The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia  Her Excellency the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn AC  invites Australians to join her in the celebration of National Wattle Day in a recorded message: 20240819 GG message – Wattle Day

Governor-General’s Wattle Day Message
1 September. 2024

It’s the 1st of September, the first day of spring. So welcome to Wattle Day, Australia. Poet Judith Wright described Wattle as a million images of the sun.

I just love that image. It captures beautifully the explosion of yellow across the country right now. And it brings to mind the many meanings that Wattle has in Australia. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Wattle is a source of food, medicine and a material for crafting tools. 

And in every season and across the country, the blazing wattle is an explosion of colour that brings hope and optimism.

You can’t help but smile and feel good when our national flower is blooming. It gave me and my family so much joy to wear sprigs of wattle on the day I was sworn in as your Governor-General.

It really is the perfect national floral emblem. So whatever wattle means to you, whether you use it, wear it or simply enjoy it, I invite you to join me in celebrating the glorious green and gold.

Happy Wattle Day!