At their best, national days remind Australians of what we share, value and feel proud to belong to. Since Federation in 1901, Australia’s small number of national days have come and gone, gaining and losing relevance over time.
One day now enjoying renewed interest is National Wattle Day, held on 1 September. Although it was officially proclaimed in 1992, its origins go back much further. In 1909, three Sydneysiders—Agnes Kettlewell (nee Storrie), Hannah Clunies Ross and Joseph Maiden—met to promote the wattle as Australia’s national flower and as a symbol of shared national pride and love of the country’s natural beauty.
The first Wattle Day was celebrated in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide on 1 September 1910. For many years it was widely observed in primary schools as a nature-based celebration, before gradually declining toward the end of the 20th century.
Over the past decade, however, National Wattle Day has experienced a revival across Australia, largely due to the decades-long volunteer work of the grassroots Wattle Day Association Inc. formed in 1998. Three years later in 2001, founder Jack Fahy, expressed the association’s views about Australia’s multicultural identity:
“We think that, really, we’re not Europeans, we’re not British, we’re not Asian, we’re not American. We’re unique. We’re Australians. And anybody who comes here and puts down their roots becomes unique too. They become Australian. So why not celebrate by wearing a bit of green and gold?’
At the same time, the golden wattle has grown in popularity as a much-loved symbol of Australia and Australians.