Comments on: Tribute to Digby Milner – TVW cine-cameraman

By: David Anderson

David Anderson — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 07:15:54 +0000

My parents were friends of the Milners when I was a child and Keith was always known as “Diggy” not “Digby”.

By: John Arthur

John Arthur — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 05:24:20 +0000

Keeli,
I worked with Macca in the 70s when the old Daily News was at Newspaper House. Macca was a larger-than-life character and all of his colleagues remember him. No-one put a phone down harder than Macca; no-one broke so many early-edition front-page stories about cyclones descending on WA’s northern coastline! He was an extremely proud Australian and a gem!
John Arthur

By: Greg Milner

Greg Milner — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 04:54:02 +0000

Keeli I remember you as a little kid when I worked with your Dad at the Daily in the 1970s. My dad Keith ‘Digby’ Milner was killed in the same aircraft crash. Alan always walked with a limp after the accident. Didn’t stop him enjoying a few hundred beers and a tall story though:-)
Sometime in 1973, just after I started work at the Daily, Alan decided he and I would drive down the Busselton in his car with a miniscule dinghy strapped to the roof, to go crabbing. He picked me up at some ungodly hour of the morning. It was still dark by the time we reached South Fremantle, at which point he announced it was my turn to drive, whereupon we swapped seats and he reached into the back seat and, with much relish, retrieved a cold beer from a whole carton. By the time we got to Busselton there was little of the carton left.
We caught a few crabs, as I recall, and I drove all the way back to Perth.
It was a fun day. Alan certainly enjoyed it:-)

By: Keeli Robson

Keeli Robson — Tue, 22 Jul 2014 08:01:14 +0000

My father was the journalist and growing up it always fascinated me that he had survived a plane crash. He would go on to marry my mother Faye and have two daughters. He did not live to meet his six grandchildren. After battling cancer in his thirties he died at age 45 from a heart attack.

I was not aware he was only 18 at the time, that is so young. It is remarkable that he survived and i remember him telling me he thought he was in a dream when he was flung, deep into the water, and wondered whether he should swim to the top, or just wait until he woke up….. I am glad he chose to swim to the top.

Also there sure wasn’t any insurance in those days. Although his injuries, i think both feet were lacerated, would be bothersome in later life, not to mention emotional scarring, I can still remember him saying all he got as compensation from the West (West Australian Newspapers, who owned the Daily News) was a new suit and shoes!!!.

News reporting can be a dangerous profession, but those involved are addicted. Although my father believed I could be a journalist, he always told me to try something else first (and make a bit of money!!!), but I never got back to the reporting!

He loved his job and could not have done anything else.

Keeli Robson (nee McIntosh).

By: mike brennan

mike brennan — Thu, 30 May 2013 09:25:21 +0000

In the last decade aerial filming has claimed more lives than all other activities combined (excluding war zones).
We have lost three cameramen this year.

It is inherently dangerous.

Mike

By: Quentin Hall

Quentin Hall — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 08:00:08 +0000

My mother told me the story of this – all a bit sad really as it all finally panned out. Apparently my father, Tom Hall, was meant to do this job but my then 2 year old brother spotted a pink and grey galah fall into the water tank. Mom asked dad to get it out and it took longer than first thought. The bird bit my dad for the thanks of being saved and blood was everywhere.

Dad had to phone in to say he was going to be running a bit late – but they put Mr Milner on that job instead as time was important.

Dad said to me (in my teenage years) that he was sleeping on a hot summers weekend in January 1961 on the front veranda (in Wandoo Road, Forestfield where we lived) and he woke and saw and heard Mr Milner telling him, “It’s your turn next”. Apparently dad was mortified. As it wasn’t after 5 PM, it wasn’t as if dad had been on the old beer beforehand either. It really rattled dad (my mother confirmed dad’s story that he was somewhat rattled).

Dad soon got the call to head down to Dwellingup for the bush fires down there. Apparently Channel 7 didn’t have a 16mm film developer up and running and dad hand processed his footage at the dark room at Channel 7, and they got it straight to telecine for the evening news.

He felt that Mr Milner was telling him, “This is a big story for you, Tom”.

Another story about Mr Milner was that he and my father tossed a coin to see who would go to Rome to film the Olympics for TVW 7. My dad lost the toss and I seem to remember hearing about a filmed piece sent back with Mr Milner tossing 3 coins in the Trevi fountain in Rome, saying “This is for you Tom”.

My dad had already been in a plane accident in Newcastle when he was working on the Newcastle Herald. The plane got airborne and the engine conked out – it came down and they hit the fence at the end of the runway.

I often think of Mr Milner as it could have just as easily been my own father on that plane on that particular day – and had that happened, I wouldn’t have been born.