Ernie Milliken, known in Victoria as the 'Eagle of the Road' was a Coburg Club rider who started winning amateur road races in Melbourne during the 1930s when only 16 years old. In 1931 he entered State Representation Class when he rode for Victoria in the National Amateur Road Championships.
He claimed what was to become a string of Victorian Championships, when in 1931 he won the 20 mile unpaced road title, covering the distance in 53 minutes and 45 seconds.
Milliken stamped his class on the record books in 1932 when he won the Colac to Melbourne road race in 3 hours 45 minutes and 54 seconds, breaking the World Competition road record by 26 minutes.
His 1932 road Championship wins included: the Australian Unpaced Road Championship at Hobart; the Victorian 100 Kilometre Road Title and taking the Australian Paced Road Championship for his Colac fastest ride, in addition to a first and fastest ride in the Goulburn to Sydney Classic establishing a new record for the course.
In 1933 he virtually repeated his 1932 wins. Among the successes were: the Victorian 100 Kilometre Title; the Australian Amateur Title; fastest time in the 100 mile Colac to Melbourne; fastest time in the Goulburn to Sydney Classic; second place in the Australian Unpaced 100 Kilometre Title - beaten by three seconds.
Milliken had an amazing run of success in 1934 and gained fastest time at nearly every start. Included in his wins were the Victorian 100 Kilometre Championship in record time; broke a World 25 mile competition record by winning the Campbellfield Open Road Race with a time of 59 minutes and 6 seconds. Milliken broke 11 race records in 1933.
At 21 years of age (in 1934) he was described as the 'Wizard of the Amateurs' and had no peer amongst amateur road cyclists. Milliken was contracted that year by Bruce Small to ride the Malvern Star bicycle.  Milliken received many accolades in the press for his almost perfect record and was described as probably the greatest road amateur yet seen in this country.
Milliken never won the 'Colac'. He rode alone from scratch in 1933, giving away three minutes to a six-strong chopping block bunch. He was clearly in a class of his own and although he never won, his performances are the most thrilling in the 'Colacs' long history.
Milliken made his debut as a professional in the Gippsland 100, an Open handicap, in 1934. On a bleak windy day he went 'hunger flat' at 70 miles and pulled out.  But soon after he finished second in the Tour of Tasmania, a hundred mile scratch race, behind R.W. 'Fatty' Lamb. In third place was a fellow called, Oppy.  Then came the Centenary Thousand, a 1000 miles through Victoria during Melbourne's centenary celebrations in 1934. Milliken, together with several other stars, lost his chance in a bitterly cold, rain swept ride up Mount Buffalo in the Australian Alps.
He could not take the cold and was almost frozen to his machine. He remarked afterwards that someone gave him a rain drenched blanket and - he was so cold that even that felt warm.
In 1935 Milliken went to England with 'Oppy', 'Hefty' Stuart, Harold and Eddie Smith and New Zealand's Hubert Turtill. The team managed by Malvern Star's Bruce Small toured England and Europe with the aim of breaking point to point distance records and competing in the World Championships. The group was sponsored in part by companies such as Malvern Star and Barnett Class Tyres.
Milliken smashed the UK London-Brighton-London record of 4 hours 9 minutes and 43 seconds, then teamed with Stuart and Oppy in breaking a long string of UK tandem records on the road.  He was reported as being somewhat disillusioned as he couldn't get a crack at some of the more difficult and prestigious road records on the tour. This assignment fell in Hubert Opperman's lap as he was the number one ranked Australian and Malvern Star's leading cyclist.
Both Milliken and Opperman lined up for the Professional Road Title, held in Belgium in 1935. Opperman finished eight but Milliken had mechanical trouble and withdrew on lap seven of the eight and half mile circuit.  Harold Smith rates Ernie Milliken as the top amateur and professional road rider of the 1930s. Harold Smith recalls, "Milliken rode some very hard races during the UK tour. He didn't get the pick of the races and was paid poorly for his efforts. Ernie was the fastest rider on the UK tour."
Harold explained that Milliken was very dissatisfied with professional road racing and the treatment handed out by promoters. "Milliken rode very well as a professional right up to the beginning of World War two", Harold said.
The cycling newspaper, The Referee, described Milliken as One of the greatest road cyclists Australia produced.'
He retired from racing in 1938. I believe Ernie Milliken was one of the Greats in road racing, amateur and professional. I believe he was better than Bill Moritz - he had a certain something extra like all great Champion road racers had.
He was one of the finest athletes and cyclists I have ever known - he was very straight.  Perhaps the greatness of Ernie Milliken can best be summed up in the words of former VACU, handicapper Mr. C.J. 'Mick' Gray who described him as the best road rider he was privileged to handicap.
A display of Ernie Milliken's road Championship sashes and medallions is exhibited in the Australian Gallery of Sporting Fame at the Melbourne Cricket Ground - a fitting tribute to a great Australian road cyclist.  Was it any wonder the Victorians christened him:

'The Eagle of the Road'..................