Australian National Botanic Gardens Growing, studying and promoting Australian plants
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Botanic Gardens launches Wattle Day celebrations

"The Wattle Lady" Maria Hitchcock will launch the program of events celebrating national Wattle Day at the Australian National Botanic Gardens on Saturday 28 August with a public talk about the significance of wattle.

Ms Hitchcock successfully campaigned to have the Golden Wattle, Acacia pycnantha, gazetted as Australia's national floral emblem and 1 September gazetted as national Wattle Day. She is also the author of the book Wattle, published in 1991.

The Garden is also hosting the "Welcome in the Spring" picnic on Sunday 29 August from noon until 3pm, with music from "Spice" and "Cassidy's Ceili".

Throughout next week the speakers program includes a range of public talks about wattle:

• Celebrating Wattle Week with Maria Hitchcock - Saturday 28 August and Sunday 29 August at 1pm
  
  
• What's in a name? Acacia or Racosperma - Tuesday 31 August, 12.30pm
  Western Australian botanist Bruce Maslin will describe the proposal to rename Australian wattles from Acacia to Racosperma
  
  
• Nationalising Nature - Wednesday 1 September, 12.30pm
  Historian Dr Libby Robin, from the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies at ANU will speak about the history and symbolism of wattle in Australia
  
  
• A.J. Campbell: the Wattle Man - Thursday 2 September, 12.30pm
  Ian Campbell will talk about the life, work and legacy of his grandfather Archibald James Campbell, who first proposed the honouring of an official Wattle Day throughout Australia in 1908 and recommended that a wattle should be the national flower

Volunteer Guides will conduct free wattle walks throughout the week and free wattle seed anzac biscuits and wattle ribbons will be available at the Visitor Centre. Each Wattle Day since 1992, the Acacia Appreciation Club, Hiroshima, Japan, has provided hundreds of yellow ribbons as a gesture of friendship. The ribbons were made by children of the Hiroshima Shudoin Orphanage, and are for visitors to take home and attach to their favourite trees.

The full program of events and activities is available at the Gardens' website at: http://www.anbg.gov.au/anbg/events/wattle-week-2004.html

Paul Ziesing

27 August 2004

Media contact:
Paul Ziesing
Communications Officer
Australian National Botanic Gardens
(02) 6250 9546 and 0418 955 661
paul.ziesing@deh.gov.au