When Wagga local John Craig returned Frenchman Guillame de Bure's wallet via international post in 1999, he never guessed it could return a lifelong connection.

Or that 23 years later, Mr de Bure's son Gabriel would spend three weeks in Wagga with Mr Craig and wife Anne improving his English and seeing the country.

The story's sentimentality is not lost on Mr Craig.

"I think it's just a fine example of what can happen if you do the right thing," he said.

"For us to go to the trouble to send the wallet back to him, we had no expectations of anything flying from that.

"But it turned out to be an enduring friendship."

The Daily Advertiser reported about Mr and Mrs Craig's return to France in 2003, four years after they happened upon the tale-starting wallet in a hire car, for Mr de Bure and wife Aude's wedding.

"It was a fantastic experience and we were welcomed with open arms by everyone at the wedding," Mr Craig said.

Mr Craig said that since then, the Wagga couple have returned many times to south-western France, near Toulouse, to visit their friends.

Gabriel de Bure, 17, said Australia was vastly different than he expected.

"It's better," he said.

"I was expecting something really wild - I was expecting 90 per cent of dirt and kangaroos.

"You have a lot of different landscapes and really friendly people everywhere."

Gabriel said the normality of saying hello to a stranger in public most surprised him compared with his home country.

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Despite only having met the Australian couple when he was an eight-year-old, Gabriel said he felt immediately at home with the Craigs.

"They act with me like if I was their grandchild, so I wasn't uncomfortable - even the first day," he said

As for Wagga, the young Frenchman described it as a "lovely place" and a "beautiful city".

Has Gabriel, the eldest of four children, coming to Wagga set a precedent for de Bure visits?

"Yes, that's always an option," Mr Craig said.

"But it is also an option that we have four grandchildren and maybe there will be some reciprocal."

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