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I first heard the name Bill Millar when I was in training at the Dept of Civil Aviation Training School at Waverton NSW. Bill was a few years ahead of me at DCA and he and his classmates had left the training school one afternoon and driven to the Snowy Mountain snow fields where they had filled up a few eskies with snow before driving back to Sydney in time for the next days’ training. They has a snow fight in John Dryden’s drafting class. Mr Dryden was not impressed and the head of the training school, George Nettle, was called in to address this significant misbehaviour. I have no idea of any repercussions but it was legendary for many years.
I then met Bill at Paddington ITMC where I worked from December 1975 till 1978 when I was seconded to L.M.Ericsson at Rushcutters Bay NSW. We renewed our working relationship when I returned to Paddington in 1981. He became a mate and a mentor to many of us in the mid-1980s and through into the 1990s.
By then he had been recognised as being very intelligent and a good leader and was recognised as being a Senior Technical Officer on his way up the ranks.
Bill was a bit of larrikin and had a weird sense of humour at times but everyone liked and respected him.
He was the staff representative on the executive council of the Professional Radio Employees Institute of Australia (PREI(A)) where he learned a lot of good negotiation skills and the ‘art of war’ in his dealings with management.
He acted as Principal Technical Officer when Mick Callaghan was seconded to the Manager of the Training School after which he returned to his position as STO2 in the Network Management Centre (INMC). I was a TO2 in the INMC and Bill was my boss.
Bill was one of the best bosses for whom I ever worked -both in OTC and Optus. He was a very good leader although he did not always do things the way his managers liked. He did what was best for him and his team – mainly his team.
Bill was well respected by those who worked for him and even those who felt the sting of his negotiation skills and his tongue when it was warranted.
Bill was head-hunted to become the Group Leader in charge of the National Networks team of the Optus Network Operations Centre and was a fierce protagonist against Telstra in those early days of Optus where Telstra played dirty tricks but was well respected by those Telstra personnel with whom he had dealings through the Monthly Service Reviews, etc.
After few years he was promoted to the position of Manager of the Optus Network Operations Centre. A few years later he moved to a senior role within Optus Engineering team where he managed large projects and the teams that worked with vendors to deliver key engineering initiatives for Optus.
After leaving Optus he joined Hutchison Australia where his significant negotiation skills were recognised and leveraged to deliver significant benefits to Hutchison. He did such a great job at Hutchison Australia that he was offered jobs overseas and then he and I lost contact but every now and then I would hear of Bill and his achievements.

May He Rest In Peace

regards
Peter Bull

This is sad news.

I seem to remember being a supervisor of Bill back in the early 80s at Paddington ITMC but he quickly moved on and up.

Most of my work with Bill was when he was managing INMC. To me he had a laid back style, but was always on top of the issues with excellent solutions.I think that is what made him such a good negotiator.

It always amazed me that computers were so hard to justify, but he was able to get so many IBM lookalikes running DOS to run the INMC Network Management System.

From my perspective he was an essential part of the team that built the first Network Management System that was so effective in displaying real time telephony traffic.

May he rest in peace.
Robin Tuckfield

I was saddened to hear of Bill Millar’s passing.

I first met Bill at the AKE Training Course at Broadway Training School (along with John Vossen and Brian White).

The course was run by Dave Stimson and sometimes by Peter Pukk and Bill’s sense of humour, and one-liners, were classic and it certainly kept us going through that 13 week course.

I also worked later in Optus with him and separately with Sue (who at that stage had just arrived from UK and was yet to be Bill’s wife).

Regards
Steve Hogben

Thanks Peter for letting us know the sad news about Bill.
I remember Bill along with yourself Fred Nichols, Ross Smith and all the crew in the INMC. It was always a great environment to work in, and quite an eye opener for a young tech.
People such as Bill and yourself were always willing to pass on your knowledge.
Later I recall he came down to lead the ITMC area for a while and his soft but firm self assured voice along with a touch of frivolity made him a great leader.
I didn’t get to speak to Bill much after he left OTC to join Optus but I recall the sense of great loss to the company when staff members such as Bill, Ross and yourself all left to take on the challenge of building a greater Optus.

May he Rest In Peace

Regards
John Bracks

Very sad news. My prayers and thoughts are for the family.

After most of us left AOTC/ TELECOM, I met Bill again when he worked for 3 and Vodafone and in part Bytecan.

May his soul rest in peace.

Cheers. Gerry Serrao

So sorry to hear that Bill had passed away June 8th. Especially from cancer it is a hard road to travel.

I/we want to offer our deepest condolences to Sue and his boys.

I knew Bill from the time he first entered the team at the ITMC in Paddington. We worked together there for a time until we set off to the round trip of Guam, Cairns, Scoresby then back to Paddo.

During that time OTC was going through the changes of the 1990’s and we were into trying to become “lean and mean” that required a lot of re-structures and customer quality improvements.

Part of that was the INMC and we always worked together to meet our goals and in that process Bill was for me a real gentleman and in that I truly respect him as an honourable co-worker for OTC.

John Vossen

Thanks for the memories Peter,

Now that you mention it I recall the esky full of snow at DCA.

I didn’t ever work for Bill that I recall, but he was certainly a recall him as a character that stood out from the crowd.

Warm Regards
Graeme Hanigan

I met him is 1994 when I arrived from the UK. I have seen him in many roles in and out of work since.

He was always interesting but also the same. Bill cared about others before himself, he would gently mock people, not for his amusement but to remind them however good they thought they were they could be better.

Bill liked a drink, he was good fun, he was smart, streetwise, sufficiently political, results driven, modest, more selfless than most, helpful, kind, he demonstrated leadership and vision, he set expectations and judged the effort and not just the result. Bill was fair. He would stop to look around in case people needed help, he would suffer fools gladly but not ar$eholes!

Bill was aware, professional, self-taught, with business acumen that C Levels appreciated, he could have kept working for years as people would value what he offered. He liked Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, he was never boring, he liked to analyse before judging. He wasn’t perfect but he had some qualities that made me want to spend time with him, He met me when he was well, when he became ill he didn’t want to burden me with his problems, I wish he had!

I hope these words will let his family know, that people did not just love Bill as a Dad, Grandad or Husband but loved him for just being Bill.
Paul Wilson.

That is indeed bad news – I was with Bill in KL only a few years ago !

Count me in please to attend his funeral

Best Regards
Tony Kalcina

So sorry to hear of Bill’s passing. He was a great guy to work with.

cheers
Greg Waller

My condolences to Sue and the family for what I know is a tremendous loss.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Bill and I worked together at Optus for several years.

When I first met Bill he was the General Manager of the Integration & Maintenance Engineering Teams and later he helped establish and led the IP and ATM Teams.

I recall him to be a highly skilled professional, an outstanding GM with excellent people skills with a wicked sense of humour (which sometimes took getting used to).

Those were exciting days at Optus and Bill’s contributions were numerous.

I lost track of Bill after he left Optus, but always knew that with his skill set he was going to be successful in whatever he did.

I will always remember Bill and enjoyed our times together.

He will be missed.

Steve Christian

So sorry to hear of Bills passing and deepest sympathies to Sue and all the family.

I started working with Bill at the Optus NOC in Rosebery in 1992. I worked with Bill off and on for the next 20 years at Optus, Hutchison, Ericsson and Vodafone.

Working with Bill could never have been called dull. He inspired a fierce loyalty in his teams and could always be counted on to stand by you in challenging times. Bill was driven and knew how to drive for results, but importantly he was also fun and possessed a wicked sense of humour.

I always had the utmost respect for Bill and the way he ran his operations, and personally am grateful to have learnt a great deal from him.

One of his gems I still use today was advice he gave me when attending work meetings – “its very hard to make a fool of yourself if you just keep your mouth shut”- for me it was a revelation!

A good friend who could always be relied upon, and a proper lad, rest easy Bill.

Tim Broadbent

I first met Bill Millar in the Paddington ITMC where we had many discussion on either side of the IDF while running jumper wires.

Throughout Bill’s career he always managed to make an impression in some way or another. He had a wicked sense of humour and an astute understanding of complex problems and situations. He honed his negotiation skills in the PREI(A) which served him well throughout his career. It was very sad to hear of his passing far too early.

I have fond memories of working with Bill in the ITMC, INMC, AOM and Optus where he excelled in his team building and management skills. Bill was the driving force behind the first Network Traffic Management System in OTC and involved everyone in the development and its subsequent success. Bill will be missed by many and I enjoyed working with him and our social outings where he introduced me to the appreciation of a good coffee and the joys of fine red wine.

You will always be remembered Bill by your many friends and work colleagues.

Ross Smith

I am very sorry to hear of the death of Bill Millar.

He was a very good boss in Optus and a great and well respected member of staff in both OTC and Optus.

I will not be able to attend the funeral service due to my recent surgery and hospitalization but wish to send my apologies.

Please give my regards to Sue.

Best wishes
Keith McCredden