Auguste Joseph François de Bavay

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, 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.

In March 1884 De Bavay arrived in Melbourne 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.

De Bavay was attracted to the "sulphide problem" of Broken Hill, where great mounds of potentially valuable zinc blende had accumulated, but could not be shipped economically because of the gangue 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 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, and the following year another company De Bavay's Sulphide Process Co. Ltd to purchase De Bavay's patents. He was appointed Consul for Guatemala in 1906 He received the Papal decoration Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice He was invested in two 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 De Bavay married Anna Heinzle (died 27 October 1933) at St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne 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, 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