Jack De Garis

Clement John ("Jack") De Garis, (born 22 November 1884, died 17 August 1926) was an Australian entrepreneur and aviator, noted for his colourful marketing style and work in the dried fruits industries in the Sunraysia area around Mildura in the 1920s.cite web|url=http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A080289b.htm|title=De Garis, Clement John (Jack) (1884 - 1926)|work=Australian Dictionary of Biography|author=McCalman, J.]

Early years

De Garis 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 from 1899 to 1901 where he rose to become dux of his class.

Described as being short in stature, he capitalised on an affectionate smile and a magnetic personality. Nevertheless, he excelled in school cricket and football where his lack of height of convert|1.5|m|ftin and weight of convert|43|kg confounded coaches and opposition players.

Career

De Garis' father, Elisha Clement De Garis, had established a successful market garden business in Mildura from about 1885. [cite web|url=http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A080290b.htm|title=De Garis, Elisha Clement (Elizee) (1851 - 1948)|work=Australian Dictionary of Biography|author=McCalman, J.] In 1908 the day-to-day business was left to Jack, and Elisha moved to Melbourne establish a selling agency for the business. Jack was just 17, but had a strong self-belief and effervescent charm. Theatrical entrepreneur Claude Kingston described him as the 'prince of ballyhoo'.

He expanded the business rapidly, in 1910 borrowing heavily to establish a packing shed Sarnia Packing Pty Ltd, which later became part of Sunbeam Foods Group. In 1913 he borrowed again to purchase the convert|10009|acre Pyap Village Estate at Pyap, near Loxton in South Australia.cite web|url=http://www.brightoncemetery.com/HistoricInterments/150Names/degarisc.htm|title=Clement John ‘Jack’ De Garis|work=Brighton Cemetery|accessdate=2008-07-20] The estate was moderately successful as a farm produce settlement for several years until about 1921 when it was broken up and sold to fund the his Kendenup venture.cite book|title=The Victories of Failure|author=C.J. De Garis|year=1925|publisher=Modern Printing Company, Melbourne] £23,000 was raised from the sale.

In 1919, a shortage of shipping space hit the dried fruits industry which was at this time, highly dependent on British markets. Knowing of his ability to market, the Australian Dried Fruits Association funded him to undertake an Australia-wide American-style publicity campaign to increase domestic consumption.cite web|url=http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-3955185/An-Australian-Ohio-Fighting-for.html|title=An Australian Ohio? Fighting for Mildura, 1919-1921|work=Journal of Australian Studies|Author=Nichols, D.|date=Date=01-SEP-04|accessdate=2008-07-20] De Garis also expanded into book publishing as well as producing the "Sunraysia Daily" newspaper in Mildura which employed nearly 100 staff.

Also in 1919, an American con-man named George Henry Cochrane emerged in Mildura. Cochrane wrote for "The Bulletin" as Grant Hervey and had recently been released from prison for forgery and uttering. Cochrane presented himself to two thousand Mildura citizens, selling the idea that the town should secede from Victoria. He started receiving the ₤5 subscriptions before De Garis exposed his true identity and criminal record. [cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/victoria/mildura/2005/02/17/1108500206964.html|title=Mildura|date=July 14, 2008|work=Sydney Morning Herald|accessdate=2008-07-20]

As part of his dried fruits marketing he travelled to Western Australia where in 1920 he purchased the convert|47000|acre property of the Hassell family at Kendenup for the purpose of building a new settlement to grow apples, potatoes and farm produce. [cite web|url=http://www.albanygateway.com.au/Town/Kendenup/Town_History/|title=The History of Kendenup |work=Albany Gateway|accessdate=2008-07-20] De Garis subdivided the land into blocks ranging from convert|10|acre to convert|60|acre. He set up companies, 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 which he had encouraged into the area. In December 1921, De Garis was living there himself and the enterprise was underway — a townsite was established. However, the settlement had insufficient capital and eventually foundered, also because of the uneconomical small lot sizes allocated. De Garis travelled to the United States to raise urgently needed capital which was promised but did not eventuate. 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. [cite web|url=http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A150233b.htm|title=McDonald, Sir Robert Ross (1888 - 1964)|work=Australian Dictionary of Biography|author=Bolton, G.C., Shorter, T] He was later exonerated of the charges.

Aviation

De Garis described himself as an aviator, however the reality was that he owned several aeroplanes and employed pilots and navigators to ferry him between Australian cities and his business interests. Nevertheless, in an era of pioneer aviation, his frequent 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, he set several interstate flying records.

His first plane was a Boulton Paul P.9 90hp which he acquired in June 1920 and was flown by pilot Lieutenant A.L. Lang. (AFC). ["Victories of Failure". p348] Later in 1920 he purchased a Sopwith Gnu for £1,800 after the P.9 had crashed; employing Lieutenant F.S. Triggs as his permanent pilot. ["Victories of Failure". p367] He then also purchased an Airco DH.4.

His first major interstate flight was in the DH.4 from Melbourne to Perth, a distance of convert|2169|mi, landing at Belmont Park Racecourse on 2 December 1920 after 19 hours 10 minutes. One stretch of convert|1105|mi was done in 8¾ hours. The mechanic was Sergeant Stoward and the flight was the first to cross Australia from east to west. The three aviators were given a mayoral reception on their arrival in Perth.

A few weeks later on 14 December they flew from Perth to Sydney, a distance of convert|2462|mi in a time of 21½ hours.

Other notable flights were from Mildura to Sydney (5½ hours) to Brisbane (4 hours 50 minutes) in January 1921. On 16 January they attempted a one-day flight from Brisbane to Melbourne, achieving it between 6:15 am and 7:20 pm with a flying time of 10½ hours. Stopovers were made in Grafton, Sydney and Cootamundra. ["Victories of Failure". p432]

Decline

The Kendenup collapse coincided with a number of other financial failures within his empire. With mounting debts, he faked his own suicide by drowning in Port Phillip Bay on 5 January 1925, having written almost seventy farewell letters. He was the subject of an eight-day nationwide search and was apprehended the following week on a boat bound for New Zealand. De Garis gassed himself and died the following year at his Mornington home on 17 August 1926 with debts of £420,000.

Shortly before he died, his autobiographical novel "Victories of Failure: A Business Romance" (1925) was published in which he described his business career in great detail, using a pseudonym of "K.J. Rogers" to depict himself.

De Garis married Rene née Corbould in September 1907 and they 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 in Melbourne.

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.