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Joseph Mills

Photo courtesy of Adventist Heritage Centre, Australia.

Mills, Joseph (1883–1927) and Jeanette Glenn Hamilton (Carswell) (1887–1961)

By Milton Hook

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Milton Hook, Ed.D. (Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, the United States). Hook retired in 1997 as a minister in the Greater Sydney Conference, Australia. An Australian by birth Hook has served the Church as a teacher at the elementary, academy and college levels, a missionary in Papua New Guinea, and as a local church pastor. In retirement he is a conjoint senior lecturer at Avondale College of Higher Education. He has authored Flames Over Battle Creek, Avondale: Experiment on the Dora, Desmond Ford: Reformist Theologian, Gospel Revivalist, the Seventh-day Adventist Heritage Series, and many magazine articles. He is married to Noeleen and has two sons and three grandchildren.

First Published: January 28, 2020

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Joseph and Jeanette (Nettie) Mills taught together at the Eastern Training School in Singapore. Joseph Mills later distinguished himself as the founding principal of the New Zealand Missionary College at Longburn. He also served as principal of the Australasian Missionary College at Avondale, New South Wales, and the Darling Range School at Carmel, Western Australia.

Early Years

Joseph Mills was born in Brisbane, Queensland, on October 22, 1883,1 to William and Ann (Salt) Mills.2 They were members of the Wesleyan church, living in Lutwyche, a suburb of Brisbane. Seventh-day Adventists held a series of Bible studies in their home, converting them to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in October 1896. Twenty months later William Mills died with pneumonia, leaving his wife with four sons and four daughters.3

Preparation for Church Service

Six months after his father’s death, Mills was enrolled at the Avondale School for Christian Workers (ASCW), Cooranbong, New South Wales, for the 1899 school year. He was only fifteen years old and worked in the school industries to pay his fees. Some of his work involved learning to operate the job press in the printing department, an asset he used later in the mission field.4

Mills showed promise as a student. He was enrolled again in 1901 and 1902.5 At the end of the school year, October 6, 1902, he graduated from the Business Course and was given employment as a stenographer until the end of the year.6 On January 6, 1903, he began the Advanced Biblical Academic Course, successfully completing it in October of the same year. He was chosen to give an address at the graduation service, his topic was the “Importance of Educational Training for the Lord’s Work.”7

After Graduation

Over the summer following graduation, Mills was employed in stenographic work. In January 1904, he was hired to assist Elder Cobb in a tent crusade at Molong, NSW.8 When the evangelistic series concluded, Mills conducted the small elementary Adventist school at nearby Eugowra for the remainder of the year.9 In 1905, at the age of twenty-one, Mills was appointed to the faculty of his alma mater, the ASCW, to teach business subjects. The following year, he served as secretary of the business department.10

At the Australasian Union Conference session held at the ASCW in October 1906, Mills was assigned to the fledgling Singapore Mission.11 In Singapore, he conducted an elementary school in the mission home for approximately twenty children, including some orphans from Sumatra.12 His printing expertise was utilized to establish a print shop where, with a national apprentice, tracts and a periodical in Singapore-Malay, entitled Zaman Pughabisan (Time of the End), were printed.13

In September 1907, Jeanette Glenn Hamilton Carswell, better known as Nettie, was appointed to teach at the mission school. She was a Scottish girl who had graduated from the Teaching Course at the ASCW twelve months earlier,14 and had completed a missionary nurse’s course at the Sydney Sanitarium.15 The real reason for her appointment soon became obvious. She disembarked at Singapore on October 25 and two days later married Joseph Mills in a simple ceremony performed by Elder Griffiths Jones.16 Together, Joseph and Nettie Mills taught in the newly-constructed mission school named the Eastern Training School.17 They continued teaching here until the end of 1908, when Joseph Mills was reappointed to teach at the Pukekura Training School, New Zealand.18 Nettie Mills, once again, assisted with the teaching.19

The time at Pukekura was interrupted by two evangelistic campaigns. During the southern summer break in November/December 1909 and again in 1911, Mills was called on to assist with tent crusades first, in Christchurch and then, in Foxton.20

The year 1912 was a time of transition for both Mills and the Pukekura School. Mills was left in charge while the property was sold and another purchased for development at Longburn. Only a small group of students attended. At the end of the year, most of the equipment was transferred to Longburn.21 On December 23, 1912, the Pukekura school building was destroyed by fire without the loss of life in what appeared to be an arson attack.22 Mills lost some of his textbooks in the flames and later appealed to church members for a replacement that he felt was indispensable.23

The new school at Longburn was named Oroua Missionary School (a Maori term meaning twice-entered, signifying the second attempt to establish a training institution).24 Mills was elected principal and Nettie Mills did some teaching.25 They lived in a tent for three months, until the main building was completed in April 1913.26 Mills remained at the school as the pioneering principal and business manager until the closing exercises of 1914, then he hurried to assume control of the ASCW, by then renamed Australasian Missionary College (AMC).27

The former principal of ASCW, George Teasdale, had not been re-elected amid controversy. Despite accusations against Teasdale, all aspects of the institution were stable. Mills inherited a good enrollment, excellent staff, and prospering college industries.28 The first year, 1915, was relatively uneventful and, at its close, Mills was given leave to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree.29 Prior to starting his course of study, he was persuaded to return to Oroua Missionary School as principal in 1916,30 a position he held until mid-1920.31 He did not continue his quest for a degree.

A vacancy occurred for principal at the Darling Range School, so Mills moved from New Zealand to take up similar responsibilities in Western Australia. The Mills left Sydney by train to travel across the continent in August 1920.32 Twelve months later he returned to Sydney as a delegate at the Australasian Union Conference Council.33 He was ordained in the Wahroonga church on Sabbath morning, August 6, 1921.34

Mills remained at the Darling Range School until 1923,35 and then was appointed to teach Bible at ASCW, assisting Elder William Fletcher. He also served as manager of the school farm and pastor of the campus church.36 He held these positions until late 1926 when he became ill. From his hospital bed in the Sydney Sanitarium, he penned a final message of encouragement to his former students and colleagues.37 He died on February 8, 1927, and was interred in the Macquarie Park Cemetery, North Ryde, Sydney.38

Mills was highly regarded as an administrator of educational institutions. Tragically, his life was cut short in the midst of a promising and productive career. Nettie Mills and one young adopted daughter, Ferne, together with his seven siblings, were left to mourn.39 Nettie Mills did not remarry. She passed away in 1961.40

Sources

“At the time of going to press…” Australasian Record, August 8, 1921.

Australian Cemeteries Index. Macquarie Park Cemetery. Accessed December 13, 2017. https://austcemindex.com/?cemetery=1728.

Australasian Missionary College Board Minutes, December 20, 1915. South Pacific Division Heritage Centre, Avondale College of Higher Education, Cooranbong, NSW.

“Avondale School.” Union Conference Record, October 15, 1902.

Avondale School Register, 1892-1906. South Pacific Division Heritage Centre, Avondale College of Higher Education, Cooranbong, NSW.

“Brother and Sister Mills sailed for New Zealand…” Australasian Record, March 6, 1916.

“Brother Joseph Mills and wife left Sydney by the Melbourne express…” Australasian Record, September 6, 1920.

“Brother Joseph Mills, the principal…” Australasian Record, June 12, 1916.

Chaney, Bertha. “Closing Days of the Avondale School.” Union Conference Record, October 15, 1903.

“College and Intermediate School Faculties.” Australasian Record, September 24, 1917.

Dever, J[ohn] J. “Janet (sic) Glenn Mills.” Australasian Record and Advent World Survey, May 1, 1961.

“Distribution of Labour.” Union Conference Record, October 1, 1906.

Fletcher, W[illiam] W. “Pastor Joseph Mills obituary.” Australasian Record, February 21, 1927.

Fulton, J[ohn] E. “Visiting New Zealand,” Australasian Record, March 6, 1911.

Hook, Milton. Avondale: Experiment on the Dora. Cooranbong, NSW: Avondale Academic Press, 1998.

Jones, G[riffiths] F. “Singapore.” Union Conference Record, March 9, 1908.

Jones, G[riffiths] F. “Singapore.” Union Conference Record, September 7, 1908.

Joseph Mills Work Service Record. South Pacific Division of the General Conference Archives, Wahroonga, NSW.

Mills, J[oseph]. “Christchurch.” Union Conference Record, January 10, 1910.

Mills, J[oseph]. “Eastern Training School.” Union Conference Record, October 14, 1907.

Mills, J[oseph]. “Foxton Tent Mission in New Zealand.” Australasian Record, January 8, 1912.

Mills, J[oseph]. “Oroua Missionary School.” Australasian Record, June 23, 1913.

Mills, J[oseph]. “Oroua Missionary School, New Zealand.” Australasian Record, September 28, 1914.

Mills, J[oseph]. “Singapore School Work.” Union Conference Record, April 8, 1907.

Mills, Joseph. “The Teacher’s Encouragement.” Australasian Record, January 10, 1927.

“Notes.” Union Conference Record, February 1, 1909.

“Notes and Personals.” Union Conference Record, February 1, 1904.

“On Sabbath morning, August 6, an ordination…” Australasian Record, August 22, 1921.

Pallant, Jesse. “W[illia]m Mills obituary.” The Bible Echo, August 1, 1898.

Piper, H[arold] E. “Ann Mills obituary.” Australasian Record, July 30, 1917.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1904-1926.

“’The Oroua Missionary School’ is the name chosen…” Australasian Record, March 10, 1913.

“We feel sure that all will regret…” Australasian Record, January 13, 1913.

Notes

  1. Joseph Mills Work Service Record. South Pacific Division of the General Conference, Wahroonga, NSW. Work Service Records. Folder: Joseph Mills. Document: “Joseph Mills Work Service Record.”↩

  2. H[arold] E. Piper, “Ann Mills obituary,” Australasian Record, July 30, 1917, 7.↩

  3. Jesse Pallant, “W[illia]m Mills obituary,” The Bible Echo, August 1, 1898, 7.↩

  4. Avondale School Register, 1892-1906, South Pacific Division Heritage Centre, Avondale College of Higher Education, Cooranbong, NSW.↩

  5. Ibid.↩

  6. “Avondale School,” Union Conference Record, October 15, 1902, 8.↩

  7. Bertha Chaney, “Closing Days of the Avondale School,” Union Conference Record, October 15, 1903, 5-6.↩

  8. “Notes and Personals,” Union Conference Record, February 1, 1904. 7.↩

  9. W[illiam] W. Fletcher, “Pastor Joseph Mills obituary,” Australasian Record, February 21, 1927, 7.↩

  10. Avondale School Register, 1892-1906, Avondale College Archives, Cooranbong, NSW. Box: 1487. Folder: “Avondale School Register, 1892-1906.” South Pacific Division Heritage Centre, Avondale College of Higher Education, Cooranbong, NSW.↩

  11. “Distribution of Labour,” Union Conference Record, October 1, 1906, 67.↩

  12. J[oseph] Mills, “Singapore School Work,” Union Conference Record, April 8, 1907, 4.↩

  13. G[riffiths] F. Jones, “Singapore,” Union Conference Record, September 7, 1908, 21-23.6↩

  14. J[oseph] Mills, “Closing Exercises of the Avondale School,” Union Conference Record, October 21, 1906, 5-6.↩

  15. J[ohn] J. Dever, “Janet (sic) Glenn Mills,” Australasian Record and Advent World Survey, May 1, 1961, 6.↩

  16. E[dward] H. Gates, “A Pleasant Occasion,” Union Conference Record, December 9, 1907, 8.↩

  17. J[oseph] Mills, “Eastern Training School,” Union Conference Record, October 14, 1907, 4-5; G[riffiths] F. Jones, “Singapore,” Union Conference Record, March 9, 1908, 3-4.↩

  18. “Notes,” Union Conference Record, February 1, 1909, 7.↩

  19. J[ohn] E. Fulton, “Visiting New Zealand,” Australasian Record, March 6, 1911, 8.↩

  20. J[oseph] Mills, “Christchurch,” Union Conference Record, January 10, 1910, 5; J[oseph] Mills, “Foxton Tent Mission in New Zealand,” Australasian Record, January 8, 1912, 4.↩

  21. J[oseph] Mills, “Oroua Missionary School, New Zealand,” Australasian Record, September 28, 1914, 10-11.↩

  22. “We feel sure that all will regret…” Australasian Record, January 13, 1913, 8.↩

  23. “Brother Joseph Mills, the principal…” Australasian Record, June 12, 1916, 8.↩

  24. “’The Oroua Missionary School’ is the name chosen…” Australasian Record, March 10, 1913, 8.↩

  25. “New Zealand Training School,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1914), 169.↩

  26. J[oseph] Mills, “Oroua Missionary School,” Australasian Record, June 23, 1913, 6.↩

  27. Milton Hook, Avondale: Experiment on the Dora (Cooranbong, NSW.: Avondale Academic Press, 1998), 104-105.↩

  28. Ibid.↩

  29. Australasian Missionary College Board Minutes, December 20, 1915. South Pacific Division Heritage Centre, Avondale College of Higher Education, Cooranbong, NSW. Box: 670. Folder: “Australasian Missionary College Board Minutes 1893-1923.”↩

  30. “Brother and Sister Joseph Mills sailed for New Zealand…” Australasian Record, March 6, 1916, 8.↩

  31. E.g., “College and Intermediate School Faculties,” Australasian Record, September 24, 1917, 7.↩

  32. “Brother Joseph Mills and wife left Sydney by the Melbourne express…” Australasian Record, September 6, 1920, 8.↩

  33. “At the time of going to press…” Australasian Record, August 8, 1921, 8.↩

  34. “On Sabbath morning, August 6, an ordination…” Australasian Record, August 22, 1921, 8.↩

  35. E.g., “Darling Range School,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1922), 161-162.↩

  36. W[illiam] W. Fletcher, “Pastor Joseph Mills obituary,” Australasian Record, February 21, 1927, 7.↩

  37. Joseph Mills, “The Teacher’s Encouragement,” Australasian Record, January 10, 1927, 6.↩

  38. Australian Cemeteries Index, Macquarie Park Cemetery, accessed December 13, 2017, https://austcemindex.com./?cemetery=1728.↩

  39. W[illiam] W. Fletcher, “Pastor Joseph Mills obituary,” Australasian Record, February 21, 1927, 7.↩

  40. J[ohn] J. Dever, “Janet (sic) Glenn Mills obituary,” Australasian Record and Advent World Survey, May 1, 1961, 6.↩

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Hook, Milton. "Mills, Joseph (1883–1927) and Jeanette Glenn Hamilton (Carswell) (1887–1961)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. January 28, 2020. Accessed March 14, 2025. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=680A.

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Hook, Milton. "Mills, Joseph (1883–1927) and Jeanette Glenn Hamilton (Carswell) (1887–1961)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. January 28, 2020. Date of access March 14, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=680A.

Copy to clipboard Download Word File

Hook, Milton (2020, January 28). Mills, Joseph (1883–1927) and Jeanette Glenn Hamilton (Carswell) (1887–1961). Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved March 14, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=680A.

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