Page 1164 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 24 June 1992
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MR HUMPHRIES: Her term expires on 30 June, I think you will find, and Mr Ramos becomes President on 1 July. But that is not a matter of any consequence.
Mrs Grassby: You love splitting hairs, don't you - a typical lawyer.
MR HUMPHRIES: Madam Speaker, I think there will be more of Mrs Grassby in this speech than there will be of me, if we carry on this way.
MADAM SPEAKER: I was noting that, Mr Humphries.
MR HUMPHRIES: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I think I can support the content of Mrs Grassby's motion. It is desirable to have a national emblem, and the wattle seems to me to be an excellent candidate for that role. Mrs Grassby points out that in 1912 the then Prime Minister, Andrew Fisher, formally recognised the wattle as the national flower. However, I point out that it was Mr John Gorton, as he then was, when he was Prime Minister, who persuaded the State and Commonwealth Ministers responsible for tourism to agree on a set of national animal and plant symbols. That was an extension, if you like, of the idea. It was some time after that again that the golden wattle was formally proclaimed as the national plant. That occurred, as I understand it, only at the time of the Bicentennial. So it has really been a quite recent development, although for quite some time Australians have recognised wattle as the national plant.
Mrs Grassby referred to some of the history of wattle in the Australian identity. In an interesting article last year by Robert Boden in the Canberra Times, he ran through some of the history, based on a book by Maria Hitchcock called Wattle, which traced the role of the wattle. In particular, it argued the case for the wattle to be commemorated by National Wattle Day, which I gather has been settled, now on 1 September. Indeed, the first Wattle Day was commemorated on 1 September 1910 by Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide only. I do not know whether it is any more extensive these days, but perhaps it should be. Back in 1838 we had the first reference to wattle as a symbol of Australian nationhood, or at least of Australian identity. People were encouraged in Hobart to wear a sprig of silver wattle blossom as a national emblem. We saw in 1889 the establishment of the Wattle Blossom League in Adelaide.
As Mrs Grassby mentioned, the wattle was recognised by Andrew Fisher on 19 September 1912. It became a very strong patriotic symbol, particularly during the First World War, when soldiers often wore it in their uniform. I imagine that that was not a terribly wise idea if you were going into combat, because of its bright yellow colour. Nonetheless, some soldiers did wear sprigs of wattle. Others when they were in hospital in Egypt had pressed sprigs of wattle sent to them by people in Australia. That was a morale boosting gesture for the Anzacs.
As Mrs Grassby mentioned, the Order of Australia now incorporates the wattle design, and I think that is wholly appropriate. I feel that I can support this motion by Mrs Grassby, but I also should contribute some poetry, since Mrs Grassby was kind enough to give us some. This first small poem comes from A Little Sprig of Wattle by A.H. Scott.
Mr Lamont: A fine Australian.
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