Brian Millett

13/04/1933 - 18/07/2025

It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Mr Brian Millett, a long serving staff member of the School, who gave devoted service of 26 and a half years to Trinity between 1971 and 1997. In his time at Trinity, Mr Millett worked closely with three Headmasters – James Wilson-Hogg, Roderick West and Milton Cujes.

Born in Walcha NSW and educated at Armidale High School, Mr Millett came to Trinity in August 1971, after teaching in single-teacher schools in country NSW, in London, at the RAAF School in Penang Malaysia, at Campbelltown East Primary School and at Aiwo Primary School on Nauru Island, Central Pacific.

Initially appointed as a Teacher of English and History, Mr Millett gained rapid promotions at Trinity, first as Registrar and Second Master in the mid-1970s, and then, from 1985, as Master of the Senior School, and in 1996 as Master of the Middle School. He was for 25 years, a key member of the Headmaster’s Executive team.   

For more than two decades, Mr Millett was the visible face of Trinity for many boys and their parents – his ability to provide a warm welcome, as well as an affable and friendly one, gave these new parents, and their sons, a sense of the open-heartedness of the School, that they would treasure from that moment on. Mr Millett was also instrumental in the development of a structured system of pastoral care at the School, from the mid-1970s through to the mid-1990s, that set thousands of young Trinity men on the education journey of their mind, body and spirit, enabling Trinity to live to its ambition, today, of ‘growing good men’.

Mr Millett had a passion for poetry and literature and at Trinity, he immersed himself into all aspects of School life – sports, particularly Rugby, theatre, literary events - including directing the annual Shakesperean Festival for 25 years - and he established the Cartesian Society, to capture the interest, intellect and loyalty of senior boys. They say that a great teacher leaves an imprint on the World like a stone thrown in a pond, the ripples spreading outward, and leaving a legacy that each of their students keeps paying forward, throughout their lives. No teacher embodies that more than Brian Millett, who, for nearly half a century of teaching – the majority at Trinity - changed thousands of lives profoundly, and for the better.

Mr Millett coached Rugby for nearly every year of his time at Trinity and was the School’s Director of Rugby from 1994-97. Many Trinity Old Boys would remember Mr Millett as their Rugby Coach, and his teams were incredibly successful over the years, following his desire for his teams to have fun, as well as play good Rugby.

During his Trinity years, Mr Millett accumulated professional qualifications – a Bachelor of Arts from New England University, a Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of Sydney, and numerous other professional teaching qualifications and accreditations.

A highlight of Mr Millett’s Trinity years was in 1989, when he spent a year on the staff of Appleby College, in Ontario, Canada. It was the experience of a lifetime, opening windows into another school and a different culture. He and Mrs Millett stayed at Appleby’s Arctic outdoor education centre, Lake Termagami, which was similar to Trinity’s Pine Bluff at the time. The Appleby link was maintained for many years with teacher exchanges and several Trinity boys spending a GAP year there in the 1990s.

In all of his enthusiasms, Mr Millett was totally supported by his wife Penny, who was constantly by his side and assisted with countless dramatic productions, attended numberless school functions, and for many years assisted him with the TGS School Archives. Mr Millett was, in fact, the founder of the TGS Archives.

On leaving Trinity in early 1998, to retire, one of his colleagues shared that it would be hard to conceive a Millett-less Trinity, to which Mr Millett responded, it was just as hard for him to conceive a Trinity-less Millett. That same colleague said of Mr Millett at the time of his retirement, that he enjoyed banter, repartee, a well-produced play or concert, a good game of Rugby and a glass of well-matured single malt whiskey. Mr Millett was outstandingly loyal to Trinity, to its boys, the staff and to the Headmasters he served. He championed causes – be they issues of ethnic awareness, social justice, or educational opportunity. And over the last 28 years, since his retirement, Mr Millett maintained very regular contact with the School.

And, in retirement from Trinity since mid-1998, he was in Yass, where the Millett’s settled well, and where they threw themselves into the town’s cultural life, elevating its vibrancy to new levels. In retirement, Mr Millett was President, and then the inaugural Patron of Yass FM Radio, and for two decades, the Secretary of the Yass Music Club. He was heavily involved for many years with Rotary and the Men’s Shed, Y3A and probably countless others that I’m just not aware of.

Mr Millett was a man who often put others before himself, a man of Service to many Schools – particularly Trinity Grammar School – a man of passion and enthusiasm to the things he loved – and there were many - and a Community man, loved by all the communities in which he lived, and fully participated in.

Mr Millett is survived by his wife Penny who is in Yass, and his legacy lives on with his sons, who attended Trinity (Simon (Class of 1977), Andrew (Class of 1978) and Jason (Class of 1981)), and a daughter Tara, and their 10 children and 6 great grandchildren.

A Memorial Service for Mr Millett, which I attended, was held in Yass on 6th August 2025. The Memorial Service was such a significant celebration of his life, where both memories of grief and gratitude intertwined, and the Service demonstrated so well his significant presence and legacy.

The stories, memories and tributes beautifully highlighted his many passions, not least amongst them his love of Poetry and Literature and Song, and the pieces during the Service, from Dylan Thomas, from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, from Robert Frost, from Joan Baez, and from T. S. Eliot, helped in giving me, and others there, the ability to love this Man, Brian Millett, in Death, as we did in Life.

Brian Millett lived a good, full, honourable life, and packed into it more than the vast majority could dream of – he was worldly, adventurous, a man of intellect, integrity, loyalty and compassion - and I, and many of you, felt privileged to have known him, and the Trinity Community mourns his passing.

With warm regards,

Richard Bishop (’87)
Director of Alumni Relations