WALLACE KIRSOP, Foreword
COLIN THORNTON-SMITH, S.T. Gill and Hubert de Castella
This article draws on Hubert de Castella’s unpublished Réminiscences, to describe his life in Switzerland and France, prior to his coming to Australia. During his stay in Australia he came across the work of S.T. Gill. When Hubert de Castella returned to France in 1856, he assembled his reminiscences in a volume called Les Squatters australiens which Hachette accepted for publication in its Bibliothèque des Chemins de Fer collection after first serialising it in the new magazine Le Tour du monde. The magazine required illustrations and Hubert de Castella was only too happy to oblige. Among the drawings attributed to him there appears to be a copy of T. S. Gill’s “Stockman” with only minor variations.
Keywords: Hubert de Castella, S.T. Gill, Bibliothèque des Chemins de Fer collection, Le Tour du monde, Les squatters australiens
JOHN WHITE, Out of Oblivion
A personal account of a family history project, presenting the actual history of the author’s French ancestors as well as the author’s process of investigation and his understanding of the people in the story. The main characters are his maternal grandfather, Gaston L’Huillier, and his grandfather’s father, Rémy Félix L’Huillier, who came to Port Phillip with his wife and children in 1853. Of special interest to the author are his ancestors’ contribution to Australia (and more specifically to the Australian wine and food industry) and the story of their gradual integration into Australian society.
Keywords: Gaston L’Huillier, Rémy Félix L’Huillier, Sheepwash Creek, Sandhurst, near Bendigo, Jules Migeon, George Lansell, viticulture, horticulture
BOOK REVIEW
Frank Horner, The French Reconnaissance: Baudin in Australia, 1801-1803, reviewed by Edward Duyker