Message from the President

Dear ISFAR friends and colleagues,

We hope you have had a good start to the year. As mentioned in our last newsletter, 2025 is the 40th anniversary of ISFAR, a milestone which we are all very proud of and intend to celebrate at every opportunity! We will begin with the symposium to be held online and in-person (in Melbourne) in May, to which you are all invited. We are finalising the program and will share this with you at a later date.

Read on for news of other ways in which we intend to celebrate our anniversary, details of the latest issue of The French Australian Review, news items from ISFAR members and our partners, a new publication, calls for assistance from ISFAR members, and links to French related exhibitions and other items of interest. And in case you were wondering, The Melbourne Salon will return in the second half of the year, once the Alliance Française de Melbourne have settled in their new premises. Talking of the AFM, it’s film festival time again!

If you are not seeing a film between 5.30-7pm on Monday 24 March, you are very welcome to attend the ISFAR AGM online (see your inbox for details).

We look forward to celebrating our 40th anniversary with you this year!

 

Reflections on 40 years of ISFAR

Since ISFAR is celebrating throughout this year the 40th anniversary of its founding, some of the people who played key roles in its early years have been invited to contribute to an occasional series for the newsletter. They may reflect perhaps on their aims for the Institute, some of the challenges they faced, or their views of how it has developed over the years, as the Institute’s scope and membership expanded, and the original publication, Explorations, evolved into a substantial peer-reviewed journal, the French Australian Review.

The first in the series, to be published in the June newsletter, will be written by Ivan Barko.

 

The French Australian Review

Issue number 77 of The French Australian Review is now available.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONTENTS

FOREWORD, Elaine Lewis and Jane Gilmour

ARTICLES

BARBARA SANTICH, French Restaurants in Nineteenth-century Australia: A Preliminary Review, Part 2

This article continues the survey of French restaurants in Australia in the nineteenth century, focusing in particular on Victoria and South Australia. In both colonies French nationals were closely associated with the first wine shops (or saloons), some of which evolved into restaurants. In Victoria in particular, French restaurants followed the gold rush but were often shortlived. In later years restaurateurs Pierre Noel Lacaton and Calixte Denat achieved considerable success in introducing French cuisine and French gastronomic customs to Melbourne.

ANDREW GAYNOR, Roy de Maistre: An Australian Modernist in France

Roy de Maistre (1894–1968) was one of Australia’s pioneer modernists for whom France was a constant and recurring source of inspiration and spiritual succour. This article traces his journeys to France starting from his first encounter in 1923 when the Basque coastal town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz became one of his most favoured locations. In 1930, he left Australia permanently travelling between France and England for some years before settling in London from 1937. Shortly after his arrival in May 1930, de Maistre met the then-twenty-year-old Francis Bacon (also a Francophile), becoming the young man’s first artist-mentor, a relationship which flourished during the 1930s. Whilst Bacon would go on to become one of Britain’s most significant post-war artists, de Maistre increasingly retreated to a private world of still lifes, portraits and religious imagery, all painted in an idiosyncratic form of decorative cubism.

INTERVIEW

CHARLOTTE MACKAY, Des Liens de sang aux Larmes de sang : Entretien avec l’écrivain néo-calédonien Yannick Jan

Yannick Jan est un auteur néo-calédonien né en 1973 en France et arrivé enfant en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Après avoir suivi sa scolarité à Nouméa, il s’est enrôlé dans les forces armées. Il a ensuite travaillé pendant vingt ans dans la fonction publique calédonienne, au sein de l’équipe de services jeunesse et d’insertion culturelle. Depuis sept ans, Yannick a rejoint le privé en tant que chef d’entreprise et trouve aussi du temps à consacrer à l’écriture. Parmi ses publications figurent des nouvelles et de la poésie, plusieurs participations à des ouvrages collectifs ainsi que deux romans, L’écrivain et Liens de sang, parus respectivement en 2016 et 2022.

DOCUMENTS AND NOTES

Editors, 2025 AALITRA Translation Awards Ceremony
Heidi Bula, French Australian Encounters Number 11, Interview with Heidi Bula
Edward Duyker, Prosper Garnot (1794–1838): An Early French Naturalist in New South Wales
Wallace Kirsop, Obituary: Jacques Birnberg (1933–2024)

REVIEWS

Véronique Duché, Theatre Review: Eugène Ionesco, tr. Zinnie Harris, Rhinoceros
Elaine Lewis, Theatre Review: Christine Croyden, tr. Véronique Duché, La Souris Blanche
Nic Maclellan, Book Review: Peter Brown and Nabila Gaertner-Mazouni (eds), Small Islands, Big Issues: Pacific Perspectives on the Ecosystem of Knowledge
Gordon Williams, Book Review: Kerry Murphy and Jennifer Hill (eds), Pursuit of the New: Louise Hanson-Dyer, Publisher and Collector
Ivan Barko, Book Review: Andy Macqueen, The Frenchman: Francis Barrallier: Life and Journeys 1773–1853
Jane Gilmour, Book Review: Sebastian Smee, Paris in Ruins: Love, War and the Birth of Impressionism
Charlotte Mackay, Book Review: Marie-Helene Lafon, translated by Stephanie Smee, The Son’s Story
Elaine Lewis, Book Note: Bertand Bourgeois, Véronique Duché, Jacqueline Dutton and Andrew McGregor, Liens Franco-Australiens: Mélanges en l’honneur du Professor Colin Nettelbeck
Elaine Lewis, Bibliographical Notes
Elizabeth Rechniewski and Alexis Bergantz, Symposium 2–3 May, 2025. ‘Cultures Croisées: French-Australian Cultural Connections: Exploring the Dynamics of Intercultural Exchange’

 

ISFAR SYMPOSIUM 2–3 MAY 2025

Cultures Croisées: French-Australian Cultural Connections: Exploring the Dynamics of Intercultural Exchange

The 2025 ISFAR Symposium will take place on Friday 2 May and Saturday 3 May. The Friday afternoon session will be a half-day in-person event in Melbourne (also available online), while the Saturday will be entirely online. There are no fees to attend the event.

To express your interest and receive updates on the program, please subscribe. At this stage, you do not need to specify whether you will attend the Friday afternoon sessions in person or online, though we encourage as many attendees as possible to join us in person.

The two keynote speakers are Karin Speedy, who will discuss the migration of workers from Réunion to New Caledonia and Australia, and Valentina Gosetti, who will speak on regional poetry and national identity. Topics covered in the papers include:

• Migrants and Transmigrants: The impact of migration between France, French territories, and Australia
• Art and Literature: Artistic and literary movements, and the role of individual artists and writers
• Industry and Technology: Innovations and collaborations, such as those in viticulture
• Sporting Encounters: French and Australian sporting competitions and the culture of sport in both countries
• Other Areas of Cultural Connection: Including Music and Diplomacy

 

For more information, please email the conference organisers

 

News from our members

Cybèle Panagiotou, cooperation attaché at the French Embassy, has provided the following information on FACEF, the French-Australian Cultural Exchange Foundation. Born from the French Australian bilateral roadmap, FACEF is a not-for-profit charity, the first cultural diplomatic initiative of its kind between Australia, France, and French Overseas Territories in the Indo-Pacific. The Foundation aims to strengthen cultural links between our two nations and to promote mutual understanding and collaboration in the arts and culture.

Chaired by Myriam Boisbouvier-Wylie (former French Honorary Consul in Melbourne), FACEF strives to facilitate cultural exchange opportunities for Australian and French artists and art professionals, in partnership with cultural and higher education institutions.

You can read more on the FACEF website.

 

Australian Delegation to French Polynesia

Adapted from the Facebook pages of l’Australie en Polynésie Française, the Australian Consulate-General in Papeete, French Polynesia, 19 February 2025, and France in Australia – Ambassade de France en Australie, 11 February 2025.

Fostering cooperation in education

The Embassy of France recently sent an Australian delegation to Tahiti – French Polynesia – to strengthen bilateral academic and scientific cooperation, a pillar of the bilateral Roadmap signed in 2023. The delegation was composed of representatives of the Group of 8 Universities, the Australian Technology Network of Universities, Innovative Research Universities, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Academy of Sciences, the Academy of the Social Sciences, the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and the Academy of Humanities.

The meetings aimed to give Australian partners a deeper understanding of the challenges and strengths of French Polynesia while showcasing Australia’s programs to foster new collaborations. We can’t wait to see these discussions bring fruitful results and concrete partnerships!

These discussions are particularly relevant as France hosts the United Nations Oceans Conference #UNOC3 in June: French Polynesia is an important partner for the protection of the oceans and the preservation of its biodiversity.  It was also an honour to meet the President of French Polynesia, Moetai Brotherson, as well as various other ministers, all of whom offered the delegation a very warm welcome. More information:

France in Australia – Ambassade de France en Australie
CNRS
Université de la Polynésie française
Institut Louis Malardé – ILM
Présidence de la Polynésie française

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Request for assistance with research project

We have received a request for assistance from Ella Fredrics, who is hoping to obtain some guidance for a personal research project she has been undertaking for the past few years.

Ella is investigating an unsolved murder of a French national, Germain Dubroca, in Brisbane in April 1890. He was exhibiting imitation jewellery under his own name at the 1879 Sydney Exhibition and subsequently exhibited at the Melbourne and Adelaide exhibitions. Ella understands that he was representing a Paris-based manufacturer. He represented France in Sydney and then Victoria in Melbourne and Adelaide. Ella has not been able to find any records of the business name in any shipping records (or anywhere else). She is trying to find out more information about Dubroca and where in France he came from. She is also hoping there might exist an archive of applications to the French Exhibition Commission in France of people who wished to represent France at Sydney.

If you have any information or suggestions please email .

 

New publication

We congratulate Robert Aldrich, Professor Emeritus of European History at the University of Sydney and Chair of the Advisory Board of the French Australian Review, on the recent publication of his chapter in a new book French Globalization Projects, edited by Matthias Middell.  Robert’s chapter is titled ‘France in the Indo-Pacific in the Long Nineteenth Century’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Publication details for the book are: Robert Aldrich, ‘France in the Indo-Pacific in the Long Nineteenth Century’, in Matthias Middell (ed.), French Globalization Projects (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen, 2025), pp. 223-254.

 

Melbourne French Theatre – 50^th anniversary commemorative book – call for expressions of interest from writers

Melbourne French Theatre Inc. was founded in 1977 and will celebrate its 50^th anniversary in 2027. MFT’s Executive Director and Producer, Michel Bula, is developing a project for a book to commemorate this anniversary and the 50 years of the unique history of Melbourne French Theatre. The book would take the form of thematic chapters, rather than a purely historical narrative.

Melbourne French Theatre is seeking expressions of interest from French-fluent writers/researchers who have an interest in being responsible for writing one or more chapters of the proposed book. Writers will have access to the substantial records (hard copy, electronic, videos, artwork, etc) held in the Melbourne French Theatre office as well as interviews and ongoing liaison with Michel Bula. Expressions of interest with CV should be emailed to and before 31 March 2025.

 

Upcoming events and exhibitions

The Alliance Française Australia Network has offices in all Australian state and capital territories and 24 regional Alliances, promoting the French language and culture and offering a range of cultural and other activities.

In 2025 the Alliance Française de Sydney is celebrating its 130^th anniversary and looks forward to welcoming visitors to one of the many cultural events that will take place throughout this exceptional year. Further information on events can be found at Alliance Française de Sydney.

Following are links to other Alliance Française network sites:

• https://www.afmelbourne.com.au/whats-on/
• https://www.afperth.com.au/cultural-events/
• https://www.af.org.au/events/
• https://www.afbrisbane.com/whats-on/
• https://www.afcanberra.com.au/events-live-french/
• https://www.afhobart.org.au
• For regional AFs, see https://www.alliancefrancaise.com.au/contact-your-af/

It’s time to indulge again in your love of French cinema at the 36^th Alliance Française Film Festival, showing during March and April in many locations around Australia. For more information and details of films and session times in your city go to the festival website and select your city.

 

Until 27 April 2025, the Melbourne Immigration Museum presents Notre-Dame de Paris: The Augmented Exhibition. This Augmented Exhibition is a 3D, 360-degree journey through the cathedral’s immense history and ongoing restoration, following the fire which devastated the famous building five years ago.

 

Also in Melbourne, from 6 June 2025 the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) will present French Impressionism, as part of the NGV’s Winter Masterpieces series, in partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), an institution renowned world-wide for its rich holdings of Impressionist paintings. The exhibition features more than 100 iconic paintings, including additional works never-before-seen in Australia.

In Canberra, the National Gallery of Australia is exploring the lives and legacies of two Australian artists – Ethel Carrick and Anne Dangar – with strong connections to France in its exhibition Ethel Carrick|Anne Dangar, taking place until 27 April 2025.

 

Contact us at ISFAR

ISFAR: isfarinc@gmail.com
The French Australian Review: french.australian.review@gmail.com
ISFAR Research Committee co-chairs: alexis.bergantz@rmit.edu.au;elizabeth.rechniewski@sydney.edu.au
Join or renew your ISFAR membership. Membership includes subscription to The French Australian Review journal.

Follow us

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Useful links

Alliance Française de Melbourne www.afmelbourne.com.au
Association of French Teachers in Victoria (AFTV) www.aftv.vic.edu.au
Australian-French Association for Research and Innovation (AFRAN) www.afran.org.au
Australian Historical Association www.theaha.org.au
Bastille Day French Festival Melbourne www.bastilledaymelbourne.com
Bleu Blanc Rouge (Consular newsletter) www.bbrvic.com/en
French Assist Melbourne www.frenchassistmelbourne.org.au
French Australian Chamber of Commerce www.facci.com.au

ISFAR resources

ISFAR provides resources to researchers in the field of French-Australian studies, with the support of the authors or contributors who give their approval to publish this material. Access all ISFAR resources www.isfar.org.au/resources.