In 1947, Australia helped establish the South Pacific Commission (SPC, now the Pacific Community) to promote cooperation and improve the welfare of Pacific peoples. Based in Noumea, it was the first body to bring together colonial powers and later, Pacific Islander voices, yet its history is little known in Australia. 

Dr Bergantz's research draws on the archives of diplomat William Douglass Forsyth, a founding figure of the SPC, to uncover the political and personal struggles involving Australia, France, and Indigenous leaders that shaped the organisation and contemporary vision of today’s Blue Pacific.

Attend in person

Entry to this event is free but bookings are essential. 

Watch online

The presentation will also be available online. Please make a booking and we will send you a direct link to the livestream event via email. Or you can join anytime through the Library's YouTube channel.

About Dr Alexis Bergantz

Dr Alexis Bergantz is a Senior Lecturer in Global & Language Studies in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at the Australian National University (ANU). Dr Bergantz holds a PhD in History from the ANU for which he was awarded the JG Crawford Prize for Academic Excellence, the John Molony Prize for best thesis in History, and was shortlisted for the Serle Award for best PhD thesis in Australian history by the Australian Historical Association.

He is a historian of Australia’s entanglements with France and the French Pacific, particularly New Caledonia. His first book, French Connection: Australia’s Cosmopolitan Ambitions won the 2022 New South Wales Premier's Australian History Award.

Dr Bergantz's current research investigates aspects of Australia’s historical relationship with the French Pacific in the 20th century. Since 2020 Dr Bergantz has been leading the research efforts of the Institute for the Study of French-Australian Relations (ISFAR) as co-chair of its Research Committee (with Elizabeth Rechniewski). He also acts as General Editor of the French-Australian Dictionary of Biography and serves on the Editorial Committee of The French Australian Review. 

Dr Bergantz is a 2025 National Library of Australia Fellow.