Auguste Joseph François de Bavay (9 June 1856 – 16 November 1944) was a brewer and industrial chemist in Australia.
History
De Bavay was born in
Vilvoorde
Vilvoorde (, french: Vilvorde ; historically known as ''Filford'' in English) is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the city of Vilvoorde proper with its two outlying quarters of Koningslo ...
, Belgium, second son of R. de Bavay, Knight of the
Order of Leopold / a son of Xavier de Bavay and his wife Marie Thérèse de Bavay née de Bontridder.
[
He was educated at a college in ]Namur
Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration.
Namu ...
, and graduated in 1873 qualified as a surveyor. He undertook further studies at Gembloux
Gembloux (; wa, Djiblou; nl, Gembloers, ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium.
On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 21,964 inhabitants. The total area is 95.86 km², yielding a population dens ...
, and found employment as a brewer and chemist. In the late 1870s he left for Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
), where he worked as a plantation manager.
In March 1884 De Bavay arrived in Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
and worked as a brewer at Thomas Aitken's Victoria Parade Brewery. Following E. C. Hansen's discovery of the impact of yeast variety on the beer quality, De Bavay grew Australia's first pure yeast expressly cultured for top-fermentation brewing.
His students included Jack Breheny
John Gerald Breheny (17 May 1910 – 11 February 2009) was an Australian politician.
He was born in Toowoomba in Queensland. In 1951 he was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly as a Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Poli ...
.[
In 1894 De Bavay joined the ]Foster's Group
Foster's Group Pty. Ltd. was an Australian beer group with interests in brewing and soft drinks, known for Foster's Lager, now called Carlton & United Breweries since the company was renamed in 2011. Foster's was founded in 1888 in Melbourne, Vi ...
following a recommendation by Montague Cohen, a director of the company, and made improvements to their lager
Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storage" ...
production. He then joined Cohen in wine production, establishing a vineyard at Woori Yallock
Woori Yallock is a town in Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Woori Yallock recorded a population of 2,964 at the .
The Post Office opened on 1 J ...
in partnership with Cohen.
He also acted as a consultant to Perth's Swan Brewery and Hobart's Cascade Brewery
Cascade Brewery is a brewery established in 1824 in South Hobart, Tasmania and is the oldest continually operating brewery in Australia.
As well as beer, the site also produces a range of non-alcoholic products. It is home to a function cen ...
and, later, Carlton & United Breweries
Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) is an Australian brewing company based in Melbourne and owned by Japanese conglomerate Asahi Breweries. Its notable brands include Victoria Bitter, Carlton Draught, Foster's Lager, Great Northern, Resch's, Pu ...
, in all of which Cohen and Baillieu had an interest.[
In 1889 he proved that Melbourne's water supply was potentially being contaminated by sewage via fireplugs. This led to a State Royal Commission, resulting in removal of the devices and an immediate improvement in quality of the water supply.
De Bavay was attracted to the "sulphide problem" of Broken Hill, where great mounds of potentially valuable ]zinc blende
Sphalerite (sometimes spelled sphaelerite) is a sulfide mineral with the chemical formula . It is the most important ore of zinc. Sphalerite is found in a variety of deposit types, but it is primarily in sedimentary exhalative, Mississippi-Va ...
had accumulated, but could not be shipped economically because of the gangue
In mining, gangue () is the commercially worthless material that surrounds, or is closely mixed with, a wanted mineral in an ore deposit. It is thus distinct from overburden, which is the waste rock or materials overlying an ore or mineral body t ...
content. If an economical method of separating the ore were developed, a great new industry would be created. C. V. Potter and Guillaume Delprat had made useful work on development of froth flotation
Froth flotation is a process for selectively separating hydrophobic materials from hydrophilic. This is used in mineral processing, paper recycling and waste-water treatment industries. Historically this was first used in the mining industry, wher ...
and by July 1904 he had evolved his own process, skin or film flotation.
In 1904 he founded de Bavay's Sulphide Process Co. Ltd, with Cohen and William Baillieu
William Lawrence Baillieu (29 April 1859 – 6 February 1936) was an Australian financier and politician. He was a successful businessman, having developed significant business interests from his relatively humble beginnings. He associated with m ...
, and the following year another company De Bavay's Sulphide Process Co. Ltd to purchase De Bavay's patents.[
In 1909 Amalgamated Zinc (De Bavay's) Ltd was founded to put the process into practice.
After Australia entered the Great War in 1914, De Bavay was approached by the ]Minister for Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
, George Pearce
Sir George Foster Pearce KCVO (14 January 1870 – 24 June 1952) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Western Australia from 1901 to 1938. He began his career in the Labor Party but later joined the National Labor Party, t ...
, to develop a process for production of acetone
Acetone (2-propanone or dimethyl ketone), is an organic compound with the formula . It is the simplest and smallest ketone (). It is a colorless, highly volatile and flammable liquid with a characteristic pungent odour.
Acetone is miscib ...
, needed for manufacture of cordite
Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in the United Kingdom since 1889 to replace black powder as a military propellant. Like modern gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burni ...
. Within two weeks he had developed a process based on the fermentation and distillation of molasses
Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods ...
. He made a gift of the patent to the Commonwealth of Australia.
De Bavay was put in charge of development and erection of the Government's Commonwealth Acetate of Lime Factory.
De Bavay was naturalized in November 1902. He died at his home on Studley Park Road, Kew, Victoria
Kew (;) is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 5 km east from Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Boroondara Local government areas of Victor ...
aged 88. His remains were buried in Melbourne General Cemetery
The Melbourne General Cemetery is a large (43 hectare) necropolis located north of the city of Melbourne in the suburb of Carlton North.
The cemetery is notably the resting place of four Prime Ministers of Australia, more than any other nec ...
.
Recognition
*De Bavay was appointed O.B.E.
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in 1920
*He was appointed Consul for Guatemala in 1906
*He received the Papal decoration Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice
''Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice'' ("For Church and Pope" in Latin) is a decoration of the Holy See. It is currently conferred for distinguished service to the Catholic Church by lay people and clergy.
History
The medal was established by Leo XIII o ...
:He was invested in two Belgian orders:
:*Chevalier of the Ordre de Léopold in 1902
:*Officer of the Ordre de la Couronne
The Order of the Crown (french: Ordre de la Couronne, nl, Kroonorde) is a national order of the Kingdom of Belgium. The Order is one of Belgium's highest honors.
History
The Order was established on October 15, 1897 by King Leopold II in his ...
in 1920
:*Commander of the Ordre de la Couronne
The Order of the Crown (french: Ordre de la Couronne, nl, Kroonorde) is a national order of the Kingdom of Belgium. The Order is one of Belgium's highest honors.
History
The Order was established on October 15, 1897 by King Leopold II in his ...
in 1928
Family
De Bavay married Anna Heinzle (died 27 October 1933) at St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne
The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of Saint Patrick (colloquially St Patrick's Cathedral) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, and seat of its archbishop, currently Peter Comensoli. ...
on 21 March 1885. Their family included:
*Marie de Bavay (16 June 1886 – ) never married
*Captain (Auguste John) Charles de Bavay (12 May 1887 – ) married Vera Tolley (1896– ) on 20 August 1919. He was brewer with Carlton Brewery, she was member of Tolley family, winemakers of South Australia
*Vera de Bavay (19 February 1890 – ) married John Higgs on ?? 1833, lived in Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, England
*(Francis) Xavier de Bavay (8 September 1895 – 23 February 1955) married Dulcie Lucille Cooper ( – ) on 19 June 1922. He was manager of the Cascade Brewerv Co. Ltd, Hobart
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Bavay, Auguste
1856 births
1944 deaths
Belgian emigrants to Australia
Australian physical chemists
Australian brewers
Australian biochemists
Burials at Melbourne General Cemetery