Hunters Hill Le Vésinet Friendship Committee

Exchange your Family for a very nice French one

About

Hunter’s Hill and Le Vésinet

Friendship Pact

Le Vesinet
History

Early French settlers, including the Joubert brothers and Gabriel de Milhau, were influential in gaining the proclamation of Hunters Hill as a separate Borough in 1861 and at that time it was already known as the ‘French Village’.

In 1988 the French Government as part of the gift to Australian Bicentennial gave Friendship Pacts to 3 Australian Communities, with the Municipality of Hunters Hill honoured to be one of them.

Le Vésinet was chosen as a similar town to Hunters Hill, a municipality 20 kilometres west of Paris, of a similar size, character and history. Much like Hunters Hill, Le Vésinet has beautiful houses, parks, a close proximity to water and a great community spirit.

In 2023, Councillors visited Le Vésinet to celebrate the  35th Anniversary of the Friendship pact.

Many members of the Hunters Hill community have visited Le Vésinet over the years and have enjoyed their warm hospitality.

Student Exchange

In 1991, as part of the Hunters Hill-Le Vésinet relationship, the first delegation of students arrived from France to experience Australian life. 

Each year Australian students travel to Le Vésinet, during their Christmas holidays and spend 6 weeks in a family with a boy or girl of the same age. They are often taken away on holiday, experience Christmas in France, attend their brother of sister´s school and are taken on wonderful excursions by the members of the Le Vésinet committee.

The following July and August, the same French brothers and sisters come to Sydney and stay with their families. They spend 2 or 3 weeks on holiday and 3 weeks at local schools. The Hunters Hill committee organise excursions for them, a welcome afternoon tea, hosted by the Mayor of Hunters Hill and a Farewell Dinner.

The organising committees of Hunters Hill and Le Vésinet enjoy a warm and cooperative relationship.

The committee is always looking for suitable host families who have children from 14 to 16 years of age, and studying French at school to join the exchange program. If you would like to become part of this program or be involved with the committee, visit the Hunters Hill – Le Vésinet Friendship Committee website.

Coat of Arms for Hunter’s Hill and Le Vesinet Communities

Image is a set of three photos, showing scenes from the signing of the Friendship Pact in 1988. The left most photo shows the representatives of both towns, surrounded by supporters. The upmost photo is of the undersigned parties signing the documents. The bottom photo is a close up of the first image on the steps of Town Hall.
Signing of the Friendship Pact 1988(JPG, 112KB)Open image in slideshow
Photo shows a sign situated in front of a small river. Sign says Promenande de Hunters Hill. behind the river is lots of vegetation and there are lovely floating lilly pads on the water.
Promenade De Hunters Hill(JPG, 110KB)Open image in slideshow

Photo shows a small public seating bench situated beside a river. Above the bench, there are large tree branches leaning in from the left side of frame. In the background is a large river backed by lots of vegetation.
Bench by the Water(JPG, 81KB)Open image in slideshow

Photo shows the Le Vesinet Town Hall. The hall is in an
Le Vesinet Town Hall(JPG, 61KB)Open image in slideshow

Photo shows the grounds of the high school that is home to the french students and temporary home of the australian students. it shows a large paved courtyard. To the left of the courtyard are a series of trees that shade the area. To the right of the courtyard is a large rectangular building with many windows.
Lycee Alain High School(JPG, 79KB)Open image in slideshow

Photo shows Councillors Ross Williams and Richard Quinn visiting le Vesinet. They are being greeted by community representatives and children. They are standing together in a semi-circle. behind them are some very lush trees and there is a yellow building barely visible through the trees.
Richard Quinn and Ross Williams visiting Le Vesinet(JPG, 87KB)Open image in slideshow

Photo shows a large Château with a number of people walking towards it. There are cars in the forecourt area and there are metal gates in front of the property grounds. Surrounding the property are a number of very tall trees. The building is made of brick/stone and the roof is heavily slanted. There are many windows surrounding the entire exterior of the property, at least two stories tall.
Château des Merlettes(JPG, 88KB)Open image in slideshow

Photo shows the Le Vesinet fish markets. The closest stall has a wide range of seafood types, incoluding shrimp and crabs, as well as fish. You can see a family browsing the goods and chatting to the proprietor.
Le Vesinet Fish Markets(JPG, 101KB)Open image in slideshow

Photo shows the Le Vesinet exchange students standing with Mayor Miles in the Council chambers. There are 5 students and they are all standing together underneath the Australian flag and the Hunters Hill Coat of Arms.
Le Vesinet Students Meet Mayor Miles(JPG, 49KB)Open image in slideshow

Photo shows the full group of exchange students standing within the Hunters Hill Town Hall. There are 23 students in total.