SINCE 1992, the first day of spring – September 1 – has been proclaimed as National Wattle Day.
This was done to unify individual state and territory Wattle Days that had been celebrated between July and October depending upon when the local wattle flowering was at its best.
There are 1070 Acacia species native to Australia. The Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) was officially gazetted as Australia’s national floral emblem in 1988.
As part of the celebrations, the Golden Wattle Award is presented to an Australian or Australians who have brought ‘gold’ to Australia during the year by their contributions to the land and/or the people.
Some previous winners include Olympic swimmer Emma McKeon, the Australian health and medical professionals, and Craig Challen and Richard Harris (the doctors involved in the rescue of the Wild Boars Football Team from the cave in Thailand).
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations have used acacias for a wide variety of purposes, including food, medicines, digging sticks, weapons, musical instruments, firewood and dyes.
A number of wattle species are suitable for garden planting.
Obviously, if you wish to plant one, check that the size is suitable for your garden, and that the species can grow in your locality, as some are not frost hardy.
Acacia are a good source of pollen, for help with bee populations, and the seeds are a food source for different bird species.
So, if this has germinated an interest in our national floral emblem, what are you ‘Wattling’ for!
For more details, check out the website, wattleday.asn.au and Facebook page, facebook.com/WattleDay.
Frank Ondrus,
Householders’ Options to Protect the Environment (HOPE) Inc. president
