Auguste de Bavay
Auguste Joseph François de Bavay | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Vilvoorde, Belgium |
| Died | November 16, 1944 (aged 88) Kew, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Industrial chemist, brewer |
| Known for | Development of pure yeast strain for brewing; de Bavay's flotation process; acetone production method during WWI |
Auguste Joseph François de Bavay (9 June 1856 – 16 November 1944) was an Australian industrial chemist and brewer.
History
Born in Vilvoorde, Belgium, De Bavay was the second son of R. de Bavay, who held the title of Knight in the Order of Leopold. He completed his education in Namur, earning a surveyor's qualification in 1873, followed by further studies at Gembloux. Subsequently, he worked professionally as both a brewer and chemist. In the late 1870s, he managed a plantation located in Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka).
De Bavay arrived in Melbourne in March 1884 and took up employment at Thomas Aitken's Victoria Parade Brewery. Inspired by E. C. Hansen's findings regarding yeast's influence on beer quality, he pioneered the cultivation of Australia's first pure yeast strain for top-fermentation brewing techniques. Among his protégés was Jack Breheny.
In 1894, upon the recommendation of director Montague Cohen, De Bavay joined the Foster's Group where he enhanced their lager brewing methods. Together with Cohen, he co-founded a vineyard at Woori Yallock and offered consultancy services to several breweries including Perth's Swan Brewery, Hobart's Cascade Brewery, and later to Carlton & United Breweries, all enterprises connected with Cohen and Baillieu.
In 1889, De Bavay detected contamination risks within Melbourne's water supply caused by fireplugs. His findings led to a State Royal Commission, resulting in the removal of these devices and subsequent improvements in water quality.
He tackled the "sulphide problem" encountered at Broken Hill, where transporting zinc blende ore was uneconomical due to its gangue content. Building on froth flotation research by C. V. Potter and Guillaume Delprat, De Bavay developed his own skin or film flotation technique by 1904. That year, he established de Bavay's Sulphide Process Co. Ltd alongside Cohen and William Baillieu, followed by a second company to secure his patents. In 1909, Amalgamated Zinc (De Bavay's) Ltd was formed to commercialize this flotation process.
During World War I, Defence Minister George Pearce commissioned De Bavay to devise an acetone production method essential for cordite manufacture. Within a fortnight, he developed a fermentation process utilizing molasses and generously transferred the patent rights to the Commonwealth of Australia. He supervised the establishment of the Government's Commonwealth Acetate of Lime Factory.
De Bavay became a naturalized Australian citizen in November 1902. He passed away at his residence in Kew, Victoria at age 88 and was interred at Melbourne General Cemetery.
Recognition
- Awarded the O.B.E. in 1920.
- Served as Consul for Guatemala beginning in 1906.
- Received the Papal honor Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice.
- Decorated with Belgian orders:
- Chevalier of the Ordre de Léopold in 1902
- Officer of the Ordre de la Couronne in 1920
- Commander of the Ordre de la Couronne in 1928
Family
In 1885, De Bavay married Anna Heinzle (died 1933) at St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne. Their children were:
- Marie de Bavay (born 1886), who remained unmarried
- Captain (Auguste John) Charles de Bavay (born 1887), brewer with Carlton Brewery; married Vera Tolley from the distinguished South Australian winemaking Tolley family
- Vera de Bavay (born 1890), married John Higgs and lived in Surrey, England
- (Francis) Xavier de Bavay (1895–1955), manager of Cascade Brewery Co. Ltd in Hobart; married Dulcie Lucille Cooper in 1922