Convinced that background science was essential in any industry, in 1927 he appointed a bacteriologist to his staff, possibly the first such appointment in Australia.Ĭallister became a director of the company in 1935 shortly before Walker died suddenly. In 1926-31 he carried out detailed original studies on the scientific background of cheese-making to establish the parameters of good cheese quality. The result confirmed Callister's confidence in the product as a valuable nutrient. In 1925 he had sent samples of Vegemite to London to be tested for Vitamin B activity-a far-sighted move in the very early days of vitamin knowledge. He was the key to the increasing technical emphasis of the company. was established in 1926 with Callister as chief chemist and production superintendent. Kraft, he made a satisfactory product and Walker used this in 1925 to persuade Kraft to grant a licence for the manufacture of Kraft cheese in Australia.

With the help of patents held by the American James L.

Thus the chemist rapidly became well informed in microbiology and began to experiment with cheese-processing. Walker was also interested in methods for preserving cheese, and involved Callister in this as well. Under the trademark Vegemite it was placed on the market early in 1924 and slowly became an established item, solely through Callister's technological skill and perseverance. Although this product was known overseas, no information was available about the process, and Callister developed it de novo from brewers' yeast. In February 1923 he was appointed to Fred Walker's small food company to develop yeast-extract for retail sale. On his return to Australia in 1919 Callister rejoined Lewis & Whitty where he remained until that company was taken over. Shortly afterwards he was sent to Britain and spent the war working on explosives manufacture in Wales, and in Scotland where he met and married Katherine Hope Mundell at Annau, on 8 March 1919 they had two sons and a daughter. Within three months the Department of Defence withdrew him to join the Munitions Branch. In June he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. In January 1915 Callister joined Lewis & Whitty, manufacturers of food and household products.

After education at state schools, Grenville College, Ballarat, and the Ballarat School of Mines, he attended the University of Melbourne on a major residential scholarship to Queen's College (B.Sc., 1914 M.Sc., 1917 D.Sc., 1931). Cyril Percy Callister (1893-1949), food technologist, was born on 16 February 1893 at Chute near Beaufort, Victoria, son of William Hugh Callister, schoolmaster and his wife Rosetta Anne, née Dixon.

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