first federal election in March 1901, Millen stood for the Senate as a Free Trade candidate and was elected as the second of six senators for New South Wales. He resigned his Legislative Council seat in May of that year.
Early Senate career
Millen was an early leader in the Senate, serving as deputy to Josiah SymonJosiah Symon
Hon Sir Josiah Henry Symon KCMG , Scottish-Australian lawyer and politician, was a member of the Australian Senate in the First Australian Parliament, and an Attorney-General of Australia.-Biography:...
's unofficial leadership of the Free Trade Senators in 1901. He advocated against high tariffs and bounties, claiming that industries that could not withstand free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
were "not entitled to much consideration at [the Senate's] hands". He was also a vigorous supporter of the White Australia policy
White Australia policy
The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....
, advocating the cessation of Kanaka
Kanakas
Kanaka was the term for a worker from various Pacific Islands employed in British colonies, such as British Columbia , Fiji and Queensland in the 19th and early 20th centuries...
immigration and the gradual deportation of those who had already arrived in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
; his opposition was based on a concern that "inferior labour would ... tend to degrade labour throughout the Commonwealth", as well as concerns about racial purity.
Millen succeeded Symon as leader of the Free Traders in the Senate in 1907, and following the Fusion with the Protectionist
Protectionist Party
The Protectionist Party was an Australian political party, formally organised from 1889 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. It argued that Australia needed protective tariffs to allow Australian industry to grow and provide employment. It had its greatest strength in Victoria and in...
s in 1909 became Leader of the Government in the Senate and Vice-President of the Executive Council
Vice-President of the Executive Council
The Vice-President of the Federal Executive Council is a position in Australian federal governments, whose holder acts as presiding officer of the Federal Executive Council in the absence of the Governor-General....
under Prime Minister Alfred Deakin
Alfred Deakin
Alfred Deakin , Australian politician, was a leader of the movement for Australian federation and later the second Prime Minister of Australia. In the last quarter of the 19th century, Deakin was a major contributor to the establishment of liberal reforms in the colony of Victoria, including the...
; he would lead the various conservative parties in the Senate continuously until his death. In 1913, following Joseph Cook
Joseph Cook
Sir Joseph Cook, GCMG was an Australian politician and the sixth Prime Minister of Australia. Born as Joseph Cooke and working in the coal mines of Silverdale, Staffordshire during his early life, he emigrated to Lithgow, New South Wales during the late 1880s, and became General-Secretary of the...
's one-seat victory in the election
Australian federal election, 1913
Federal elections were held in Australia on 31 May 1913. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister of Australia Andrew Fisher was defeated by the opposition Commonwealth Liberal...
, Millen became Minister for Defence
Minister for Defence (Australia)
The Minister for Defence of Australia administers his portfolio through the Australian Defence Organisation, which comprises the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force. Stephen Smith is the current Minister.-Ministers for Defence:...
, a position he held at the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In April 1914 he refused Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
's suggestion that Australia need not maintain a fleet in its own territorial waters, and expressed "the sharpest criticism of the British" in a memorandum tabled in the Senate. He continued to privately criticise Britain's management of the war, but the Cook Government ultimately placed the navy under the control of the British Admiralty in August 1914. He oversaw the initial recruitment of 20,000 men for the Australian Imperial Force
Australian Imperial Force
The Australian Imperial Force was the name given to all-volunteer Australian Army forces dispatched to fight overseas during World War I and World War II.* First Australian Imperial Force * Second Australian Imperial Force...
and initialised the defence proposals for the war, but following the Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
's victory at the 1914 election
Australian federal election, 1914
Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 September 1914. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 36 seats in the Senate were up for election in a double dissolution...
he returned to leading the Opposition in the Senate, although he did become a member of the parliamentary war committee.
Minister for Repatriation
Following the 1916 Labor split over conscriptionConscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
, Millen was included in Billy Hughes
Billy Hughes
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
's Nationalist
Nationalist Party of Australia
The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...
ministry in February 1917, initially as Vice-President of the Executive Council but by September as Australia's first Minister for Repatriation
Minister for Veterans' Affairs (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Veterans' Affairs oversees income support, compensation, care and commemoration programs for more than 400,000 veterans and their widows, widowers and dependants....
, dealing largely with veterans' affairs. Together with Major Nicholas Lockyer, the controller of repatriation, Millen had responsibility for the creation of a new governmental department
Department of Veterans' Affairs (Australia)
The Department of Veterans' Affairs is an Australian Government department. Within its portfolio is:*Australian War Memorial*Military Rehabilitation & Compensation Commission*Office of Australian War Graves*Repatriation Commission...
. The many returned servicemen in the department's staff, most of whom had little administrative experience, caused problems; Charles Bean
Charles Bean
Charles Edwin Woodrow Bean , usually identified as C.E.W. Bean, was an Australian schoolmaster, judge's associate, barrister journalist, war correspondent and historian....
wrote in 1918 that soldiers had "a dread of Millen as a politician first, last and all the time". Millen organised the passage of the War Service Homes Act 1918–19, which established the War Service Homes Commission, but the administration of the scheme by Commissioner J. T. Walker led to a series of parliamentary inquiries by the joint committee of public accounts. Walker's appointment by Millen came into question, and the resulting investigation into the Commissioner's accountability to the Minister and to Parliament has been described as "one of the fullest examinations of ... ministerial responsibility for the actions of an autonomous public corporation in the history of the Commonwealth Parliament".
Millen introduced the Australian Soldiers Repatriation Bill, which provided for a paid repatriation commission and higher pensions for servicemen, into the Senate in March 1920. In response to the bill, and vigorous lobbying of Hughes by the veterans' movement, the bill faced difficulty in its passage and Senator Josiah Thomas
Josiah Thomas
Josiah Thomas was an Cornish Australian miner and politician.Thomas was born in Camborne, Cornwall, UK and went to Mexico as a child with his father and later worked in mines in Cornwall. He travelled to Australia in the mid-1880s and worked at the Barrier Range, near Broken Hill...
successfully moved a resolution that a minister in one house might appear on the floor of the other, which would have allowed Millen to address the House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
, where he was facing fierce criticism from the Country Party, although ultimately neither house acted on the resolution.
During Hughes's absence in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in mid-1919, the acting Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
was the Treasurer
Treasurer of Australia
The Treasurer of Australia is the minister in the Government of Australia responsible for government expenditure and revenue raising. He is the head of the Department of the Treasury. The Treasurer plays a key role in the economic policy of the government...
, William Watt
William Watt
William Alexander Watt PC was an Australian politician who was the 24th Premier of Victoria, and later a leading federal politician and Speaker of the House of Representatives....
; Millen served as acting Prime Minister when Watt fell ill during July. Millen and Watt brought a successful resolution to the seamen's strike. In 1920 he was sent to Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
as Australia's delegate to the first meeting of the General Assembly of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
, where he secured mandated Pacific protectorates for Australia despite opposition from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He returned to Australia in 1921, having arranged for the funding of Australia's debts and reorganised Australia House
Australia House
The High Commission of Australia in London is housed in Australia House, a building that also accommodates other Australian federal and state government agencies, including the Menzies Centre for Australian Studies, part of King's College London....
.
Millen's heavy workload had begun to affect his health and he considered retirement, but he ultimately decided to continue and was re-elected to the Senate at the 1922 election
Australian federal election, 1922
Federal elections were held in Australia on 16 December 1922. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Nationalist Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia Billy Hughes lost its majority...
. He retired from the ministry in February 1923, and in March was granted leave of absence because of his deteriorating health. He died aged 63 from chronic nephritis
Nephritis
Nephritis is inflammation of the nephrons in the kidneys. The word "nephritis" was imported from Latin, which took it from Greek: νεφρίτιδα. The word comes from the Greek νεφρός - nephro- meaning "of the kidney" and -itis meaning "inflammation"....
on 14 September 1923 at Caulfield
Caulfield, Victoria
Caulfield is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 12 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Glen Eira...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, survived by his wife and two daughters. Presbyterian services were held at Parliament House
Parliament House, Melbourne
Parliament House in Melbourne, located at Spring Street in East Melbourne at the edge of the Melbourne city centre, has been the seat of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia, since 1855 .- History :In 1851, even before the colony of Victoria acquired full parliamentary self-government, Governor...
in Melbourne and St Stephen's Church in Sydney, and Millen was given a state funeral
State funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...
. He is buried at Rookwood Cemetery
Rookwood Cemetery
Rookwood Cemetery is the largest multicultural necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
.
Legacy
Millen experienced fierce criticism from both the press and parliament during his time as Minister for Repatriation, but he is remembered as an important figure in Australia's war effort and subsequent recovery. He has been described as the "most significant" contributor to the development of repatriation in Australia, which he as inaugural minister largely defined. After his death, Billy HughesBilly Hughes
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
described him as unequalled in Senate leadership, and George Pearce
George Pearce
Sir George Foster Pearce KCVO was an Australian politician who was instrumental in founding the Australian Labor Party in Western Australia....
remembered him as "one of the ablest and most destructive critics the Federal Parliament ever had".