- by Ron Hall
- The Guardian
- Issue #2118
Beryl Miller second from right. Photo: Michael Perth
One of the Party’s longest serving members, Beryl Miller, recently turned 98 and is still a keen reader of the Guardian – Workers’ Weekly. Over the years, she has sold countless copies of Party newspapers in South Australia.
At the age of 15 she joined the Eureka Youth League, becoming a member of the Communist Party of Australia in 1952. After her marriage to Alan in 1945, she came to live in Adelaide.
Beryl was very active in the Union of Australian Women, as well as the Women’s International Democratic Federation and the Australian Peace Committee. In 1971 she became a foundation member of the Socialist Party of Australia.
In 1964 Beryl represented South Australia when the Communist Party of Australia organised the first women’s delegation to the Soviet Union.
Beryl continued her solidarity into the 1990s. During the special period for Cuba caused by the changes taking place in the Soviet Union, the Australia Cuba Friendship Society in South Australia was urgently organising medical supplies to ship to Cuba. This required hours of sorting, packing and finally loading the supplies into a container. Both Beryl and her husband Alan despite being in their older years, didn’t hesitate to help and the Cuba Friendship Society was very grateful for their support.
The South Australian Branch of the CPA is privileged to have been served for so long by such a dedicated comrade as Beryl Miller.
