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History of
Australia's National Floral Emblem
and Wattle Day
 Photo: www.nndb.com |
A
concept is born 'It was resolved at a meeting of the Subscribers to the Regatta, that a National Emblem be adopted to be worn by the Company upon the occasion of the anniversary, to consist of a sprig of silver wattle blossom, tied with the British colour - Navy blue'. The story begins in Hobart Town in 1838 in the penal colony of Van Diemen's Land. More than half a century before Australia was to become a nation, something stirred in the minds of those living so far away from their homelands. It was a recognition of independence, a vision of the future and hope. Someone suggested a regatta be held to commemorate Tasman's discovery of Van Diemen's Land on 1 December 1642. The idea took hold and was enthusiastically embraced by the town's citizenry, due to the fact that regattas were all the rage in Britain at the time. The Governor, Sir John Franklin gave permission to hold the festival in 'Wattle Park' and on a Saturday so as not to offend strict Protestant churchmen. Most of the shops closed for the day and employees were given a holiday. Free refreshments were provided in the form of 'good colonial ale, biscuit and cheese', tents and booths were constructed and citizens were asked to demonstrate pride in the new colony by wearing a sprig of wattle, tied with a navy blue bow. |
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The official pavilion was ornamented with festoons of oak leaves and Black Wattle blossom (Acacia melanoxylon) with the inscription in front of 'Hail Tasmania' made of roses. Several tents and booths were ornamented with oak leaves and others with wattle blossom. Patriotic poetry was pinned to the decorations in an attempt to inspire those attending. |  The word wattle comes from green sticks called 'wattles' which were used to reinforce walls made of mud and clay. The clay was then packed in between and over the top of the wattles and allowed to dry. Acacia branches are very flexible and well suited to being used as wattles, hence the name became associated with acacias. |
| The first Hobart regatta appears to have been a great success - it was estimated that between five and six thousand people attended. No-one knows how many wore a sprig of wattle but the concept was born. It grew in the minds of free men and in the hearts of those in bondage. It reappeared fifteen years later in Launceston. |
 Photo: Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts Hobart |
Sing! for the hour is come! Sing! for
our happy home, Our land is free! Broken Tasmania's chain, Wash'd out that hated stain, Ended the strife and pain! Blest Jubilee! |
Symbol of Freedom Launceston Jubilee Held on the 50th Anniversary of the colony of Van Diemen's Land on the 10th August 1853. It also marked the cessation of transportation in the colony. A patriotic song, composed by a Launceston editor and sung to the tune of 'God Save the Queen' was printed especially for the occasion in the Colonial Times. |
| A printing press mounted on a
bunting-lined cart, was drawn in procession through the
streets of Launceston. The cart, symbol of the power of the colonial press in its struggles for Abolition against foot-dragging officialdom, was preceded by groups separated by bannermen: members of the Legislative Council, the mayor and the corporation, a phalanx of native born colonialists marching four abreast, public societies with their regalia, and the 'hope and staff' of the colony, its children. They marched under a triumphal arch of pasteboard, decked with fronds of native wattle, to the sprightly tooting and flourishing of a brass band R. Hughes The Fatal Shore, Collins Harvill London, 1987, quoted in the Colonial Times and Tasmanian, Hobart, 13th August, 1853. |
 Photo: Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts Hobart |
 Photo: Mitchell Library Sydney |
Wear a sprig of
Wattle The Adelaide Branch of the Australian Natives Association was responsible for introducing the concept of a floral emblem to mainland Australia. On the 20th September 1889, Will Sowden, a journalist with the Adelaide Register proposed the formation of a ladies society in conjunction with the ANA. It was called the 'Wattle Blossom League'. The first 'Wattle Blossom' Social was held on 18th March, 1890 in the Town Hall, Adelaide. A new song 'Australia', written by C.C.Presgrave and M.Heuzenroeder was sung and a poem, 'The Wattle Blossom', written by R. Schlank was performed. 'When the yellow wattle was in bloom', wriiten by F.J.Packer was also sung. The aim of the League was to encourage Australian literature and music. `...and the members should at all suitable public assemblies wear a spray of wattle blossom, either real or artificial, as a distinctive badge'
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| The Wattle Blossom
League Banner Sowden suggested the League prepare a banner to be displayed at all gatherings. The resulting banner (right), designed by M.F.Cavanagh and painted by Miss Fiveash, was first shown on 8th January 1891 and again on Foundation Day (26th January). It contained a Union Jack with a field of white. The shield was quartered and bore a kangaroo and emu, a wheatsheaf and the Southern Cross. The Union Jack would have been a compulsory item, representing Australia's crucial tie to England. It is probable that the Southern Cross had become widely accepted as a symbol by that time. Three months later, the Wattle Blossom League made its presence felt by adding a small bouquet of wattle blossom to each setting at a formal reception for Sir George Grey, 3rd Governor of South Australia. After this the group went into recess for reasons unknown. William Sowden continued to promote his patriotic ideas in Adelaide and later became Federal President of te Australian Wattle Day League. His call for a national emblem was taken up in other States. |
 Photo: Mitchell Library Sydney |
Bark of Acacia pycnantha was tied in bundles and stacked at depots like this one at Echunga in the Mt. Lofty Range near Adelaide before being processed for tannin extract. Photo: Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney |
The Tanning Industry On 14th February, 1891, the Melbourne Herald published an article in response to the news that Canada had adopted the Maple leaf as an emblem. Inspired by this, J.L.Purves, one of the founders of the Australian Natives Association (ANA) stated that his group would be encouraging the 'adoption of some sort of national emblem and motto'. A Herald reader, David Scott of Mount Lonarch gave these reasons for selection of wattle as a national emblem. 'Because the wattle is strictly of Australian origin and growth. Its culture is one of the leading industries in the colony. The bark stripped from the trees contains properties making it the most valuable in the world for tanning purposes'. At that time tanning in Australia was a growth industry and David Scott's letter probably reflected the feelings of those involved in the production and trade of leather goods, which was expanding each year. The most popular wattles harvested were the Golden Wattle Acacia pycnantha, which yielded up to 45.8 per cent tannin and the Black Wattle Acacia decurrens var mollis (now A. mearnsii), which had a tannin content of up to 45 per cent. Most of the bark was harvested in the field because it was found that wattle plantations were not economic due to the prevalence of fires and the lack of local extraction works. It was this latter fact that finally squeezed Australian producers out of the international market. South African plantations of Acacia decurrens had extraction plants sited within their reserves. They were able to export tannin extract rather than bark, which meant lower freight and handling costs. With lower labour costs as well, the South African tanning industry boomed at Australia's expense. |
| A bark depot at Balhannah in the Mt Lofty Range near Adelaide, owned by John Reid & Sons. Bark like this would have been exported to tanneries in England and Europe as a raw product. When South Africa began exporting wattle bark extract the Australian industry could not compete and failed. |  A natural stand of Acacia pycnantha growing in the National Park at Belair near Adelaide. Bark of this wattle had a very high tanin content and groves like this one were eagerly sought by tanners Photo: Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney |
| The Wattle Club By 1899, sufficient interest in a Wattle emblem led to the formation of a 'Wattle Club'. The founder, Archibald James Campbell was a well-known ornithologist and an active member of the Field Naturalists club of Victoria. His interest in wattles probably stemmed from his many trips into the country bird-watching. Each year the club would send out invitations for 'Wattle Day' outings on 1st September, to be led by Campbell. Their 1904 outing went to the You Yangs, aided by concession tickets granted by the Railway Department. In 1906 they went to Werribee Gorge and another outing went to Eltham on the Yarra. On 8th September 1908, Campbell addressed the Melbourne Photographers Club with a speech entitled 'Wattle Time: or yellow-haired September' illustrating his talk with lantern slides of wattle studies. His speech was notable in that he advocated the honouring of a Wattle Day. |
 Archibald James Campbell Photo: www.anbg.gov.au |
J. H. Maiden was a distinguished botanist and author. He helped form the Wattle Day League in 1909. As a recognised authority on Acacias, Maiden compiled an important survey of the tannin properties of native wattles. The best known is his work, The Forest Flora of New South Wales Photo: Mitchell Library Sydney |
The First Wattle Day Campbell's suggestion for a first Wattle Day sparked interest in Sydney. J.H. Maiden, Government Botanist and Director of the Botanic Gardens, together with Agnes Kettlewell (the poet Agnes Storrie) and Hannah Clunies-Ross called for a public meeting on 20th August, 1909. Maiden was considered the leading expert on Acacias at the time and had already begun his Forest Flora of New South Wales series. He had also written several booklets on the use of Acacias in the tanning industry and was well respected in the community. Both Maiden and Kettlewell had Acacias named after them. The aim of the meeting was to form a Wattle Day League and to coordinate the States into accepting and celebrating the first Wattle Day. With a view of stimulating Australian national sentiment and connecting it with love of our beautiful flora, we suggest the desirableness of setting apart throughout the Commonwealth a day on which the Australian national flower - the Wattle Blossom - might be worn and its display encouraged. Wattles might also be sown and planted on this day. It is suggested that a date in September would be universally suitable, but we do not propose that it be a holiday. W. J. Sowden, History of the Wattle Day Movement. Public Library of NSW Maiden's motion was carried and a leaflet distributed. It was 'an eloquent appeal for the promotion of Australian national sentiment' based on an Australian flower. The wattle was selected because it is 'found in every State of the Commonwealth, from Port Darwin to Tasmania, from Sydney to Fremantle, it has that universality without which no emblem, however beautiful, could accept general acceptance'. Strangely, the genus as a whole was seen as an emblem rather than a particular species and remains so to this day. The Golden Wattle, Acacia pycnantha was finally selected, probably in response to a need for an emblem that could be depicted pictorially in insignia such as the Commonwealth Arms. Although one species was selected for this purpose the public continued to use any wattle that was handy for Wattle Day festivities and for sending abroad. Literature and songs also seemed to focus on the genus rather than on a particular flower. |
Lady Symon, President of the Adelaide Branch of the Wattle Day League, introduced Wattle Day celebrations to London in 1911. Photo: Mitchell Library Sydney |
