Supporting the Free French in New Caledonia: First Steps in Australian Diplomacy

Author: DENISE FISHER
Explorations No 49 Part I (Dec 2010): 18-37
https://doi.org/10.62586/KMWO2674

This article addresses the role of Australia in the ralliement of New Caledonia in 1940 to General de Gaulle’s Free French movement. The author, who is a former Australian Consul General in Noumea, argues that these events in the Pacific mark the birth of Australian diplomacy as an autonomous entity. The author demonstrates that the Australian government, mindful of the country’s interests, showed subtlety, flexibility and professionalism in its handling of a complex and fluid situation.

Keywords: Australian diplomacy in the Pacific, Australian perceptions of French in New Caledonia, World War Two, Vichy, Free France Movement, Georges-Marc Pélicier, Bertram C. Ballard, Henri Sautot