Summary
Photograph of Otto Emil Müller (Muller/Miller) and his son Ralph. The photograph was taken in 1914 whilst Otto was serving as the Citizen Military Force Area Officer in Horsham.
Otto Emil Müller was born in 1881 in Horsham to German born Parents Sophie Landmann and Heinrich Wilhelm (or Henry William) Müller. During the Boer War he enlisted with the Fifth Victorian Contingent as a private (later promoted to corporal and sergeant). He later became involved in the Citizen Military Force in Horsham, becoming an officer for the Cadets in 1911 and a Area Officer in 1912. Outside the army he worked as a builder and contractor.
In 1912 he married West Melbourne-born Elsie Foster Fraser and in 1913 their son Ralph (the baby in the photograph) was born. An unfortunate indicent occured in December 1914 when the young family, and their car, plowed into a Salvation Army meeting, knocking down six people aged 6 to 74, causing commotion in Horsham.
During World War I Otto tried unsuccessfully to apply for a officer's commission in the AIF to go overseas. The War also brought some other changes: some time between the end of 1915 and the start of 1916 he changed his German-sounding surname Müller or Muller for the more English sounding Miller.
After his building business went bankrupt in 1926 he moved to Keswick in South Australia where he and Elsie lived till they passed away - Elsie in 1945 and Otto in 1953.
Description of Content
A officer, wearing a sword, standing on a verandah and holding a baby. The baby is wearing the officer 's hat.
More Information
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Collection Names
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Collecting Areas
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Acquisition Information
Copied from Elizabeth Ward, 22 Mar 1985
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Place & Date Depicted
Horsham, Victoria, Australia, 1914
The house in question might be 38 O'Connor Street, Horsham. The house has a similar layout, and it matches the discription of one of the houses auctioned off when Muller went bankrupt in 1926 ("Newly erected building in O'Connor Street, Near High School" - 1926 'Advertising.', The Horsham Times, 8 October, p. 2) . -
Person Depicted
Otto E. Muller
The officer in the photo. -
Person Depicted
Ralph Muller
Ralph is the baby in the photo. -
Individuals Identified
Miller, Otto; Miller, Ralph
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Format
Negative, 35 mm, Black & White
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Classification
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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Keywords
Babies, Houses, Soldiers, Swords, Verandahs, Wars & Conflicts, World War I, 1914-1918