C. J. De Garis
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Clement John ("Jack") De Garis (22 November 188417 August 1926) was an Australian entrepreneur and aviator. He worked in the
dried fruit Dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Dried fruit has a long tradition of use dating back to th ...
s industry in the
Sunraysia Sunraysia is an illdefined district, sometimes incorrectly referred to as an economic region, located in northwestern Victoria and southwestern New South Wales in Australia. The region is renowned for its sunshine, intensive horticulture inclu ...
area around
Mildura Mildura is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 in 2021. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point and Merbein are included, the area had ...
in the early 20th century, and was noted for his vibrant personality and colourful marketing style.


Early years

Clement John De Garis was the son of Elisha or Elizee De Garis, a noted irrigationist, and the younger brother of
Mary De Garis Mary Clementina De Garis (16 December 1881 – 18 November 1963) was an Australian medical doctor. During World War I she worked at the Ostrovo Unit in Serbia for the Scottish Women's Hospitals and after the war worked at Geelong Hospital i ...
, a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery who served as a Chief Medical Officer of a field hospital in
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. He went to Mildura State School where he was described as an above-average student. However, he left at the age of nine to work in his father's businesses in Mildura. He returned to school for his secondary education at his father's urging, boarding at
Wesley College, Melbourne , motto_translation = Dare To Be Wise , slogan = A ''True'' Education (2010 – Present) , established = 18 January 1866 , type = Independent, day & boarding , gender ...
from 1899 to 1901, where he rose to become
dux ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, ''dux' ...
of his class. Described as being short in stature, he capitalised on an affectionate smile and a magnetic personality. He excelled in school
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
and
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, in which, despite his size, being only tall and weighing only , he confounded opposition players and coaches.


Career

De Garis' father had established a successful
market garden A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or s ...
business in Mildura from about 1885. In 1908 the day-to-day business was left to C. J., and Elisha moved to Melbourne establish a selling agency for the business. C. J. was just 17, but had a strong self-belief and effervescent charm. Theatrical entrepreneur Claude Kingston described him as the 'prince of ballyhoo'. De Garis expanded the business rapidly, and in 1910 borrowed heavily to establish a packing shed, Sarnia Packing Pty Ltd, which later became part of the Sunbeam Foods Group. In 1913 he borrowed again to purchase the Pyap Village Estate at Pyap, near Loxton in
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
. The estate was moderately successful as a farm produce settlement, but in 1921 it was broken up and sold to fund De Garis's Kendenup venture. £23,000 was raised from the sale. In 1919, a shortage of shipping space hit the dried fruits industry which was, at that time, highly dependent on British markets. Realising his ability to market, the Australian Dried Fruits Association funded De Garis to undertake an Australia-wide publicity campaign to increase domestic consumption. He also expanded into book publishing, as well as producing the ''
Sunraysia Daily The ''Sunraysia Daily'' is a local newspaper in the north-western Sunraysia region of Victoria, Australia, it is published on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. From its first publication in 1920 until 14 September 2007, it was published ...
'' newspaper in Mildura, which employed nearly 100 staff. Also in 1919, De Garis exposed a con-man, with a 'rank but not-too-well-sustained American accent', named George Henry Cochrane. Cochrane wrote for '' The Bulletin'' as "Grant Hervey", and had recently been released from prison for forgery and uttering. Cochrane emerged in Mildura and presented himself to two thousand Mildura citizens, selling the idea that western Victoria, including Mildura, should
secede Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a polity, political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former republics of ...
from
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
. He started receiving £5 subscriptions before De Garis revealed his true identity and criminal record. As part of his dried-fruits marketing De Garis travelled to
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
where, in 1920, he purchased the property of the Hassell family at Kendenup, for the purpose of building a new settlement to grow apples, potatoes and farm produce. He subdivided the land into blocks ranging from to , and set up the De Garis Kendenup (W.A.) Development Company, and the Kendenup Fruit Packing Company, which ran a dehydrating factory to process vegetables and fruit grown by the 350 settlers who he had encouraged into the area. In December 1921, De Garis and his family were living there, and the enterprise was under way, with a townsite being established. However the settlement eventually foundered. It had insufficient capital and the lot sizes were uneconomically small. De Garis travelled to the United States to raise urgently needed capital, which was promised but was never forthcoming. After two years, only 30 settlers remained. The collapse of the settlement was the subject of a 1923 Western Australian Royal Commission into Kendenup land schemes, in which fraud had been alleged. De Garis was eventually cleared of any charges.


Artistic endeavours

De Garis wrote a four-act military drama ''Ambition Run Mad'', which was published both as a booklet and in serial form, in the ''
Murray Pioneer The ''Murray Pioneer'' is a weekly newspaper published since 1892 in Renmark, South Australia. It is now owned by the Taylor Group of Newspapers. History The forerunner of the newspaper was the ''Renmark Pioneer'' (9 April 1892 – 4 July 191 ...
'' newspaper in 1915. As part of his publicity campaign for the Australian Dried Fruits Association, De Garis engaged the services of popular composer
Reginald Stoneham Reginald Alberto Agrati Stoneham (1879 – 11 March 1942) was an Australian composer and publisher of mostly topical songs, and a musical comedy '' F.F.F.'' He was perhaps Australia's leading exponent of jazz and ragtime piano styles in the firs ...
to put tunes to promotional lyrics he had written. The resulting ''Sun-Raysed Waltz'' was published as sheet music. He and Stoneham then worked on an ambitious "mystery" musical comedy '' F.F.F.'', which had a short but successful season for
Hugh D. McIntosh Hugh Donald "Huge Deal" McIntosh (10 September 1876 – 2 February 1942) was an Australian theatrical entrepreneur, sporting promoter and newspaper proprietor Early life McIntosh was born on 16 September 1876, to Hugh Fraser McIntosh, a Scottis ...
's Tivoli theatres in
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
and
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 ...
in late 1920.


Aviation

De Garis described himself as an
aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
, and he owned several aeroplanes, but the reality was that he employed pilots to ferry him between Australian cities to carry on his business interests. Nevertheless, in an era of pioneer aviation, his intense involvement was considered relatively dangerous, and at one stage he was asked by investors to refrain from use of aeroplanes for transport. With his pilots, De Garis set several interstate flying records. His first plane, which he acquired in June 1920, was a
Boulton Paul P.9 The Boulton & Paul P.9 was a British single-engined two-seat biplane aircraft built by Boulton & Paul Ltd. Design and development The P.9 was an enlarged development of the P.6 single-engined biplane, with a longer fuselage and a increase ...
, and was flown by pilot Lieutenant A.L. Lang ( AFC). Later in 1920, after the P.9 had crashed, De Garis purchased a
Sopwith Gnu The Sopwith Gnu was a 1910s British touring biplane, designed and built by the Sopwith Aviation & Engineering Company of Kingston-upon-Thames. It was one of the first cabin aircraft designed for civil use. Design and development Designed for t ...
for £1,800. In July 1920 he employed Lieutenant
Francis Stewart Briggs Francis Stewart Briggs (18 September 1897 – 21 July 1966) was a pioneering Australian aviator. Frank Briggs learnt to fly with the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War. During the Peace Conference in 1919 he flew delegates between Londo ...
as his permanent pilot. He also purchased an
Airco DH.4 The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited (Airco) was an early British aircraft manufacturer. Established during 1912, it grew rapidly during the First World War, referring to itself as the largest aircraft company in the world by 1918. Air ...
. De Garis's first major interstate flight was in the DH.4 from Melbourne to
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, the first time Australia had been crossed by air from east to west, a distance of . The plane landed at
Belmont Park Racecourse Belmont Park Racecourse is one of the two major horse racing venues within the Perth, Western Australia metropolitan area, the other being Ascot Racecourse, and is located just outside of the central business district on the Burswood Peninsula ...
on 2 December 1920, after 19 hours 10 minutes. One stretch of was done in 8¾ hours. De Garis, Briggs and their mechanic, Sergeant Stoward, were given a mayoral reception on their arrival in Perth. On 14 December they flew from Perth to
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, a distance of in a time of 21½ hours. Another notable flight was from Mildura to Sydney (5½ hours) and on to
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
(4 hours 50 minutes), in January 1921. Then, on 16 January, they set off on a one-day flight from Brisbane to Melbourne, leaving at 6:15 am and reaching their destination at 7:20 pm, a flying time of 10½ hours. Stopovers were made in Grafton, Sydney and
Cootamundra Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. ...
.


Decline

The Kendenup collapse coincided with a number of other financial failures within his empire. With mounting debts, he disappeared, leaving his car at Mentone and having apparently drowned in
Port Phillip Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...
on 5 January 1925. He had written almost seventy farewell letters. His letter to Stoneham read: :"You will have the papers by now, and will have seen what has become of me. The strain has been too long and too strong, and I have cracked up under it. I hope, however, for the sake of dear Vy that my new song "Moonoloo", turns out a winner, for she will need to get every penny she can. Think as pleasantly as you can of me, who came nearer to being a big success than people think; and who consequently became the greatest failure. Regards and regrets.–De Garis." Suspicions that De Garis was still alive soon surfaced and he became the subject of an eight-day nationwide search. He was apprehended the following week after arriving in
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, on the . On 17 August 1926, with debts of £420,000, De Garis committed suicide by gassing himself at his Mornington home. Shortly before he died, an
autobiographical novel An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction. ...
''Victories of Failure: A Business Romance'' (1925) was published in which he described his life and business career in great detail in the guise of "K.J. Rogers". De Garis married Rene (née Corbould) in September 1907; they had three daughters, and divorced in May 1923. The following month he married his former private secretary Violet (née Austin), with whom he had one daughter. De Garis is buried at
Brighton Cemetery Brighton General Cemetery is located in the Melbourne suburb of Caulfield South, Victoria, but takes its name from Brighton, Victoria. History The Cemetery pre-dates the Caulfield Roads Board - the first official recognition of the suburb of Ca ...
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 ...
.


References


Further reading

*Dunstan, K., ''Ratbags'' (1980). *''Melbourne Punch'' 15 January 1925. *''The Age'' 18 & 19 August 1926. *''The Argus'' 18 August 1926. *''The Herald'' 13 & 14 January 1925, 17 & 19 August 1926. {{DEFAULTSORT:De Garis, Jack People from Mildura 1884 births 1926 suicides Australian aviators Suicides by gas Suicides in Victoria (Australia) People who faked their own death 20th-century Australian businesspeople