WALLACE KIRSOP, Foreword
ROBERT TRUMBLE, Vincent d’Indy – musicien français – an account of a significant French/Australian link
This article sketches the career of composer Vincent d’Indy, a pupil of César Franck, and his undeserved eclipse since his death in 1931. The Australian connection was first established by Bernard Heinze, later Sir Bernard, when, at the end of the first World War, he enrolled in Vincent d’Indy’s Schola Cantorum in Paris, and it was nurtured by Louise Dyer, the founder of Éditions l’Oiseau-Lyre. The author describes his own efforts to promote Vincent d’Indy’s music and memory, and his association with Guy de Lioncourt, d’Indy’s nephew and successor at Schola Cantorum.
Keywords: Vincent d’Indy, César Franck, Sir Bernard Heinze, Louise, Dyer, Schola Cantorum, Guy de Lioncourt
DIANNE REILLY, Melbourne through French Eyes: Antoine Fauchery
The author describes Fauchery’s early life in Paris, his vocation as a writer and friendships with other writers and celebrities, and then his first period in Victoria from 1852-1856. It draws on his account of his time in Australia, Lettres d’un mineur en Australie, which was published in serial form in a Paris newspaper in 1857. It refers also to his unsuccessful commercial venture, the establishment of a Café Estaminet Français in Melbourne.
Keywords: Antoine Fauchery, 1850s gold rush, Ballarat, Nadar, Banville, Baudelaire, A.R. Chisholm, Eureka Stockade
JACQUES H. POLLET DE SAINT-FERJEUX, Paul Merruau’s Les convicts en Australie (Paris, Hachette, 1853)
This “fictional travel book” written for the Bibliothèque des Chemins de fer by an author who never visited Australia alternates between philosophical reflections on punishment and second-hand descriptions of the country. The author of the article claims that, despite these contradictions and flaws, Merruau’s talent as a journalist, his ability to evoke an atmosphere and the quality of his mind make this book worth reading.
Keywords: convicts, Sydney, travel writing, Paul Merruau, Les convicts en Australie
MILES LEWIS, The French Disconnection
In this detailed study of French influences in pre-World War 1 Australian architecture, the author distinguishes between stylistic features of French origin and building techniques and materials originating in France. Examples of both are given.
Keywords: pise de terre, Marseilles tiles, reinforced concrete, mansard roof, wallpapers, Viollet-le-Duc
CAROL SANDERS, France in Australia and the Pacific
A brief presentation of an Australian National University project aimed at developing teaching and more specifically reading comprehension materials focussed on France in the Pacific and in Australia.
Keywords: Australian National University, production of language-teaching units, France in Australia and the Pacific
COLIN NETTELBECK, In and out tune: an Improvisation
This is the text of a talk with musical illustrations delivered at the colloquium on the “France –Victoria Connection” held in 1985. The author tells the story of his discovery of France and French culture, and, more broadly, of the world and of ideas, through French songs. The written version of these light-hearted and ironic reminiscences requires readers to be familiar with the songs cited.
B. LEDUN, Closing Remarks