French Australians
Total population | |
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French 36,028 (by birth, 2021)[1] 148,922 (by ancestry, 2021)[2] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
France-born people by state or territory | |
Franco-Mauritians |
Part of a series of articles on the |
French people |
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French Australians (French: Australiens d'origine française), some of whom refer to themselves as Huguenots, are Australian citizens or residents of
Demography
According to the 2006 Australian census, 98,332 Australians (or 0.47% of the population) claim French ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry.[3] Of these, 19,186 were born in France[4] and 12,735 of them had since acquired Australian citizenship.[5]
8,281 (or 43%) of the residents born in France had arrived in Australia in 1979 or earlier.[5]
History
Many Australians with French ancestry are descended from
Others who came later were from poorer Huguenot families. They migrated to Australia from England in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to escape the poverty in the East End of London, notably in the Huguenot enclaves of Spitalfields and Bethnal Green. Their impoverishment had been brought about by the effect of the Industrial Revolution, which caused the collapse of the Huguenot-dominated silk-weaving industry.
A number of French orders of priests, nuns and brothers have contributed to the
French architectural influence is still visible in
The largest post-war increase in French migration to Australia came during the 1960s and 1970s; unlike many other European countries, France did not establish a migration scheme in the immediate post-war period due to chronic underemployment, despite Australia seeing the French as some of the most desirable immigrants to obtain during that era.[11]
Since that time, there has only been a small flow of French immigrants to Australia. Many people in the French-Australian community now originate from French overseas territories, especially New Caledonia.
Culture
Today, the Brisbane French Festival, held over the Bastille Day weekend, is Australia's biggest French festival.[12] Participants include both French-born Australians and Australians of more distant French ancestry.
Some Australians of French
French cuisine has influenced the nation with French-inspired cafes, restaurants and boulangeries to be found in most major cities.[15] French immigrant chefs, particularly those who appear on television, have done much to promote French cooking and food philosophy, including a growing understanding of the concept of terroir.
The French Benevolent Society has an active presence in the nation, providing a support network for elderly and incapacitated French Australians.[16]
Most of the French-born people in Australia are Roman Catholics and the Reformed Church of France (Église Réformée de France) is yet to establish a presence in the country, despite the vibrant group of Australians of Huguenot descent. However, Taizé-style services are becoming increasingly popular with both Roman Catholics and Protestants from a variety of denominations. Taizé provides one of the key grassroots ecumenical movements in the nation.
Education
French international schools in Australia include:
- Lycée Condorcet (Sydney)
- Telopea Park School (Canberra)
- Section Française de Caulfield Junior College (Melbourne)
See also
- Alliance française
- Australia–France relations
- Bretons
- Caldoche
- Canadian Australians
- Dragonnade
- European Australians
- Europeans in Oceania
- French diaspora
- History of France
- Huguenot cross
- Huguenot
- Immigration to Australia
- List of Huguenots
- Reformed Church of France
- Religion in France
- Revocation of the Edict of Nantes
- Taizé Community
References
- ^ "Birthplace". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- ^ "Ancestry". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- ^ "2006 Census of Population and Housing: Australia: Ancestry (full classification list) by sex". 2006 Census. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (XLS) on 10 March 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
- ^ "20680-Country of Birth of Person (full classification list) by Sex – Australia" (XLS). 2006 Census. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 27 May 2008.
- ^ a b "2914.0.55.002 2006 Census Ethnic Media Package" (XLS). Census Dictionary, 2006 (cat.no 2901.0). Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 June 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2008.
- ^ C. Moe, Hardly a soft landing: the first Australian foundation of the De La Salle Brothers - Armidale 1906, Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society 28 (2007), 67-73.
- ^ N.A. Dennis, Pioneer Marist Brothers in Sydney, Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society 19 (1998), 65-73.
- ^ A.P. Jeffcott, The coming of the Marist Fathers to Australia and the history of Villa Maria, Sydney, Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society 3 (2) (1970), 13-28.
- ^ J. Franklin, Catholic missions to Aboriginal Australia: An evaluation of their overall effect, Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society 37 (1) (2016), 45-68.
- ^ B. Sherry, Hunters Hill, Dictionary of Sydney, 2008.
- ISSN 1446-9219. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
- ^ "En collaboration avec l'Alliance Française". Brisbane French Festival.
- ^ "Alliance Francaise French Film Festival 2016 in Australia". affrenchfilmfestival.org. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
- ^ The Huguenot Society of Australia. "Welcome to The Huguenot Society of Australia Website". Retrieved 30 April 2016.
- ^ "Guide for all French products and services like French travel & restaurants". French Australia. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
- ^ "Accueil et Futurs Evénéments - French Benevolent Association of South Australia". Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
External links
- French Embassy
- France in Australia
- French Benevolent Society
- Huguenot Society of Australia
- Alliance Française (Brisbane Branch)
- French Schools in Australia
- French Australia Chamber of Commerce and Industry
- French Association of the North Shore (Sydney)
- Eglise Réformée de France
- French Connection: Early French Explorers of Tasmania
- Tasmania's Historic French Gardens
- Tassie's French Connection
- France in Tasmania
- Napoleon Bonaparte: Notable Australian Connections
- How Very French
- History of the Huguenots
- French culture in Australia
- Barko, Ivan (2008). "French". Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 4 October 2015. (French in Sydney)