Message from the owners of Le Courrier Australien

Throughout its 127 year existence, part of Le Courrier Australien’s DNA has been the link that unites francophones and francophiles across the vast Australian territory. It is a testament to the history of

this French presence in Australia and is in many ways the voice of the exceptional friendship that exists between France and Australia!

The newspaper has always endorsed French businesses and French savoir-faire and has always been actively involved in the promotion of French culture.

In 1892, the same year that Baron Pierre de Coubertin announced his plans to launch the modern Olympic Games, Le Courrier Australien was created in Australia on 30th April. This weekly, then monthly newspaper, has always enjoyed the unconditional support of institutions, universities, grandes écoles and leading figures. In 1892, under the auspices of the Consul General of France at the time, some noteworthy Frenchmen purchased the newspaper which quickly became the publication of the Chamber of Commerce and the Alliance Française committee.

Le Courrier Australien has a rich history. Undoubtedly one of the most important moments was in 1940 when the newspaper broke ties with the Vichy government to manifest its support for Charles de Gaulle’s movement and in so doing, became the symbol of the resistance and of freedom in the Pacific.

The Sourdin family then took over management of Le Courrier for more than 50 years before handing over to Bernard Elatri in 1999. The oldest foreign newspaper in Australia continued to be published, uninterrupted, until the end of 2011 just prior to the death of its owner.

François, a journalist by trade, former editor-in-chief of La Libre Belgique/La Dernière Heure – Les Sports, and married to a wonderful Australian wife, started exploring different opportunities in Australia. He had already been in contact from Brussels with Mr Elatri to discuss taking over the management of Le Courrier Australien. Unfortunately, his illness claimed his life before this collaboration was validated. François had temporarily missed his destiny with Le Courrier, so in 2013 he decided to launch his own newspaper Australia, VoilaSydney. This new media quickly became successful with the local people who lacked access to quality French press.

It was only a few years later, following a chance encounter with Mr Bernard Le Boursicot AOM, a figure well-known for his involvement with several French and Australian associations, that the relaunch of the newspaper was considered. Bernard felt strongly about saving the archives, the heritage of the French in Australia, and François planned to relaunch the newspaper and keep it alive. The two partners quickly took all the steps necessary to breathe life back into the newspaper.

In the first instance, Bernard became owner of Le Courrier Australien by purchasing the name, its commercial rights and archives. François, for his part, brought his expertise and his newspaper’s readers. Le Courrier Australien and VoilaSydney would join to form one single entity. The now friends, Bernard and François, were officially the new co-owners of Le Courrier Australien and the heritage of the French in Australia.

Finally, in November 2016, Le Courrier Australien was relaunched at a great celebration held at the Consulate General of France in the presence of French, Belgian, Swiss and Canadian diplomats. Today, it continues to live out its goal of being a quality bilingual media in a digital format: www.lecourrieraustralien.com / www.lcanews.com

With the support of the institutions, our goal is to reproduce this model of participative contribution, sharing of cultures and openness, and to add to this wonderful story that we are writing together with the francophone and Australian community. The promotion of our shared values and our innovative abilities as entrepreneurs and researchers is in our DNA. It is Le Courrier Australien’s mission to make the savoir-faire of France, Europe and Australia known.

Making this Collector’s Edition a reality is very important to us and it could not have been achieved without the support and involvement of many volunteers. Producing this book required combing through over 16,160 pages of archives, for the period from 1892 to 1945 alone! Covering so many important events (creation of the newspaper, Federation, diplomatic and economic relationships between our two countries, the Great War, the roaring twenties and its wave of technological innovation, as well as the Second World War) in only 240 pages was not an easy feat. This book of course needs to be read as a collection of archives conveying how news was communicated to the French community in Australia, not simply as a historical account. This publication is part of the vision to protect the collective memory of our community and we have already started tackling the second volume with great enthusiasm: 1946 until today.

Today’s digital world presents Le Courrier Australien with new challenges, namely existing amongst the thousands of newspapers accessible in Australia, and innovating while preserving its identity.

Each generation honestly thought it was living through the most important, dramatic or complicated period in history. Today’s biggest challenge is a financial one, in the face of cut-throat modes of consumption. The newspaper and its editions are the collective memory of our community. Le Courrier Australien does not currently receive any subsidies, it is in danger and can only survive through your support, the support of our readers, contributors, donors, sponsors and partners.

Back in 1943, Le Courrier Australien Director, Albert Sourdin, said that the constructive philosophy of the newspaper’s founders has stayed true over time: “Think as if you will die tomorrow. Act as if you will live forever”. We embrace this wholeheartedly.

François VANTOMME Co-owner - Director - Editor-In-Chief
Bernard LE BOURSICOT AOM Co-owner