The French Australian Review – No 71 Australian Summer 2021-2022

JANE GILMOUR & ELAINE LEWIS, Foreword

PATRICIA CLARKE, Australian Connections with the Franco-Prussian War 1870 and the Commune of Paris 1871
WINNER OF THE 2022 IVAN BARKO AWARD

In 1870 the Sydney Morning Herald published reports of the fast-moving Franco-Prussian war from its Paris correspondent Anna Blackwell culminating in her forced departure from the city as it was about to be besieged by Prussian forces. Her graphic eyewitness account of her escape by train to Boulogne was followed in 1871 by an equally graphic account of the operation of the short-lived Paris Commune by Irish-born London-based journalist, Frances Cashel Hoey. Hoey’s eyewitness account, first published in the English periodical the Spectator was widely republished in Australian capital city newspapers leading to her appointment in 1873 by the Victorian weekly the Australasian to write a regular women’s column ‘Society and Fashion’ from London. The Franco-Prussian War was the greatest overseas news story in the Australian press in 1870 and the revolutionary Paris Commune made the city the centre of world interest. Both Anna Blackwell and Frances Cashel Hoey were great reporters who saw immediately that they were witnessing events that would live in history.

Keywords: Franco-Prussian War 1870, Paris Commune 1871, Anna Blackwell, Frances Cashel Hoey, female foreign correspondents, Sydney Morning Herald, Australasian.

WILLIAM A. LAND, The Légion d’Honneur in Australia

The history of the Légion d’honneur in Australia dates back to the first award which was made to Sir William Macarthur in 1855. The Légion d’honneur is situated in the context of other French awards and its significance in terms of French-Australian relations. An appendix provides an overview of the history of the Société des Membres de la Légion d’honneur.

Keywords: Légion d’honneur, l’Ordre du mérite, military awards, Société des Membres de la Légion d’honneur (SMLH).

DEIRDRE GILFEDDER, Australian Film Festivals in France: Interviews with the Founders of Three Festivals of Australian and New Zealand Cinema

While Australian cinema occupies only a niche market in France it has found a place with French audiences and in French film culture. The role of three festivals of Australian cinema in making Australian films more widely available is highlighted with the three founding (and current) directors of these festivals.

Keywords: Festival du Film Australian, Le Bout du Monde (Pézenas), Festival du Cinéma Aborigène Australien à Paris, Festival des Antipodes Saint Tropez, Helen Buday, Greta Morgan Elangué, Bernard Boriès, Festival Rochefort Pacifique Cinéma et Littérature, La Rochelle.

ELAINE LEWIS, Australian Art in Paris: Gallery Arts d’Australie Stéphane Jacob

Stéphane Jacob established Arts d’Australie in Paris in 1996, after a visit to Australia when he first became acquainted with Aboriginal art. The interview that forms this article was based on an article in Le Figaro that appeared in March 2020. The interview covers Jacob’s passionate interest in and extensive knowledge of Aboriginal art and his promotion of this and other Australian art through his gallery in Paris and his links with other cultural institutions in France and Europe.

Keywords: Stéphane Jacob, Guy Cogeval, Isabelle de Beaumont, John Kelly, Musée des Confluences Lyon, Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, Editions Arts d’Australie Stéphane Jacob.

MARIE-THÉRÈSE JENSEN, The Droulers Family in Australia

The links between France and Australia that arose in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries through the wool industry are many. This article tells the story of the author’s grandfather, Jean Drouler, who came to Australia in 1912 as a junior buyer for Masurel Fils. He and his wife settled in Australia after the First World War and became an integral part of the French community in Sydney. One hundred years later, their descendants now number over one hundred.

Keywords: Masurel Fils, Jean Droulers, French Chamber of Commerce (Sydney), Société de Bienfaisance (French Benevolent Society) (NSW), Jean Trémoulet, French Consul, Playoust family.

PETER MCPHEE, French Australian Encounters no 7: Finding Traces of the French Revolution in the Landscape

Physical traces of the French Revolution are few and far between in the built environment. Renowned historian of the French revolution recounts his voyages of discovery across France as he has located some of these vestiges.

Keywords: liberty tree Tamniès, Camps-sur-l’Agly, Saint-Julien du Sault, the church during the Revolution, Robespierre, autels de la patrie, ‘vandalism’.

EDWARD DUYKER, Revealing Père Receveur; A Portrait Beneath our Noses

Claude-François-Joseph Receveur, later known as Père Laurent, was a chaplain and naturalist on board the Astrolabe during Lapérouse’s fateful expedition. He died at Botany Bay, NSW in 1788 and was the first Catholic priest be buried in Australia.

Could he be the friar depicted in two images of the expedition? The author argues that the visual evidence would suggest yes.

Keywords: Lapérouse expedition (1785–1788), Macao, Brazil, Monterey, Gaspard Duché de Vancy.

The Annual Ivan Barko Prize

Awarded to Andrew Montana for his article in The French Australian Review, number 70., ‘Virtue and Sentiment: Madame Mouchette’s Art and Teaching in Melbourne 1881–1892’.

Key words: Andrew Montana, Berthe Mouchette.

BOOK REVIEW

GEMMA KING, Alexis Bergantz, French Connection: Australia’s Cosmopolitan Ambitions

The influence of cultural practices and motifs from France on nineteenth century Australian life.

Keywords: ‘Frenchness’, Alliance Française de Melbourne, New Caledonia, French convicts, World War 1.

BOOK NOTE

ELAINE LEWIS, Paul Wenz, A Coral Eden (Le Jardin des coraux) translated by Maurice Blackman, Sydney, Exile Bay ETT Imprint

A new publication in the Sydney-Paris Link series from ETT Imprint, A Coral Eden was first published in French in 1929.

Keywords: Jean-Paul Delamotte, Paul Wenz, Maurice Blackman, Tom Thompson, Sydney-Paris Link series.

ELAINE LEWIS, French-Australian Bibliographical Notes

Including: a note on a collection of Australian children’s fiction translated into French that has been donated recently to the State Library of Victoria by Dr Helen Frank; and a note on new translations and readings/performances of Australian plays by the Maison Antoine Vitez, Paris, within the context of ‘Australia Now’, an Australian government promotional program in France.

The French Australian Review – No 56 Australian Winter 2014

HENRY MÉRA, ELAINE LEWIS, IVAN BARKO, Foreword

TOM LOCKLEY, Maurice Guillaux: France’s Forgotten Pioneer Airman in Australia

This article coincides with the centenary of the first postal flight in Australia carried out by French pioneer airman, Maurice Guillaux. That historic flight between Melbourne and Sydney took place in July 1914. The article summarises what can be found out about Guillaux’s life and career, focussing on his two hundred days in Australia and on the refutation of the absurd allegation that in 1917 he was shot as a German spy.

Keywords: Maurice Guillaux, postal flight, airman, Caudron bi-plane, the Pommery Cup, Louis Blériot, Melbourne-Sydney mail flight, World War 1

PETER BROWN & JACQUELINE DWYER, The French-Australian League of Help: Restoring the Record

Drawing on previously unused sources, the authors recount the history of the French-Australian League of Help and an appraisal of its work. It also analyses the representation of the League in the press and in subsequent historical writing.

Keywords: French-Australian League of Help, ‘France’s Day’ 1917 (14th July), Marie-Thérèse Playoust, W.A. Holman, Augustine Soubeiran, public donations, Paris Distribution Committee, Pau Mission, orphanages in France

MARIE RAMSLAND, War, Writing and the Wenz Family

An exploration of the close relationship between Australia and France during World War 1 through the writings and actions of members of the Wenz family, particularly those of the French-Australian author Paul.

Kewords: World War 1, Paul Wenz, Wenz family, Red Cross, wool traders, Champagne region

EDWARD DUYKER, France’s Military Dead in Australia – an Historical Survey

This article is an edited text of a talk given by Edward Duyker to the Francophone Association of Southern Sydney earlier this year. It is an historical record of French military and naval graves in Australia.

Keywords: Australian war graves in France, French military graves in Australia, return of French servicemen from World War 1

BOOK REVIEWS

Andrew Plant, The Poppy, reviewed by Colin Nettelbeck

ELAINE LEWIS, French-Australian Bibliographical Notes

Explorations – No 42 Jun 2007

WALLACE KIRSOP, Foreword

ERIC BOUVET & ELIZABETH BOUDET-GRIFFIN, French Migration to South Australia (1955-1971)

In this demographic study the authors provide a concise but comprehensive summary of historical patterns in French migration to Australia at the national level. This is followed by a detailed analysis of data obtained from the Adelaide Branch of the National Archives of Australia, on French migrants who arrived in South Australia between 1955 and 1971.

Keywords: migration, former French colonies in North Africa, May 1968, assisted passage, Alien Registration documents

HORRIE POUSSARD, Horace Remi Poussard: 19th Century Travelling Violonist

This article, by his great grandson, recounts the life of the violinist Horace Poussard, who came to Australia in 1861 and spent many years in Australia teaching, performing and working with other Australian and French musicians.

Keywords: Horace Poussard, Paris Conservatoire, René Douay, Florence Beverley, ‘The Dead Heroes’ (a musical poem), Louise Félicie, Jean (stage name Lottie Montal), Alice Charbonnet-Kellerman

WALLACE KIRSOP, Australian Artists in France

In this note the author reviews an exhibition on the theme of The Long Weekend: Australian Artists in Paris 1918-1939, held at the Bendigo Art Gallery in 2007-2008. A printed catalogue with a preface by the Gallery’s Director, Karen Quinlan

Keywords: Bendigo Art Gallery, Australian artists in Paris

WALLACE KIRSOP, The Huguenot Society of Australia

The purpose of this is to acquaint readers with the existence of the recently formed Huguenot Society of Australia and its publications. Reference is also made to other reference works on the Huguenots and the history of French protestantism which are available in Australia.

Keywords: Huguenots, Huguenot Times, Protestantism, Société de l’Histoire du Protestantisme français

WALLACE KIRSOP, Paul Wenz and Forbes

The author recounts his two visits, in 1994 and 2007 respectively, to Forbes, a major rural centre in NSW, with strong French-Australian connections, where French-Australian writer Paul Wenz and his wife owned a property. The note also contains information on Wenz-related material held in the Forbes Public Library.

Keywords: Paul Wenz, Erica C. Wolff, Joseph Bernard Reymond, Merrill Findlay, Paul WEnz Society

BOOK REVIEWS

Wilga M. Rivers, Down Under/Up Top: Creating a Life, reviewed by Wallace Kirsop

Katherine Barnes, The Higher Self in Christopher Brennan’s Poems: Esotericism, Romanticism, Symbolism, reviewed by Wallace Kirsop

Christine Morrow, Une abominable époque: journal d’une Australienne en France 1940-1941, reviewed by Wallace Kirsop

Laurel Clark, F. F. Baillière, Publisher in Ordinary, Publisher Extraordinary, reviewed by Wallace Kirsop

Explorations – No 24 Jun 1998

(issued April 1999)

PATRICIA CLANCY, JACQUES DE SAINT-FERJEUX, COLIN THORNTON-SMITH, Foreword

ROLLON MOUCHEL-BLAISOT, A Tribute to the French Film Festival: Cannes Film Festival Fiftieth Anniversary Retrospective.

In 1997, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival, twelve outstanding French films were showcased at the festival and these were subsequently made available to the Alliance Française of Adelaide, who organised a Retrospective at the Mercury Cinema Adelaide in June 1998. The text of the opening speech (A Tribute to the French Film Festival), by the Consul General for France, Rollon Michel-Blaisot, is available here.

Keywords: Rollon Mouchel-Blaisot, Cannes Film Festival 50th Anniversary, Retrospective, Mercury Cinema Adelaide.

C.B. THORNTON-SMITH, The Delamotte Phenomenon — Cultural Reciprocity

The story of Monique and Jean-Paul Delamotte, who established the Association Culturelle Franco-Australienne (ACFA) and the related Atelier Littéraire Franco-Australien (ALFA), with its publishing house Éditions La Petite Maison. The author pays tribute to the invaluable work they have done in promoting Australian writing in France.

Keywords: C.B. Thornton-Smith, Jean-Paul Delamotte, Association Culturelle Franco-Australienne (ACFA), Atelier Littéraire Franco-Australien (ALFA), Éditions La Petite Maison.

JEAN-PAUL DELAMOTTE, Reciprocity — for John Rowland, In Memoriam, The Inaugural Kelver Hartley Fellowship Address by Dr Jean-Paul Delamotte AM

A summary of two speeches made by Jean-Paul Delamotte in Newcastle and Sydney in 1997 when he was the Inaugural Kelver Hartley Fellow. The speaker pays tribute to the ‘French-Australian Cultural Connection’ and the many examples of reciprocity Delamotte found when he lived in Australia during the mid-seventies and reflects upon the work of French/Australian grazier and writer, Paul Wenz.

Keywords: Jean-Paul Delamotte, reciprocity, Newcastle University, Kelver Hartley, Ken Dutton, Paul Wenz, John Rowland.

BOOK REVIEW

Jean-Paul Delamotte, Un dimanche a Melbourne. Conte franco-australien reviewed by Patricia Clancy

Explorations – No 23 Dec 1997

(issued November 1998)

PATRICIA CLANCY, JACQUES DE SAINT-FERJEUX, COLIN THORNTON-SMITH, Foreword

M. BLACKMAN, Transculturalism and Hybridity in the French-Australian Writer Paul Wenz

Maurice Blackman considers the transcultural position displayed by Wenz in ‘both the content and the écriture of his texts’. ‘His point of view is not that of a Frenchman specifically, but of someone who is simultaneously at home in the bush and yet “alien”’. He concludes that ‘Paul Wenz’s narratives do not only thematise aspects of the experience of transculturality, but the processes of their écriture also have the effect of infusing, one into the other, two hegemonic literary discourses, as well as the two dominant “imperial” languages’.

Keywords: Paul Wenz, Nanima, Forbes, Diary of a New Chum, L’Homme du soleil couchant, World War I

PAUL MAISTRE, Scènes de la vie australienne : “De mineur à ministre”, translated & introduced by C.B. THORNTON-SMITH

One of five short stories by Paul Maistre (Paul le Franc) published in the Madrid-based Nouvelle Revue Internationale between 1894 and 1897, De mineur à ministre offers a French view of events leading to the demise of ‘Marvellous Melbourne’. Maistre’s main character, Victorian politician Donald MacGillroe, is an amalgam of some politicians of the day whose excesses led to the 1890s financial crash.

Keywords: Paul Maistre, Paul le Franc, Victoria’s Land Boom, Marvellous Melbourne, Thomas Bent, James Munro, Duncan Gillies.