Mildura jumped at chance to form a new Aussie state until the man behind it was exposed as a fraud

Mildura jumped at the chance to cut ties to Melbourne, until the ostentatious “American” behind the idea was exposed as a fraud.

Poet and journalist Grant Hervey, who proposed a plan for a new breakaway state centred around Mildura.

When a grand plan was hatched for a breakaway Australian state centred around Mildura, the town jumped at the chance to sever ties with Melbourne.

But the ambitious bid collapsed when the ostentatious “American” spruiking the idea was exposed as a local fraud fresh from four years’ prison for blackmail.

The strange tale is told in the 178th episod​​e of the free In Black and White podcast on Australia’s forgotten characters, out now:

The man who foiled the plan was CJ DeGaris, a colourful Mildura entrepreneur, aviator, playwright, publisher, songwriter, land developer and marketing whiz.

His story is told in a new book, The Alert Grey Twinkling Eyes of CJ DeGaris, by Associate Professor David Nichols, an urban planning expert from the University of Melbourne.

CJ DeGaris was a colourful entrepreneur, aviator, playwright, publisher, songwriter, land developer and marketing whiz. Picture: Courtesy David Nichols

When an American journalist calling himself G. Madison Harvey arrived in Mildura after World War I with his secession plan, DeGaris smelled a rat.

“It’s a very, very strange story, and I hate it when people say this, but you couldn’t make it up,” Nichols says.

“Grant Hervey is a huge, tough, hard-drinking poet, very popular in The Bulletin.

“He’d published one book of frankly quite racist poetry, and was very well-known as a newspaperman.

“He’d been thinking for quite some time about the idea of hiving off the western let’s say quarter of Victoria and creating what he called a soldiers memorial state.”

Under the plan, Mildura products could be transported directly to Portland for shipping, bypassing Melbourne.

The Alert Grey Twinkling Eyes of CJ DeGaris.

Associate Professor David Nichols from the University of Melbourne.

“People in Melbourne wouldn’t be hiving off money from the transport of goods and so on,” Nichols says.

The charismatic Harvey whipped up enthusiasm for the idea, and the publicity blitz culminated with a stirring public address in Mildura.

“Hervey’s standing there with his American accent, claiming to be a journalist from the Butterick magazines of the US,” Nichols says.

“His only ID for that, by the way, is a postcard of their printing works.

“He talks for three-quarters of an hour and everybody’s incredibly impressed.

“They’re like, ‘This is amazing, we’re going to do this and to hell with the people of Melbourne.’”

CJ DeGaris and his wife, Violet, on their wedding day.

The most spectacular of CJ DeGaris's aeroplane crashes.

But before the speech, a local had recognised the flash “American” as none other than Victorian-born poet Grant Hervey.

Acting on the tip-off, DeGaris pointedly asked the visitor after his rousing speech where he’d been the past few years.

“At this point Hervey just breaks down, basically, and says, ‘Fair cop, I’ve been in prison, and I’m not an American journalist, I’m just this mildly well-known poet called Grant Hervey,’” Nichols says.

“And he kind of leaves town the next day with his tail between his legs.”

To learn more, listen to the interview in the In Black and White podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or web.

See In Black & White in the Herald Sun newspaper Monday to Friday for more stories and photos from Victoria’s past.