IVAN BARKO, Foreward
PETER RICKWOOD, CHARLES ABELA & IVAN BARKO, A 1788 French Sighting of Evidence for Volcanism in the Sydney Basin – Columnar Sandstone at La Perouse
A discussion of the identification by the French explorers of columnar sandstone at Botany Bay and the recent discovery of samples of this sandstone on the shipwreck site of the Boussole on Vanikoro Reef in the Solomon Islands
Keywords: columnar sandstone, La Pérouse, Botany Bay, Boussole, John Hunter, Anglo-French contact, Solomon Islands, volcanic activity
MARGARET BARRETT, Jean Trémoulet: The Unloved Consul-General
Based on new research, this article discussed the controversial career of French Consul-General Jean Trémoulet, who represented his government, including the Vichy government in Sydney from 1937 to 1941 when he was required to leave Australia.
Keywords: Jean Trémoulet, diplomatic and consular relations between France and Australia, WWII, Vichy government, Free French movement, Allied war effort, Émile Doucet
JOHN DUNMORE, Anglo-French Contacts in 1788: The Knowledge of English on Board La Pérouse’s Ships
By reviewing the backgrounds and education of officers on board the French ships, the author who is an international authority on La Pérouse, surmises that they were probably able to communicate in rather broken English with the British. However, for any official business, and in written communication, each side used their own language.
Keywords: La Pérouse, Captain Phillip, communication, Botany Bay
EDWARD DUYKER, Timothée Vasse: A Biographical Note
A discussion of the various legends surrounding Timothée Vasse, a sailor on the Baudin expedition, who is supposed to have drowned at the Wonnerup Inlet in Western Australia in 1801.
Keywords: Timothée Vasse, Baudin expedition, François Péron
JANA VERHOEVEN, French Forum: A Melbourne Initiative
A brief note about the establishment of a Forum for French scholars from the various universities in the Melbourne region to discuss teaching and research.
KERRY MULLAN, The Second Text: A Feminist Approach to Translation
A report of a presentation at RMIT University by the two translators of a new translation of The Second Text.
Keywords: translation, The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir, Constance Borde, Sheila Malovany-Chevallier, Caroline Norma, gender studies
KERRY MULLAN, Georges Perec: The Australian Connection, Thirty Years On
An account of the fifth ‘Melbourne Salon’ devoted to the legacy of Georges Perec, who visited Australia thirty years previously, shortly before his death in 1982. The presentation was preceded by a literary workshop demonstrating Perec’s self-imposed experimental forms of constrained writing.
Keywords: Georges Perec
Podtour
A brief note about an educational downloadable audio tour of Melbourne.
Robert Nash (ed.), The Hidden Thread: Huguenot Families in Australia, reviewed by Wallace Kirsop
Christine Béal, Les interactions quotidiennes en français et en anglais : de l’approche comparative à l’analyse des situations interculturelles, reviewed by Kerry Mullan
Jean-François Vernay, The Great Australian Novel — A Panorama (Panorama du roman australien des origines à nos jours), book note by Elaine Lewis
ELAINE LEWIS, French-Australian Bibliographical Notes