For Noble and Valiant France : French-Australian relations, French-Australian identities during the First World War

La recherche porte sur les relations franco-australiennes pendant la Première Guerre Mondiale. A l’aide d’une approche transnationale, elle étudie l’expérience des soldats français résidant en Australie à la déclaration de la guerre, et les interactions entre Français et Australiens tant en France qu’en Australie. Dans le contexte de la Première Guerre Mondiale, les communautés françaises en Australie ont été perçues différemment et leur rôle dans la société a été souligné et transformé, ce qui les a soudainement mises en valeur d’une façon nouvelle et unique. Cette étude vise à identifier les réseaux d’influence, à analyser la nature des relations et interconnexions sociales, politiques, culturelles et linguistiques, à découvrir comment ces relations ont influencé l’effort de guerre australien, et comment elles ont été transformées en retour par la guerre. Le fait de se fonder sur des sources françaises comme australiennes procure une perspective nouvelle sur cette période cruciale de l’histoire des relations entre la France et l’Australie.This thesis investigates the perception, projection, and mobilisation of French identity in Australia during the First World War. Australia’s participation on the Western Front from 1916 onwards meant that more Australians than ever before had a tangible connection with France, and it became a place of trauma as well as fascination. Yet, from the beginning of the conflict, French identity, language, and culture took on a heightened significance in Australia. French-Australians and their networks of francophones and francophiles played an important role in shaping this mobilisation of identity and culture, despite their numerically small proportion of the population. Drawing on a wide variety of French and Australian sources, this thesis examines the responses of French-Australians to the war and analyses how French identity was expressed in both civilian and military contexts. This thesis represents the first study to incorporate an extensive use of French sources to examine Australia’s First World War experience, and to analyse the role played by French-Australian relations. The French sources, notably the French diplomatic archives, demonstrate that the discourse regarding French identity was driven by a diverse range of people, in multiple spheres, and on many levels of society. French-Australian connections and networks based on social, political, cultural, and linguistic identities reveal a transnational influence which is not widely known. From diplomats and government officials, to businessmen, soldiers, charity workers and the ordinary man on the street, many people took part in, and were influenced by, the discourse. This thesis examines how French national identity, French cultural imagery and essentialised images of France and French people were linked to the rhetoric of patriotism and were used to influence public opinion and support for the war and provides a new perspective from which to understand this pivotal period of Australian and French shared history