Background
Henry Miller was born in 1785 in Derry, Ireland, the son of a clergyman. He married some ten years later, and his eldest son, Henry Miller, was born on 30 December 1809 in Derry.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
Henry Miller
Edit ProfileCareer
Henry Miller entered the army at an early age, being gazetted as an ensign in the 40th Regiment of Foot in 1799, when only 14. Miller was in the 40th Regiment which served under the Duke of Wellington on the Peninsula. When Wellington commenced his campaign of 1812 by taking Ciudad Rodrigo, Miller took part in the assault, which in which 90 officers and 1200 men were killed.
Miller then crossed the Atlantic Ocean with the 40th.
He was at the unsuccessful attack on New Orleans on 8 January 1815 when the commanding officer, Sir East Pakenham, was killed. Miller was back again in Europe in time to be present at the Battle of Waterloo which was his final war service.
He was given the Peninsular medal, with clasps for Busaco, Badajos, and Ciudad Rodrigo, and the Waterloo Meda The Battle of Waterloo sealed the fate of Napoleon.
As a result, Great Britain was able devote more attention to its growing colonial empire.
In March 1823 the regiment was ordered to go to New South Wales. Lieutenant Miller and his family came out with one of the detachments. Sir Thomas Brisbane had decided that only married officers with families were to be sent as commandants of the out-settlements, and he formally appointed Lieutenant Henry Miller to establish the on 12 September 1824.
However, by that date Lieutenant Miller was already in charge at Moreton Bay, having arrived there from Sydney in the brig Amity a couple of months earlier.
The was initially very primitive. There were no buildings, except huts.
The only link to civilisation was the occasional arrival of a ship from Sydney into Moreton Bay (for no ship in that time had ever entered the Brisbane River). lieutenant was in these surroundings that Miller"s wife gave birth to a son, who was afterwards christened Charles Moreton Miller, the first European child born at Moreton Bay and the first Queenslander.
Henry Miller was at Moreton Bay for about 18 months.
He was then succeeded by Captain Bishop, also of the 40th. Henry Miller returned to Sydney. From there he went to In 1828,the regiment went to India, but Captain Miller remained in Hobart in an appointment with the commissariat.
He lived at Hobart in a house facing the Glebe.
Henry Miller died at Hobart on 10 January 1866. Captain Miller"s grave at Hobart in course of time fell into disrepair.
