MILLAR, JOHN (1807-76) was born in Scotland, and trained there as an engineer and surveyor. He first came to Melbourne in the early fifties, and carried out the Yan Yean waterworks and advised on the proposed dock. He then paid a visit to England, and returned to Australia in 1855 in the Schomberg. She was wrecked at Cape Otway, and Millar received a presentation casket for his efforts to save life. He was engineer for waterworks and drainage for Geelong, Brighton and Hotham, and made many reports on those subjects and town improvements. In 1859 he took service under the Government of Victoria, and in 1863 was appointed engineer to the town board of Dunedin. He put forward a scheme for the Dunedin water supply in 1863 and was also consulting engineer to the borough of Port Chalmers. On leaving the service of the Dunedin municipality (1866) he continued in private practice as an engineer and architect.

Millar represented the City in the Otago Provincial Council (1867-70); and in 1867, 1869 and 1870 was defeated in elections for the mayoralty. In the early seventies he moved to Wanganui, where he was borough engineer (1874) and he was afterwards provincial engineer and chief surveyor in Nelson.

Millar wrote many papers on professional subjects to British and American journals. He usually signed himself 'Millar, F.S.A.' He died at Nelson on 15 Nov 1876.

Otago P.C. Proc.; Hocken, Otago; Wanganui Chronicle, 16 Sep 1874; The Colonist (Nelson), 16 Nov 1876.

Reference: Volume 2, page 44

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