Paradise”

Rett Milder Profile

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Mrs. Lillian Barclay-Millar has turned once more to New tinea, where she is well-known the old-timers, or Befores. e now lives in Port Moresby. 0 the newcomers she is either quite unknown, or just another sious legend of the dim days ore the war. But she is very much iving legend, and the stories about • have been rampant since her 001 days. >he was bom at Hampton in Vic ia, youngest daughter of Carl nry Andersen and Louisa West. ; graduated from Merton Hall in nestic science. Even then she was eye-taking blonde of statutesque tures and heroic build, and first ted Rabaul with her father in the ly 1920’5; they also visited the * East about this time in the old imer Wah Ping.

Jllian’s first marriage was to Henry ngel Bennett, who retired from Royal Navy and later joined the w Guinea Administration. He yed at Kokopo, Kieta, Madang, irobe and Salamaua. As the gold h was then in full bloom, he igned to join Major Skeate in gold ling. They worked first at Kiela, n the lower Edie Creek, and finally the Watut.

Bennett died in Sydney in 1933, 1 Lillian carried on the lease. She rried Toby Millar in 1935, at Wau, they later gave up goldmining to e up Yakumal Plantation, near ape. n 1939 Toby enlisted in the AIF, I went off to the Middle East cam gns. When the Japanese advance ced Lillian to leave New Guinea first joined the Air Training Corps Australia, then the W.A.A.A.F. and illy the U.S. services. \fter the war Toby went into rnalism with the Sydney Morning raid, and Lillian joined Australian tional Airways to organise air rist services. This involved quite a of air travel, but her headquarters ■e in Sydney.

Yhen the American writer James zhener was looking for a flat in Iney, Lillian was able to provide : for him and his second wife, mgeline. Michener collected lian’s stories of the goldfields, and

gave her a prominent mention in his book Return to Paradise, which was the sequel to Tales of the South Pacific.

In 1957, when Toby and Lil were making back towards New Guinea, they were induced to stay at Cairns,

where Toby worked at the Cairns Post until his death in 1959. Lillian then went to Fiji to be house manager ess for the Northern Hotels chain owned by the late Sir Hugh Ragg. After some months she took the chance to go to New Guinea in the mission vessel John Williams, to attend the interment of Toby’s ashes at Wau, where her first husband’s ashes also rest.

There was another term at Cairns, before Lillian went to Minj in the NG Western Highlands to manage the motel for two years.

Back then to Qld., where she bought a house at Florida Gardens, Surfers Paradise, and named it “Salamaua”.

She has talked regularly on the women’s session of 2FC in Sydney and to various clubs. She has visited England twice, once in 1929 and again in 1951, when she also saw a lot of the Continent.

Now in Port Moresby she may perhaps at last settle down to the big task of writing the book of her life and loves, which she began 10 years ago. She probably has a better knowledge of the colourful characters of the goldfields than any other living

person.

-Brett Milder.