France, Australia and New Zealand

Abstract

France did not follow up on its initial explorations of the Australian coast and missed the chance to establish colonies in Australia in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Lack of colonies, however, did not prohibit Frenchmen from migrating to the English colonies on the continent, nor stop the growth of trade relations. Two particular developments of the nineteenth century sparked interest in Australia. By the second decade, merino sheep were raised in the country; after the 1850s, the Australian colonies became the world’s major producers of wool and sheepskins. In 1851, gold was discovered in New South Wales and Victoria, and a gold rush followed. A number of French adventurers were among those who swarmed into the Australian gold fields. By the middle of the century, French interests in Australia were great enough for Paris to appoint consuls in Sydney and Melbourne.¹