[2] In March 1884 De Bavay arrived in Melbourne and worked as a brewer at Thomas Aitken's Victoria Parade Brewery.
[2] In 1894 De Bavay joined the Foster's Group following a recommendation by Montague Cohen, a director of the company, and made improvements to their lager production.
[3] 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.
After Australia entered the Great War in 1914, De Bavay was approached by the Minister for Defence, George Pearce, to develop a process for production of acetone, needed for manufacture of cordite.
De Bavay married Anna Heinzle (died 27 October 1933) at St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne on 21 March 1885.