Golden Wattle Award

The Golden Wattle Award winner is announced each year on 1 September by the Wattle Day Association.
 
Wattle is a powerful symbol of Australia. Its golden blossoms grow from this land and speak of its people and place. Wattle has evolved in Australia for more than 30 million years and has welcomed us all and unites us all. It is a bridge between ancient and modern, multicultural Australia.
 
The Golden Wattle Award is a fitting annual acknowledgement of the person(s) who, like the gold of the wattle blossom in spring, stands out in the Australian community, and either by actions or excellence, has brought honour and inspiration to their fellow Australians over the previous 12 months.
 
Determination of the award is based on an outstanding achievement by an Australian or Australians on the international stage in any field or exceptional contribution to Australia (the land) or the Australian people.
 
The Golden Wattle Award recognises:
1. Outstanding achievement, either alone or as a team, that has gone above and beyond,
deserving special acknowledgement by Australians;
2. Achievement that stands out as being an inspiration to Australia and Australians;
3. Achievement that reflects the best of human endeavour and motivation to improve the lives of others (in Australia or overseas);
4. The nature and manner of the achievement expresses the best of Australian values and contributes to the building of unity among all who call Australia home.
 
Note: The final criteria is that there is no evidence or reason to disqualify the nominee from receiving the award.
 

2024 Golden Wattle Award Winner 

The Wattle Day Association is proud to announce that Ms  Mikla Lewis OAM is the Golden Wattle Award winner for 2024 in recognition of her outstanding and inspirational work over more than forty years that has instilled her love of nature into a commitment to environmental conservation that has benefitted so many. 

Mikla Lewis OAM
Ms  Mikla Lewis OAM

During those years Mikla established WIRES, Australia’s largest wildlife rescue organisation; a wildlife sanctuary from bare cropping paddocks and a community native plant nursery that has produced millions of seedlings for planting to rehabilitate farming land. 

Her conservation work includes numerous workshops, surveys and field days such as annual wattle walks over the last 15 years. These have raised awareness of the benefits of planting Australia’s Acacia species to improve soils, agricultural production and conserve local plants and wildlife.

When asked about her reaction to receiving the award, Mikla Lewis said, ‘I am deeply honoured to receive this award. As a committed environmentalist over many years, I have tried to use my passion and knowledge to inspire others to also care and act for the environment, while setting an example by rewilding our place’.

‘In everything I have done I’ve promoted the use of wattles as champions of the Australian landscape, as their life-giving and regenerative qualities are unsurpassed by any other plant.’

 

2023 Golden Wattle Award Winner

Posted on by Suzette

The winner of the 2023 Golden Wattle Award, Vanessa Alexander a scriptwriter of Newcastle NSW, has certainly ‘made a statement’ in her work rescuing refugees from Afghanistan. Vanessa Alexander receives the 2023 award for her truly life changing advocacy and activism on behalf of refugees escaping from Taliban-run Afghanistan. Vanessa has been responsible for saving scores of Afghan women and men, whose lives were at risk following the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021.

Vanessa Alexander

The Golden Wattle Award, announced each year on National Wattle Day (1 September), is given to an Australian whose outstanding achievements have brought honour and inspiration to their fellow Australians and the nation. The Award invokes the gold of the Wattle blossom in Spring that stands out in the Australian landscape each year at this time. Determination of the award is made by the Wattle Day Association.

Like other Australians, Vanessa watched media reports of people trying to flee Afghanistan, but instead of just thinking “isn’t that terrible”, Vanessa began a campaign and with the help of a group of friends and contacts, was able to extricate scores of people from the country. Her response to this human tragedy was an emphatic demonstration of compassion in action.


L-R Maryam Sadat, Dr Alissa Coons, Vanessa Alexander, Tooba Azami
Vanessa Alexander stands with her writing colleague Dr Alissa Coons and two of the women they brought to safety in Australia  Photo: Chris Wensrich

In Vanessa’s words:

“The story of what was achieved is not mine. It also belongs to my partner and family, Susan Hutchinson, the man who wrote Vikings, an orphanage in Sydney, a kiwi in Brazil, the Newcastle ukulele orchestra, and tens of mum friends and writing colleagues who worked to help me. The true heroes are those that actually risked their own lives and families, especially Darwish Ahmadzai, Homaira Homaira and all who had the courage to escape.”

Vanessa’s compassion, initiative and resourcefulness demonstrated the best of Australian values, making her a worthy and inspirational winner of the Golden Wattle Award. Vanessa’s achievements have brought Gold to Australia – just as the nation’s floral emblem, the Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha), brings Gold to the Australian land each year at this time. Vanessa Alexander – a worthy winner of the 2023 Golden Wattle Award.

 

Previous recipients of the Golden Wattle Award
Previous recipients of this award include the Lismore community NSW (2022), Olympic swimming champion, Emma McKeon (2021), tennis greats Ashleigh Barty and Dylan Alcott, (2019), Craig Challen and Richard Harris, underwater rescuers of the young Thai soccer team (2018), Samuel Johnson and his sister, Connie (2017), Melbourne Cup winning jockey Michelle Payne and her champion strapper brother, Steve (2016), surfers Julian Wilson & Mick Fanning (2015), VC winner Ben Roberts-Smith (2014)*, Mel Irons a Tasmanian student and community activist (2013), Nobel Prize winner Professor Brian Schmidt (2012) and Tour De France Winner Cadel Evans (2011).

Left: 2022 Mike Gilmour, Vice-President of the Wattle Day Association congratulates Steve Kreig, Mayor of Lismore

 

* Quote from exhibit at the Australian War Memorial Canberra 2023

“Accounts of alleged misconduct by a small number of Australian Special Forces soldiers in Afghanistan began appearing in the media from late 2016.

Claims were later heard in a civil defamation case brought by Roberts-Smith against media outlets and journalists.

In June 2023 a Federal Court Judge determined that there was “substantial truth” to the allegations that Roberts-Smith had been involved and complicit in unlawful killings in Afghanistan.

Roberts-Smith has appealed this decision.

Roberts-Smith has not been charged with any offence under criminal law.”