 In 1935 , Wolf Klaphake and his wife Maria emigrated to Australia . The <unk> ' decision to emigrate was probably primarily the result of Maria 's encounters with Nazi authorities ; their decision to settle in Australia ( rather than , say , in Britain ) was influenced by Wolf 's desire to develop a dew condenser . As a dry continent , Australia was likely to need alternative sources of fresh water , and the Premier of South Australia , whom he had met in London , had expressed an interest . Klaphake made a specific proposal for a condenser at the small town of Cook , where there was no supply of potable water . At Cook , the railway company had previously installed a large coal @-@ powered active condenser , but it was prohibitively expensive to run , and it was cheaper to simply transport water . However , the Australian government turned down Klaphake 's proposal , and he lost interest in the project . 
