General News
3 July, 2025
Surrounded by love – Remembering Jill Miller
Words like trailblazer and pioneer are thrown around all the time but in the case of Jill Miller, these words don’t come close to describing the significance of her contributions to our community.
Jill, along with her adoring partner Michael McMurtrie, were well-known and deeply loved by their hometown of Pomonal and throughout the Grampians region, so when the pair of them both passed away in March, the loss was felt immensely.
Family, friends and colleagues gathered en masse at Pomonal Estate to farewell Jill with a funeral service on March 30 where Kristie Miller shared stories and fond memories of her beloved mother.
Kristie spoke of her park ranger father, John, and Jill moving from Carlton to Wyperfield National Park soon after they were married where they welcomed their first child, Kristie’s older sister Nadya.
“When Nadi was born, mum and dad had two emu chicks in their most gangly and awkward teenage phase,” said Kristie, “The emus did not think highly of sharing their space with a little cute-as-a-button Nadi.”
“After a few displays of jealously, mum and dad tried to relocate the emus to the other side of the park.
“A long drive back across the park to home after saying goodbye to the teenage emus, was proven useless as the emus greeted them at the front verandah, having found their way home much faster!”
Jill’s mode of transport around Wyperfield National Park was a moke, the open-top design making for one of her most unlikely and remarkable stories.
“One night coming home from work in the very sensible and reliable moke, mum inadvertently picked up a hitchhiker, as a kangaroo jumped through the open side of the moke to sit on the seat beside mum,” said Kristie, “I like to imagine that the two of them looked at each other while considering their options.”
“Then mum swiftly put out her hand and pushed the kangaroo back out, continuing on her way.
“I always wanted to know how the kangaroo told that story to his mob.”
The Millers’ next port-of-call was Brisbane Ranges National Park and while living in Anakie, welcomed their second daughter, Kristie.
When John was appointed the first head ranger of Grampians National Park, the family moved to Halls Gap and so began Jill’s journey as one of the region’s shining lights.
“Halls Gap was a happy place for us,” said Kristie, “lots of beautiful memories of sitting on mum and dad’s bed watching the thunder and lightning storms.”
Once she’d found her feet in Halls Gap, Jill got the ball rolling on a legacy-defining journey which transformed health and wellbeing services in the region forever.
In 1985, Jill started what was then known as the Grampians Community Health Centre in Stawell, the foundation of what’s known today as Grampians Community Health which employs hundreds of people across the Grampians and Wimmera regions.
What Jill managed to do with GCH during her time as CEO is truly remarkable, and the current CEO, Greg Little was effusive in praising his predecessor in a statement following her passing.
“Jill pioneered a community-driven model of care, asking people what they needed and empowering them to shape the solutions,” Mr Little said.
“She led ground-breaking initiatives in aged care, palliative care, mental health, family violence, alcohol and drug support, youth services and so much more.
“From securing one of the first palliative care programs outside major regional centres, to introducing innovative programs like FReeZA and Nexus, Jill’s work transformed lives.
“She was a true trailblazer, securing funding when there was none, advocating when others hesitated, and proving that grassroots, community-led action creates lasting change.”
Mr Little said Jill never saw community health as just services but instead, saw it as people helping people, lifting each other up and creating lasting change together.
“Jill’s impact is felt in every service we provide, in every life we touch and in the very spirit of GCH,” he said.
When recalling the early days of her mother establishing what became a remarkable community health empire, Kristie mentioned it was also a significant time for Jill personally.
“It was sometime around here that mum and Mike met, and started a friendship that would lead to love and a 30-year relationship,” she said, “That meant a larger family to embrace, that continued to grow and evolve over the years.”
Jill’s dedication to the community never got in the way of being there for her daughters, with Kristie saying, “We always knew we shared her with the world, but we got the best of her.”
“One night after coming home from a party mum was still up, as she always was if we were out,” said Kristie, “She told me to look in her hair.”
“I scrabbled through the tangled web to find a possum! A gorgeous baby ring-tailed possum, later named Kata.
“Mum took Kata everywhere, either in her hair or in her little ‘pouch’ handbag.”
When Jill retired, she still went out of her way to serve the community and was widely commended for her leadership and selflessness in her efforts to help the Pomonal community deal with the devastating effects of bushfires in recent years.
When the 2024 fire hit on February 13, Jill and Mike stayed and fought which Kristie points out, meant Jill was there to help the community heal from the outset.
“She led the charge to find everyone a home, make sure people had what they needed and looked after their emotional needs in the amazing way she always had, to be able to get straight to the heart and deeply feel for others,” Kristie said.
Tributes flowed from far and wide for Jill, including a heartfelt acknowledgement during the State Parliament proceedings on March 18 when Member for Lowan Emmy Kealy took time to mention the passing of a local icon.
“I would like to acknowledge the recent passing of Jill Miller from Pomonal,” said Ms Kealy.
“I have known Jill for a very, very long time – from when she was the CEO of Grampians Community Health – and have seen the magic that she has worked within the community of Pomonal through the bushfires earlier this year and more so in the bushfires last February.
“Thank you so much, Jill, your networking and improving of the Pomonal resilience will never be forgotten. Vale, Jill Miller.”
Jill had the opportunity to see cousins from all over the world when they descended on Mauritius for a family gathering, bringing relatives from England, Zambia, South Africa and India together but on the trip, it was evident to Kristie her mother’s health was deteriorating and upon her return to Australia, she was diagnosed with the illness that eventually took her life.
Not one to back down from a challenge, Jill spent three months battling through a series of surgeries, treatments, medications and therapy but over time it was clear that the efforts were in vain.
“We had to admit, we were not going to win this fight,” said Kristie when talking about her mother’s brave showdown with her illness.
Jill’s family arranged for her to spend her final days at home in Pomonal, with a bed in her loungeroom, incense and candles throughout the space, soft music playing, looking out over her stunning garden.
“She held on for a week and a day, during which we had so many people come and sit with her, talking, laughing, crying, sharing stories and a cup of tea, whisky, Cointreau, Baileys and a G-and-T or two,” said Kristie.
“She slowly became less responsive, but she still stayed with us, I feel like she didn’t want to leave the party.”
During this time, on March 11, Jill’s partner Mike tragically died unexpectedly, compounding the pain of an already challenging and emotional time for the family.
“We told Mum, and we believe she understood as she shed three tears,” Kristie said, describing the gut-wrenching moment her dying mother was gently told of her beloved Mike’s passing.
“While I do not believe in God, I had visions of Mike standing at the pearly gates saying ‘I don’t know the code, Jilly does this stuff…She’ll be here soon’ and sure enough, on the morning of the 14th, mum slipped away with a stunning sunrise.” Kristie said.
“I went and crawled into bed with my son, he asked ‘is she gone?’ I replied yes and we just held each other and cried.
“As sad as the whole thing is, it was such a beautiful way to pass, surrounded by love.”