The French government has honoured Canberra public servant Caroline Bartlett, the project manager and inaugural director of the Sir John Monash Centre in Villers-Bretonneux, north of Paris.
Mrs Bartlett, now back in Canberra as the director of overseas memorials for the Department of Veterans' Affairs, this week received the National Order of Merit, the second-highest honour from the French government, after the Legion of Honour.
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She is now a Knight of the National Order of Merit, an award given by the French to "reward distinguished merit and encourage the lifeblood of the country".
Mrs Bartlett received the award from the French Ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thebault at his official residence in Canberra, with her husband Wade and their children Alexa, 11, and Samuel, 8, by her side.
The whole family went on a journey together when Mrs Bartlett was given the job of bringing to life the $100 million Sir John Monash Centre, honouring Australians' service and sacrifice on the Western Front, as the Commonwealth government's lasting legacy of the century of the Anzac landing.
She was the project manager and the inaugural director of the centre and humbled by the recognition, three years after the centre opened, on Anzac Day, 2018.
"I thought it was wonderful recognition for the team, both for those who designed and built the Sir John Monash Centre and the team who joined me in setting it up and running it, in France and Australia," she said.
Mrs Bartlett said the centre's role was preserving and sharing the memories of those who served and made the ultimate sacrifice on the Western Front, and ensuring those memories were passed on to future generations.
"I mean, how wonderful is it to be part of something like that?" she said.
Many of the consultants and staff who worked on the centre were able to attend the awards ceremony.
"That project really created incredible bonds between people," Mrs Bartlett said.
"We did see the value of what we were doing and if you look at the partnerships that were created with the French community and French authorities, it was an incredible project that brought together a lot of people. And those relationships continue, even today."
Mrs Bartlett is following in the footsteps of her mother, Australian expat Jenny Seagoe, who received the Legion of Honour from the French as president of the chamber of commerce and industry in New Caledonia, where Caroline grew up.
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Megan Doherty
I like telling local stories with integrity. My greatest hope is that someone will read my story and turn to someone in a cafe or in the next cubicle or across the breakfast table and say, "Did you hear about this?" Email: megan.doherty@canberratimes.com.au
I like telling local stories with integrity. My greatest hope is that someone will read my story and turn to someone in a cafe or in the next cubicle or across the breakfast table and say, "Did you hear about this?" Email: megan.doherty@canberratimes.com.au
