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The French-Speaking Community in Australia Just as French is the language of many countries, so the SBS French Program must cater to people from many lands and cultures. French is the mother tongue of an estimated 200-million people, including first and second language speakers. The program targets Australia's Francophone and Francophile communities. It must remembered that French is the first language taught as a second language in Australia and the audience of French learners covers all age groups. Apart from France and European countries, such as Switzerland and Belgium, the community is drawn mainly from Mauritius, Canada, Morocco, Cambodia, Vietnam, Lebanon and throughout Africa. Many French-speakers are also likely to listen to our Arabic, Khmer or Vietnamese or African Language Programs. Arrival French explorer La Perouse arrived at Botany Bay in Australia just two days after Britain's First Fleet established itself in New South Wales. Australians often ask themselves how different life would have been if the French explorer had landed first. The legacy of the early French contact is language. Hundreds of locations, in almost all states, bear French names. The French came first as explorers; some convicts from New Caledonia escaped and arrived in Australia. The Gold rush brought another wave of French migrants looking for gold and others sought refuge after the Paris Commune . Settlement Once here, the French were quickly absorbed into the professional life of the colony. They became teachers, bankers, wine-growers, policemen and wool buyers. Contact between Australia and France intensified during the two World Wars and paved the way for increased migration from France after 1945. Migrants from Mauritius who first arrived in Australia in the 1960s, make up a big proportion of the Australia's Francophone population. An estimated 14,000 French-speaking Mauritians live in Melbourne, with a similar number in Sydney. The cultural exchanges between Australia and France are already numerous and well established in all spheres of business , arts and tourism. One of the success stories of Australian-French relations is Le Courrier Australien, a French-language newspaper. Le Courrier Australien is believed to be the oldest-surviving French language newspaper in the world, published outside of France, and the only French-language newspaper published continuously over the last hundred years. Community Contacts There are many French-speaking community organisations in Australia, including the Alliance Francaise. For a list of the latter, please contact: Delegue-General of the Alliance Francaise and Secretary of the Alliances Francaises of Australia PO Box 125 O'Connor ACT 2601 Telephone: (02) 6247 5027 Fax: (02) 6257 6696 Schools Apart from the numerous schools in Australia where French is offered as a normal part of the curriculum, there are a number of schools where French is taught as a first language, from the earliest (kindergarten) stage to the end of the Higher School Certificate. Ecole Bilingue de Melbourne -Camberwell Phone 03 98 22 32 47 Petite Ecole Francaise de Melbourne Caulfield Junior College Phone 03 95 09 68 72 & 03-95 096131 Lycee Condorcet The French School of Sydney 88 Cooper Street Maroubra NSW 2035 Phone 02 9344 8692 Telopea Park School Lycee Franco-Australien New South Wales Crescent Barton ACT 2600 Phone 02 6205 5599. There are also over 50 Francophone community, social and vocational clubs spread out over the length and breadth of the country. Here are some of these organisations. Belgian Society, NSW Phone 02 93 69 33 59 Canadian-Australian Club - NSW Phone 02 9562 3978 Francofolies French Resource Centre 102 Endeavour Street Seven Hills NSW 2147 The Australian-Mauritian Association 209 Kendall Drive Casula NSW 2170 Phone 02 9601 0076 Swiss Club of NSW Phone 02 9416 6190 Le Theatre des Amis 1/28 Sutherland Street Paddington NSW 2021 Phone 02 9360 3662 Le Conseil Superieur des Francais de l'Etranger" (CSFE) 41 Dumaresq Street, Gordon NSW 2072 Phone /Fax 02 9498 4374 The Mauritian Club PO Box 46 Galston NSW 2159 Phone 02 9831 3615 The Atelier Popenhagen 17 Mayman Row Menai NSW 2234 Phone 02 9543 3118 Community and Social Clubs, Victoria The National Council of Mauritian Clubs in Australia Phone 03 97 95 01 59 Association Franco-Australienne du Victoria 1/28 Kensington Rd., South Yarra VIC 3141 Association Francophone Phone 03 9531 2474 Belgian Circle of Victoria Phone 03 9808 4741 Canadian-Australian, VIC Phone 03 9464 0102 Swiss Club of Victoria Phone 03 9650 1196 Stella Clavisque 34 Simpson Drive Dandenong North VIC 3175 Tropic Social Club 5 Elmore Court Scoresby VIC 3179 Mauritian Service Association 159A East Boundary Road Bentleigh East VIC 3105 Sporting Clubs - Petanque Sydney Petanque Club, PO Box 38 Canterbury NSW 2183 Phone 02 9686 6223 France Petanque 345 West Botany St., Rockdale NSW 2216 Phone 02 9825 3244 Newcastle Petanque Club PO Box 124 Lambton NSW 2299 Phone 02 4957 2660 Wollongong Petanque Club Northcliff Drive Berkeley Vale NSW 2261 Club de Petanque (Victoria) 03 9531 2474 WAPA (WA Petanque Assoc), 245 Heytesbury Rd Subiaco WA 6008 Prospect Petanque, 13 Hutton Street, Vale Park SA 5081 Phone 08 8261 7997 Club de Petanque d'Adelaide, Box 743, Unley Business Centre 86 Mary Street Unley SA 5061 Phone 08 8266 4158 Sporting Clubs - Soccer Racing Soccer Club of NSW, 2 Goodan Drive Baulkham Hills NSW 2153 Phone 02 9347 1300 Kiesborough Sporting Club PO Box 150 Noble Park VIC 3174 Phone 03 9543 9386 Dandenong Inter Sporting 5 Dyer Court Clayton South VIC 3169 Phone 03 9551 1180 Liverpool Warriors Soccer Club PO Box 145 Miller NSW 2168 Phone 02 9607 0145 Endeavour Hills Soccer Club 78 Betula Street Doveton VIC 3177, Phone 03 9700 2732 Concord Soccer Club 20 Meadowglen Drive Epping 3076 Phone 03 9408 6098 Special Events Calendar SBS Radio's French Language Program presents special coverage of these and other important events throughout the year. January 26 Australia Day March 12 Mauritius National Day April 25 ANZAC Day - The French Connection July 14 Bastille Day November 11 Remembrance Day Recommended Websites www.cyberjournalisme.com Press & Media www.france.net.au French Embassy wwww.afp.com Agence France Presse wwww.anu.edu.au Alliance Francaise Federation www.lemauricien.com/mauricien www.lexpress-net.com Mauritian newspaper www.lexpress-net.com/radionet Mauritian radio |
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