Biography Hans Luyken

At the beginning of May 1931 Hans began a career in the chemical industry starting with a cadetship at Chemical Combine IG Farbinindustrie. In 1933 he was sent by the IG to work in Belgium, where he met Lucie Anna Mench. He left Belgium in 1936. When he returned to Germany the Dyestuffs Business offered him a posting in either Japan or Australia, He chose Australia on the basis he would be the only representative of the IG. He sailed on November 30 1936 with Lucie to follow, he arrived in Melbourne on January 1937, and from here he sailed to Sydney, where upon arrival he was taken to the offices of Dyechem Trading.

On October 17 1937 Lucie arrived on the Orion, they were married the next day at the Lutheran Church in Melbourne. On July 4th 1939 son Robert Edmund was born.

On September 4th, the day after war was declared, Hans was taken to internment camp for the remainder of the war: 6 years and 5 months. In 1947 Henry York met with him and he was again employed by his firm. When Henry H. York was finally wound up in 1965, Hans became the founding managing director of Bayer Australia Limited.

Hans’ importance to Australia’s chemical industry was vast. He established an important film developing centre at Nunawading in Victoria. He imported chemicals of great importance to Australia’s rural industries and later established a very successful agricultural research station in Queensland. He established Bayer New Zealand Limited and also oversaw Bayer’s Sydney manufacturing complex, he was also involved in one of Australia’s most costly and lengthy court cases, when Bayer successfully challenged the American drug company Starling for the return of its distinctive corporate Logo. He was involved in all aspects of Australia’s chemical industry in pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, pesticides, plastics, dyestuffs and photographics.

Source: Suzette Luyken (February 2008)

Links Hans Luyken

Internal links
• Census, family bulletin 1925, page 222 (German)
• Wedding report, family bulletin 1937, page 558 (German)
• Obituary Clara von Biber Palubicki, family bulletin 1974, page 57 (German)