[Editor: This untitled item, about Wattle Day and the Wattle Day League, is an extract from the “Lady’s letter” section (by “Nimitybelle”), published in The Braidwood Dispatch and Mining Journal (Braidwood, NSW), 8 September 1909.]
[Wattle Day is our new national institution]
Wattle Day is our new national institution. It came into being through the efforts of three enthusiastic nature lovers, Mrs. Kettlewell, Mrs. Clunies Ross, and Mr. J. H. Maiden, Director of our Palace Gardens, and has been already taken up warmly by a large number of patriotic persons, who desire to inculcate an Australian sentiment throughout this land.
Foremost among the new leaguers is Miss Rose Scott, that public spirited lady who is interested is everything that concerns the well-being of her fellows — from cremation to wattle-waving.
The objects of the league are to make wattle our national emblem (instead of the waratah, which is quite out of the running, as it only grows in isolated parts of the country, whereas wattle will grow anywhere from the Gulf to South of Tasmania), and to set apart a day in the year some time in August, when every member shall wear a sprig of the feathery bloom, and if possible plant a tree of it.
You may become a member of the Wattle Day League by sending a yearly subscription of 1s to any of the league’s god-parents, and they will be glad if you will pass the word along to your friends or neighbours.
Source:
The Braidwood Dispatch and Mining Journal (Braidwood, NSW), 8 September 1909, p. 2 (column 5)
Also published in:
The Wellington Times (Wellington, NSW), 9 September 1909, p. 6 (column 4)
Editor’s notes:
Gulf = in the context of the northern coast of Australia, the term “Gulf” usually refers to the well-known Gulf of Carpentaria, although there are several other gulfs located on Australia’s northern coast (Admiralty Gulf, Beagle Gulf, Cambridge Gulf, and Van Diemen Gulf)
J. H. Maiden = Joseph Henry Maiden (1859-1925), botanist, public servant, and Wattle Day campaigner; he was born in St John’s Wood (London, UK) in 1859, came to Australia in 1880, and died in Turramurra (Sydney, NSW) in 1925
See: 1) Mark Lyons and C. J. Pettigrew, “Maiden, Joseph Henry (1859–1925)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “Joseph Maiden”, Wikipedia
Mrs. Clunies Ross = Hannah Elizabeth Clunies Ross (née Tilley) (1862-1947), Wattle Day campaigner; daughter of Charles Tilley (1824-1891), wife of William John Clunies Ross (1850-1914)
See: “Wattle Day”, The Institute of Australian Culture
Mrs. Kettlewell = Agnes Louisa Kettlewell (née Storrie) (1864-1936), poet, author, journalist, and Wattle Day campaigner; she was born in Glenelg (South Australia) in 1864, married John Wilson Kettlewell in Glenelg (Adelaide, SA) in 1890, and died in Woolwich (Sydney, NSW) in 1936
See: “Agnes Louisa Storrie (Kettlewell)”, The Institute of Australian Culture
Rose Scott = Rose Scott (1847-1925), women’s rights activist and trade unionist; she was born in Glendon (near Singleton, NSW) in 1847, and died in Woollahra (Sydney, NSW) in 1925
See: 1) Judith Allen, “Scott, Rose (1847–1925)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “Rose Scott”, Wikipedia
s = a reference to a shilling, or shillings; the “s” was an abbreviation of “solidi”, e.g. as used in “L.S.D.” or “£sd” (pounds, shillings, and pence), which refers to coins used by the Romans, as per the Latin words “librae” (or “libra”), “solidi” (singular “solidus”), and “denarii” (singular “denarius”)
[Editor: Changed “J. W. Maiden” to “J. H. Maiden”.]
[Editor: The original text has been separated into paragraphs.]
Leave a Reply