The first day of September each year marks National Wattle Day, a day strictly observed by Dawn Waterhouse (née Calthorpe).

From a young age, Dawn began collecting wattle sprigs and seeds, and later, depictions of wattle in many forms, including on stamps and crockery, in poetry, and even sheet music. Each year, Dawn and her sister Del would run up Red Hill to collect wattle so they could decorate the house on their parents’ wedding anniversary.

As an adult, Dawn became a staunch advocate for changing Australia’s national day of celebration to 1 September in line with Wattle Day, believing that Australia Day was deeply hurtful to Australia’s First Nations peoples. In Dawn’s words,

‘The first day of spring should be the date of our national celebration, as we recognise our bountiful and beautiful land. Together, we could share the loyalty, love, joy and privilege of being part of this great island.’

This spring, we are celebrating National Wattle Day at Calthorpes’ House with a display of Dawn’s wattle-themed memorabilia as well as fresh flowering wattle from the garden to honour Dawn’s lifelong love of Australia’s national floral emblem.