by Paul W Newbury
In this month’s book review of Boori Monty Pryor’s Maybe Tomorrow, I speak of Monty referring to the 26th of January as Invasion Day. This is common among Indigenous people. To others, it is Survival Day.
Consequently, I believe that in the spirit of reconciliation, we should choose another date for Australia Day and I would like to nominate Wattle Day on the first day of September for that purpose. I also advocate that we amend the Australian Constitution to acknowledge Australia’s Indigenous Peoples as First Peoples of Australia.
I believe we should commit ourselves to a reconciled and renascent Australia by becoming a republic. It is possible that the Rudd Government will give Australians a chance to vote on the issue in its second term should the people return them to power.
A republic fits the theme of reconciliation and renascence, and so does wattle. Wattles are pioneer plants which are the first to rise from the ashes of bushfires. September 1 is national Wattle Day and the national floral emblem is acacia pyenantha – Golden Wattle (pictured).
I believe that wattle as a symbol offers something to Indigenous peoples because it suggests non-Indigenous Australians have undergone a process of becoming naturalised to this continent and the next step on our journey is reconciliation and a republic. So, when we come to consider a foundation day other than January 26th, Wattle Day is a great fit.
Australia does not need a monarch—we are an independent nation and it is fitting that we articulate our place in the world where we live; a place where September 1 is the first day of spring. This fits the theme of renascence down under.
Essential to the republican process is that the preamble to the constitution acknowledges Indigenous peoples as First Peoples. To link the republic to the reconciliation process is a powerful statement by non-Indigenous Australians to the worth we place on our Indigenous Peoples.
Polling indicates that around 60 percent of Australians support an Australian republic. This indicates that the issue is relevant and it lingers in the consciousness of Australians as something to be resolved in the future.
The historian Mark McKenna is author of the book: This Country: a Reconciled Republic, published in 2004. He believes the republican movement in 1999 failed because it focused almost entirely on how a president might be elected rather than how a republic would project our sense of place and pride in country. Undoubtedly, any referendum on the subject must have the support of both major parties to succeed.
Australian historian Manning Clark was a republican and in his writings he referred to wattle as a powerful symbol of Australia. Wattle is tied up with feeling for country and what it means to be Australian. It is a unifying symbol and in its multitude of forms, it grows in every state and territory. Its profusion is a sign of fertility for a growing nation.
On the first Wattle Day celebration in 1910, the Sydney Morning Herald declared: “Let the wattle henceforth be a sacred charge to every Australian.” On 1 September 1988, Governor-General Sir Ninian Stephen proclaimed Golden Wattle (acacia pyenantha) as Australia’s national floral emblem.
In August 1999, Governor-General Sir William Deane stood by Switzerland’s Saxeton River Gorge with the families and friends of the Australians who died in a canyoning expedition and he tossed 14 sprigs of wattle into the waters. He had collected them from the gardens of Government House in Canberra. He said the wattle signified that a little part of Switzerland has become and would always be part of Australia.
Wattle is embedded in our history and culture. Henry Lawson made many references to wattle as a patriotic symbol including Waratah and Wattle that he wrote in 1905.
It is not my intention to be provocative but I would welcome comment on the issues raised in this article.
Waratah and Wattle
Though poor and in trouble I wander alone,
With a rebel cockade in my hat;
Though friends may desert me and kindred disown,
My country will never do that!
You may sing of the Shamrock, the Thistle and Rose,
Or the three in a bunch if you will;
But I know of a country that gathered all those,
And I love the great land where the Waratah grows,
And the Wattle bough blooms on the hill.
acacia pyenantha
© Paul W Newbury 2010
This entry was posted by pnewbury on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 12:00 am and is filed under Australian Studies.
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It’s hard not to have sympathy for your position on becoming a republic and celebrating First Peoples, Paul. As is often the case in Australia, it seems, the process for change gets hijacked, even though a majority are for the proposed change. Somehow I don’t see a conservative government encouraging republican debate (and now both federal government and opposition appear to be as conservative as the other). If Labor is returned at the upcoming federal election I’m pretty sure the Coalition would oppose any move to hold a referendum on a republic. And one could almost predict the outcome.
Well Paul, were I predisposed to any sort of evangelical belief, I would no doubt dance round and shout ‘amen to that brother’.
Facts of life time though. I have been contributing to another online magazine, whose demographics would be intersting to survey. Suffice to say that suggestions of a Republic, changes to the flag or fiddling with Australia Day are viewed with deep suspicion and distrust and reasoned debate is pushed to one side and replaced with patriotic flag waving fervour
And one is accused of having ‘ulterior motives’. Once again the demographics are interesting but I suspect a lot of the contributors to that site would have been the same ones that Joh and Pauline targetted in times past.
I also suggested that perhaps the appointment of an Aboriginal as our next G.G, might be worthy of consideration. Yes, it’s a bit of a contradiction, an Aboriginal as the Queen’s representative, but might be worth while thinking about in the eventual transition phase to a Republic. I also suggested that Aboriginal studies in schools are essential so as to provide anoher perspective on the period since invasion.
But as I’ve been labelled ‘offensive’ for advancing these views and understand banning is imminent, replies to my suggestions have been sparse. Well, non-existent in fact.
I’m thousands of miles away from the smell of the bush, with nary a wattle to be seen. And your article has triggered just a touch of homesickness.
Thank you Alan for your observation. I think your reservation is well-based but we have to keep on as though anything is possible. Thank you too Ian, I’ll take that as an ‘amen to that brother’.
Replying to you both gives me the opportunity to report that since I wrote ‘Australia Day – the First of September’ I have learned that the Queensland Parliament has passed legislation recognising the Indigenous Peoples of the northern state as ‘First Queenslanders’ in the preamble to their constitution. Queensland now stands with Victoria as the only state governments to have acknowledged the unique position of Indigenous Australians in this way.
This may seem merely symbolic but it is much more vital than that because it redresses the historical exclusion of Indigenous Peoples from Australia’s foundational documents and our written history before 1970.
Incoming Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mr Mick Gooda is calling for a bipartisan approach in securing a new preamble to the Australian Constitution that recognises Indigenous Peoples’ status as First Australians.
Finally, tell me Ian where is thousands of miles from the smell of the bush with nary a wattle to be seen?
Paul Newbury
I live in Belgium, Paul, many miles from the summer smoke of bushfires, the sound of cicadas on a hot day and the blue haze of the bush. We have a caravan which we store back in Australia and when we came back we go touring for a while until we start missing Belgium again. There are worse routines. Just becoming a bit expensive though, I must admit.
Yep, the Qld and Vic legislation is a start but as I indicated, sometimes society’s attitudes move at glacial speed.
May I add a few comments – my only claim is that my great grandmother was born in Sydney and when visiting, I have always likened your past to that of Canada’s. We are so similar.
Back 30 years ago or so we changed the flag to the Maple Leaf. After that we gave full recognition to our First Nations, even if the original treaties have still not been fully executed. You might have noticed their prominent part in the opening of the Vancouver Olympics.
More recently our newer bank notes now have no monarch, but Prime Ministers (?) as well as scenes of hockey etc. The coins still have a queen’s head – or otherwise who wins the toss for a game?
Unlike you, we have not had concerted efforts to break with the Queen of Canada, even though the institution is not really relevant any longer. We do currently have an immigrant, born in Haiti, as our Governor General.
It appears unlikely there will be further changes, at least until we are faced with a possible king in future, and then I would suggest all bets might be off.
Till then it is just not a big issue in our daily lives. We do not have an identity crisis, nor do we need to be associated too closely with our large neighbour to the South.
All in all, we seem to be quite happy and confident in our own independence, but also a willing part of co-operation internationally.
I could wish no more for Australia.