C. J. De Garis
A flamboyant Australian marketer who used barnstorming aviation stunts to sell dried fruit and embodied the roaring twenties' entrepreneurial spirit.
1884–1926 (age 42)·Australian businessman·Birthday: November 22·The Lost Generation
Biography
Clement John 'C.J.' De Garis was a human whirlwind of publicity and ambition in early 20th-century Australia. He made his name in the Sunraysia region, turning the dried fruits industry around Mildura into a spectacle. De Garis didn't just sell sultanas; he sold a story, using his own publishing ventures and wildly creative promotions. His true masterstroke was embracing the new technology of flight. He learned to fly and embarked on audacious, headline-grabbing aviation tours across Australia, dropping promotional leaflets and generating immense buzz for his products. This fusion of agribusiness and aerial showmanship made him a national celebrity. His ventures, however, were built on risky financial foundations. The post-World War I economic downturn led to the collapse of his business empire, a personal tragedy that ended his life at age 41. He remains a symbol of both boundless Australian optimism and its perils.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
C. was born in 1884, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When C. Was Born
The biggest hits of 1884
C.'s Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1884Born
President: Chester A. Arthur
1889Started school
Eiffel Tower opens in Paris
President: Benjamin Harrison
1897Became a teenager
President: William McKinley
1900Could drive
Boxer Rebellion in China
President: William McKinley
1902Could vote
The eruption of Mount Pelee kills 30,000 in Martinique
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1905Turned 21
Einstein publishes the theory of special relativity
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1914Turned 30
World War I begins
President: Woodrow Wilson
1924Turned 40
First Winter Olympics held in Chamonix, France
President: Calvin Coolidge"It Had to Be You" — Isham Jones
1926Died at 42
Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket
President: Calvin Coolidge"Baby Face" — Jan Garber
Key Achievements
- Pioneered innovative, large-scale marketing campaigns for the Australian dried fruit industry in the Mildura region.
- Gained national fame by conducting promotional aviation tours across Australia in the 1920s, dropping advertising leaflets from his plane.
- Founded and published 'The Sunraysia Daily' newspaper as part of his marketing machinery.
- Authored an autobiographical work, 'The Victories of Failure', detailing his business philosophy and struggles.
Did You Know?
He was the first Australian to make a solo flight from Melbourne to Adelaide.
He offered a £1,000 prize for the first flight from England to Australia, which was later claimed by Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith.
His life story was the subject of a 1983 Australian television miniseries titled 'The Great Gold Swindle' (though focused on a later venture).
He died by suicide in 1926 after his business conglomerate collapsed.
“The public must be made to see the romance in a raisin.”
