Commemorating French colonialism in Australia: on the Lapérouse monument in Sydney

Abstract

This article explores an unusual ‘colonial’ monument in Australia and the different uses to which it has been put since its erection in 1826. The Lapérouse monument in Botany Bay (Sydney) commemorates Count of Lapérouse, a French rather than a British explorer, who disappeared shortly after departing from Botany Bay in 1788. Examining the ambivalent and changing memories of empire that have been attached to this monument over two centuries allows us to question the notion of a ‘colonial monument’ and shows how changing contexts can alter perceptions of what specific monuments commemorate.