Montague Miller
Encyclopedia
Montague David "Monty" Miller, born 7 July 1839 at in Van Diemen's Land
(present day Tasmania
), was an Australian unionist, secularist and revolutionary socialist chiefly active in the states of Victoria
and, in his most productive period, in Western Australia
. His activism with unions and the Industrial Workers of the World
(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.
(later known as Victoria), at the age of six weeks. They lived first at Port Fairy, 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
— 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 life-long atheism. 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
, 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 Industrial Workers of the World, 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
, 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
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 . 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
, with the mourners singing the Red Flag at his funeral on November 17, 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
, 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.
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...
(present day Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
), was an Australian unionist, secularist and revolutionary socialist chiefly active in the states of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
and, in his most productive period, in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. His activism with unions and the Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
(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 DistrictVictoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
(later known as Victoria), at the age of six weeks. They lived first at Port Fairy, 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
Eureka Stockade
The Eureka Rebellion of 1854 was an organised rebellion by gold miners which occurred at Eureka Lead in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The Battle of Eureka Stockade was fought on 3 December 1854 and named for the stockade structure erected by miners during the conflict...
— an uprising at Ballarat by self-employed miners, who were opposed to the policies of an authoritarian British colonial
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
regime in Victoria. During the rebellion, he was involved in hand to hand fighting against members of the British 40th Regiment
40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot
The 40th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1717 and amalgamated into The Prince of Wales's Volunteers in 1881.-Formation:...
. 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
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
ideas which were influential in Ballarat at the time, and also early adopted his life-long atheism. 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
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...
, 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.
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, when he participated in the campaign opposing conscription
Conscription in Australia
Conscription in Australia, or mandatory military service also known as National Service, has a controversial history dating back to the first years of nationhood...
. 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
Willem Siebenhaar
Willem Siebenhaar was a social activist and writer in Western Australia from the 1890s until he left Australia in 1924. His literary contributions and opposition to policies such as conscription were his most notable contributions to the history of the state.-Biography:Siebenhaar was born in The...
(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
Bind over
Bind over, binding over order or bind over for sentence is a legal term relating to a power exercised by magistrates in England and Wales and in other common law jurisdictions such as Hong Kong....
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 . 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
Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, with Robert Creighton. Currently managed by the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board, the cemetery attracts more than one million visitors each...
, with the mourners singing the Red Flag at his funeral on November 17, 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
Harry Hooton
Henry Arthur Hooton of Sydney 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 majority of progressive artists and thinkers in Australia lagged far behind"...
, 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
Anarchism in Australia
Anarchism arrived in Australia within a few years of anarchism developing as a distinct tendency in the wake of the 1871 Paris Commune. Although a minor school of thought and politics, composed primarily of campaigners and intellectuals, Australian anarchism has formed a significant current...
. 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.
Further reading
- Glascock, John L. (1938) Montague Miller [poem]. First line: When the long vista of your finished years. in Glascock, John L. Later poems and others (with a preface by Walter Murdoch).Perth, W.A: Patersons Printing Press.