September 1st is National Wattle Day
It celebrates our national floral emblem, Acacia pycnantha (uh-KAY-shuh pik-NAN-thuh /ɘ’keiʃɘ pɪk’nᴂnөɘ/); a species more than 30,000 years old and one of the first to recover from fires.
Acacias occur in all Australian states from coastal zones to mountains to the dry inland. Collectively, acacias are known as “wattles”. One of them, Acacia pycnantha, was officially proclaimed the national floral emblem on 1st September, 1988, the bicentennial year of settlement in Australia. It occurs in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales in open forest and woodland. (Australian Native Plants Society.)
Recently, successive Governors General have been giving recognition to observance of National Wattle Day.
The Wattle Day Association promotes the day as a potential day of national unity, saying, “National Wattle Day is a safe haven with deep social, environmental and cultural roots, uniting all Australians“. (WDA)
Certainly we could do with more public holidays later in the year. But let’s not get into all that just now!
One of the beautiful things about our National Anthem, Advance Australia Fair, is that we sing to our natural environment: Our sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains, of drought and flooding rains and rugged mountain ranges. Our anthem only needs a few tweaks to make some of the lyrics less ludicrous, because we’re not quite as green as we think we are.
Green and Gold, or Red, White and Blue?
The green and gold of the wattle have become iconic sporting colours in Australia. There have been many proposals for a flag that also includes the national mascot, the kangaroo.
Australian Flags has a petition before parliament to “ask the House to Request the Governor-General, under Section 5 of the Flags Act 1953, to proclaim a new “Australian National Colours Flag.” This flag should incorporate green, gold, and the kangaroo. Consistent with the 1995 precedent for the Aboriginal Flag, this design should be appointed as a “flag of significance to the Australian nation generally,” to be flown alongside the National Flag.” (Petition EN9551 closed on 22 April 2026)
Yet another flag alongside the National Flag? So much for unity. This isn’t the time to ditch our British heritage. Maybe when it is properly respected and understood we can consider an improvement. Meanwhile, surely we can live with one flag and fly the Aboriginal flag on those days for which it is most appropriate, such as the 27th of May.
In 1967, on the 27th of May, the Australian Government held a referendum in which more than 90 per cent of Australian voters chose ‘Yes’ to giving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people the same recognition as the rest the Australian population.
1970 was Peak Culture in Australia – that brief period between the end of White Australia and the beginning of the multicultural experiment. Long Live True Blue Australia.
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