Grace Millane was last seen alive on Saturday December 1.

The man charged with killing British backpacker Grace Millane has pleaded not guilty to her murder.

The 27-year-old briefly appeared at the High Court in Auckland on Wednesday in front of Justice Simon Moore.

A trial date was also set down for November 4, for three weeks.

SUPPLIED British backpacker died in Auckland while travelling in December 2018.

Justice Moore continued the man's interim name suppression until either an appeal was filed or abandoned by the man's lawyer, Ian Brookie.

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* Grace Millane murder accused appears in court in Auckland

​Millane, 21, vanished on the eve of her birthday on December 1 while staying in Auckland.

BASILDON ECHO Hundreds of mourners turned out for the funeral of Grace Millane in her home country.

The advertising graduate and artist had been travelling New Zealand when she disappeared, sparking a huge police investigation.

Her family raised the alarm when they became concerned she hadn't been in contact with them since December 1, which was unusual, they said, as she normally kept in touch daily.

A police appeal for sightings of Millane followed on December 4 and her father David Millane flew to Auckland to help with the search.

In a tearful press conference, he appealed for anyone with information, "no matter how small" to come forward.

In the days that followed, the search for Millane concentrated on studying CCTV footage and searches of the CityLife hotel on Queen St. Police also seized a "vehicle of interest".

Millane's body was found in West Auckland's Waitākere Ranges on December 9 - a week after she first went missing.

The man accused of her murder appeared at Auckland District Court the next day, where he was granted interim name suppression after an appeal by Brookie.

Despite that, some international media published his name following his court appearance.

Justice Moore gave a strict warning to the media and people in the public gallery not to take any photographs of the defendant after a member of the public gallery took a picture in the District Court, which was later published on the internet.

The accused was remanded in custody until his next court appearance on April 3.