[Editor: This letter from J. H. Maiden, a campaigner for the widespread recognition of Wattle Day, was published in The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW), 30 August 1910.]
Wattle Day.
To the Editor.
Sir, — Will you permit me to invite the attention of your readers to the meeting on Wattle Day, September 1? Details are advertised, but perhaps you will allow me to say that the Chief Justice, Miss Rose Scott, and other representative people will speak. The Wattle Day movement is a national one, and branches are being formed in most of the other States. We call ourselves the New South Wales branch, and do not seek to exercise authority over any similar organisation in any of the other States. We are all co-operating to a common end, and that is to have the wattle recognised as the Australian national flower, and through it to assist in the expression of wholesome Australian national sentiment. The wattle is very widely diffused over this continent; it is distinctly Australian, it is beautiful, it is an emblem of purity and brightness.
Our league or association is purely voluntary and educative; we have no intention of asking the Government for aid, and we feel sure that, as our aims become better known, we shall have the sympathy of the vast majority of people. The teachers of several schools are, on their own initiative, bringing Wattle Day under the notice of their pupils. The idea of Wattle Day has largely been taken up by women and women’s organisations. The City Council is supporting us by planting more wattles in the parks, some city firms are making wattle displays on Wattle Day, while the nurserymen are meeting the demand for wattle trees. We ask each person to plant one wattle tree on Wattle Day.
While one of our objects is to invite people to learn more about the wattle, we stand for the preservation of the native flora in general, and we recommend study and cultivation of our native plants. We are in sympathy with such an organisation as the Wild Life Protection Society, which has for its object the preservation of our native birds and animals.
— Yours, etc., J. H. MAIDEN,
President N.S.W. Branch, Wattle Day League.
August 29.
Source:
The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW), 30 August 1910, p. 8 (Second Edition)
Also published in:
The Sun (Sydney, NSW), 30 August 1910, p. 6
The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, NSW), 30 August 1910, p. 4 (Second Edition)
Editor’s notes:
The above letter from J. H. Maiden was also published in The Sun (30 August 1910), although with an additional sentence: “I am authorised to say that the council is very appreciative of your sympathetic attitude towards our movement, which is yet in its infancy.”
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
Rose Scott = Rose Scott (1847-1925), a 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
Wild Life Protection Society = an organisation which was formed with the primary aim of protecting native birds
See: R. Le Souef, “Bird sanctuaries”, The Daily Telegraph: Tasmania (Launceston, Tas.), 12 January 1910, p. 6
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