Note: Louis was aged about 12 when he arrived in South Australia with his parents by the "Pauline" from Bremen on 27 Sep 1846. Some information concerning him appears in "Five Creeks of the River Torrens", edited by J.R. Warburton, 1977. This book states that Louis was born at Osnabruck in 1835, was aged 10 on arrival, & that after his schooling he became a bullock driver, shepherd & stock rider & at the discovery of gold in Victoria went to the diggings where he met with considerable success. He returned to Adelaide with the intention of taking his brother Frederick Daniel Wilhelm, but known as William, back with him only to discover that William was already in Victoria, so back he went to Bendigo to join him.
They gold mined for a time then started the first garden & dairy at Emu Creek & for some years carried on a large milk trade with Bendigo & at the same time they carried on a produce business between Adelaide & Bendigo. Some of this information appeared in the Morrison Biographies (Volume 2, page 762), Mortlock Library, Adelaide. In 1858 the brothers returned permanently to South Australia & Louis joined the second expedition of John McDouall Stuart. Extracts are from "John McDouall Stuart" by Mona Stuart Webster published in 1958.
The party consisting of Stuart & three men left Glen's Station on 2 Apr 1859. These were botanist David Herrgott, Louis Muller & a stockman named Campbell. Stuart's diary records that on April 15 & 16 the horses wandered during the night & Muller went in search of them & during this he let his own horse get away & he had to spend the night away from camp without fire, blankets or food. He returned to camp next morning still without his horse & received no sympathy from his leader, Stuart, who had no mercy for inefficiency. Loss of a horse could mean death in that country. So Campbell & Louis Muller were sent out to find the missing animals & were not to return without them. Stuart, Herrgott & Muller went to the Davenport Range in May & Louis was sent to ride around Mt. Younghusband & reported back that "the feed was splendid, right to the top of the mount" also "it was wonderful country, scarcely to be believed". He had been "long at the Victorian gold diggings & said he had not seen any place that resembled those diggings so much". That entry of the Start diary was on June 6 (1859). By July 3 they were back at Glen's Station & Stuart wrote:- "I have much pleasure in stating that Mr.Hergott, my botanist, & Mr..Louis Muller my stockman have afforded in their several capacities all assistance in their power & conducted themselves to my satisfaction." (Louis had been forgiven the trouble over the horses). They returned to Adelaide.
Stuart's third expedition was from October 1859 to January 1860 & his party had W.D. Kekwick as second in command, Louis Muller, H. Strong & Smith (no initials). Kekwick had also been to the gold diggings. On the return journey rations were cut down to 3 pounds of flour, 8 ounces of meat & a small amount of sugar per week & this caused the behaviour of Strong & Muller to disappoint Stuart who wrote:- "they have been a consistent source of annoyance to me from the very beginning of my journey. The man I had out with me on my last journey (Muller) is the worst of the two......... they appear to take no interest in the success of this expedition...." They travelled through great heat & dry country to Chambers Creek where Muller & Strong insisted on returning south & left the expedition in January 1860. Smith had deserted in the previous November & narrowly escaped with his life. Kekwick was to die in 1872 while on the W.C. Gosse expedition leaving a widow & four young children. After this, in 1860, Louis was engaged with Phillip Levi to pilot the first cattle to the most distant northern station on the Peak where he remained in charge of the Run for the next two or three years. In 1874 he purchased the "Maid & Magpie" Hotel, Stepney, from George Muller who had built the first small tavern in 1848 when the area was called Second Creek. The story of the "Maid & Magpie" Hotel is told in more detail in Daniel Muller's history above. His mother had held the licence from 1864 when the father died. Eventually Louis entirely re-built the "Maid & Magpie" as it is now & owned it until his death. From 1885 he & his family lived at St. Peters.
Louis at the age of 32 had married 19 year old Elizabeth Denby in 1866. Her family had come from Snaith, Yorkshire, originally where they have been traced back to 1712. Elizabeth's father THOMAS DENBY (1816-1899) was baptised at Snaith & was the 5th. son of JOHN DENBY who ran the home farm for the Dawnay family of Cowick Hall which was built between 1660 & 1690 for Sir John Dawnay who in 1680 was created first Viscount Downe. (The Dawnay family occupied Cowick Hall until 1869). John Denby & his family lived at the Lodge on the property where they are buried in the Dawnay private burial ground, & not at the churchyard of St. Laurence's, Snaith, as would be expected.
Thomas became a tailor & lived & worked at Soho, London where he narried MARY ANN DEMPSEY (1825-1886). They emigrated to South Australia by the "Westminster" & arrived in July 1848 with two children, the younger being Elizabeth who was born at Soho, London in 1847. Thomas Denby is recorded as farming at Findon but apparently this was not successful as he returned to his tailoring trade & lived at Stephney. The Denbys had eleven children. They were buried at the Payneham Cemetery. The children of Elizabeth & Louis were born at the '"Maid & Magpie". Louis died (of cancer) at his St.Peters residence on 23 Mar 1891, aged 56 years.
THE LATE MR. L. MULLER - We record with regret the death of Mr. Louis Muller who expired at East Adelaide on Monday morning. The late gentleman was a thorough bushman, & had the distinction of accompanying McDougall Stuart on his first & second trips (Note: error, second & third expeditions) into the interior. For many years he was the land-lord of the "Maid & Magpie", a property which he owned up to the time of his death. Mr. Muller represented St. Peters ward in the local Corporation for two years & had for the past six years resided at Sixth Avenue, East Adelaide. He was a great sufferer from cancer during the two concluding years of his life. The remains of the late Mr. Louis Muller were buried in the Payneham Cemetery on Tuesday in the presence of a number of relatives & friends. It may be interesting to know that the late gentleman took charge of the first cattle that went into the interior on behalf of Mr. Phillip Levi. He thus opened up the first cattle track in the far north. He had a thorough knowledge of the water courses then known. Muller's Springs and Muller's Range were named after the deceased gentleman who was in the Colony altogether forty-five years.