Vale Derek Miller

One of VASA’s longest-standing members and a pioneer of automotive air conditioning, Derek Miller, passed away in February aged 78.

His wife Marie continues to run the Cool Cats Auto Air business in Hervey Bay that Derek established in 1994 – where a huge display of VASA membership certificates inside the office records their long and enthusiastic participation in this association and upholding the values of quality and professionalism.

Marie, whose friendly face is familiar to many in and around the industry from her attendance at many VASA events over the years, shared the following obituary.

Derek Wilson Miller, known to most as Derek, was born on Friday, 11 July 1947 at Camperdown Hospital in Sydney, New South Wales. Being born in NSW, he always joked that it gave him lifelong loyalty to the Blues – and to Fords!

A few years later, Derek welcomed his sister, Keryn, into the family. He attended Balgowlah Boys High School and grew up around the beaches of Manly, where he loved swimming and diving in the harbour while his mum, Phyl, watched nearby enjoying the sun.

Derek’s father, Eric, was a printer and a former prisoner of war of Changi during World War II. His mother worked as a secretary for Dr Seaborn in Sydney. Derek often spoke about his early working years fondly. He started as a pharmacist’s delivery boy, riding his pushbike up and down the hills of Manly. Alongside this, he sold newspapers and later joined his father’s printing factory, learning the trade as a printing press operator and apprentice Linotype operator. As he joked later in life, his time there taught him that “it wasn’t always easy being the boss’s son”. The business was sold in 1968, and Derek’s interests began shifting toward mechanics and motorsport.

Derek developed a passion for speedway and spent many years enjoying it with his friends Bob Pfister, Alan Gittoes, and Tony “The Pom”. His working life moved into the automotive world when he began service station duties in 1965, selling Ford spare parts at Roy Bottle Motors in Manly. From there he worked at Baldwin Ford in Brookvale until 1974.

He then took on a major step in his career, becoming manager at John R. Stevenson’s Auto Air, where he worked for six years. During this time, he also served as Queensland State Manager and managed the Sydney branches. It was here Derek developed deep expertise in vehicle air conditioning systems and became part of the early wave of professionals shaping the industry.

Derek’s contribution to the trade was later recognised when he was mentioned in the industry history book Cool Mavericks, produced by VASA, the leading organisation in the automotive air conditioning industry across Australasia.

Although his name was unfortunately printed incorrectly and he was not interviewed due to his dementia later in life, it remained a proud moment to be acknowledged alongside pioneers in the field.

In 1980, Derek became Spare Parts and Service Manager at Sunford in Caboolture, where he established the air conditioning division known as Suncoast Auto Air within the business.

In 1984, Derek made an unexpected move south to Warrnambool to manage the speedway for a year. He loved telling stories from that time – including how free tickets given to school kids brought in huge crowds, meaning the parents had to come too. One event was so busy that police were not impressed with the extra traffic management required, and people had to be turned away at the gates. Another memorable story involved a sponsor flying a helicopter around the track to help dry it after it had been overwatered – something that only happened “back in the day”.

By 1985, Derek returned to Queensland, settling on Bribie Island where he worked as a courier with Neil and Heather Pugh until the business was sold in 1988.

A deeply significant moment in Derek’s life came on 5 July 1986, just six days before his 39th birthday, when his father Eric passed away in Derek’s arms while Derek was caring for him. Derek carried enormous pride in his father’s service and attended as many ANZAC Day ceremonies as he could over the years, including marches in both Sydney and Brisbane.

Later, Derek and Yvonne leased a service station in Kilcoy, where they built lifelong friendships, including with Alister and Cindy. He went on to manage the RACQ and Kropp’s panel shop in Kilcoy until that business was sold.

In 1994, Derek moved to Hervey Bay and started his own automotive air conditioning business, Cool Cats Auto Air, bringing his years of expertise to the community.

A memorable and unexpected moment came in 1995 in Byron Bay, when Yvonne surprised Derek with a celebrant and family gathered at Christmas time. With a wedding reception already organised without his knowledge, Derek happily married Yvonne on her birthday – Boxing Day. Together they raised Crystal and Sam.

Over the years, Derek became well known in the Hervey Bay automotive community. Starting from his garage at 2 William Street, he grew Cool Cats Auto Air and built many loyal friendships – including plenty of good times and conversations over drinks at The Beach House Hotel Hervey Bay, better known to locals as “the Mello”.

In 2005, Derek met Marie and fell in love again. Together with friends including Tyland and Ian Filmer, and others in the community, they helped shape Wheels on Wide Bay. Derek and Marie married in 2010 and spent years travelling and raising Jasmine as best they could. While others were off climbing mountains during V8 Supercars or Bathurst weekends, Derek was often happier staying behind watching the racing instead.

In 2017, after years of dedication to the business, Marie took over running Cool Cats Auto Air as Derek stepped back from work.

Derek’s later years were challenging, with increasing falls and declining health. After a series of falls between early 2022 and April that year, he was admitted to hospital, where he eventually became bedbound and signs of dementia became clearer.

Despite these hardships, Derek remained someone who believed deeply in inspiring young people to follow their passions – especially in mechanical trades and anything with wheels.

Because of this, Derek’s Ferrari model collection is being passed on not simply as keepsakes, but as inspiration. They are to be shared with others – especially young people – who might find motivation, passion, or purpose through them. Derek believed that sometimes it only takes one kind gesture to spark something meaningful in someone’s life.

Derek will be remembered for his stories, his humour, his dedication to his trade, and his love for motorsport, family, and community.