Today is 28/10/2026 and is the 300th anniversary of the publication of Gulliver’s Travels.
Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels, was an Anglican priest and Dean of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin from 1713 until his death in 1745. The pulpit he preached from is still preserved in the Cathedral today.
Jonathan Swift was born in 1667 at Hoey’s Court close to the Cathedral. In his early years he attended Kilkenny College and then, aged 15, Trinity College, Dublin. In 1694 Swift decided to enter the priesthood and his first parish was in Kilroot in County Antrim.
Swift’s interests included English political affairs an he wrote many pamphlets on behalf of the Tory Government. Swift ultimately chose to enter the priesthood instead of politics, but his forthright political views negatively affected his chances of career progression.
Jonathan Swift hoped to be rewarded for his work championing the Tory government with a prestigious appointment in one of England’s great cathedrals. However, when the Tories fell out of favour, Queen Anne appointed him Dean of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin instead. Swift was bitterly disappointed by this, as he saw it as virtual banishment, believing his native city to be something of a backwater.
Swift reached the pinnacle of his career as Dean of Saint Patrick’s in 1713. During his time as dean, he made the Cathedral the only Anglican church in Dublin at that time to celebrate the Eucharist every Sunday. He preached every fifth Sunday and his sermons often lasted for hours.
An urban legend suggests that the Cathedral’s pulpit originally had wheels so Swift could be pushed around through the aisles to wake up sleeping parishioners.
In Jonathan Swift’s A Sermon Upon Sleeping in Church, he wrote:
A preacher cannot look around from the pulpit without observing, that …
Of all misbehaviour, none is comparable to that of those who come here to sleep; opium is not so stultifying to many persons as an afternoon sermon
Jonathan Swift was a prolific and sometimes controversial writer. He recognised that Irish society was extremely unequal and that his best tool in achieving change was his quill.
His words were designed to provoke change, and his use of satire, sarcasm and wit attempted to shock the establishment into action. In his most famous work, Gulliver’s Travels, he satirised society, targeting a number of themes from contemporary politics and experimental science to human nature.
In his essay A Modest Proposal (1729), Swift mocked indifference to the plight of the Irish poor. He satirically suggested that by encouraging people to cook and eat a quarter of Irish children under two years of age, the government could solve the problems of starvation and poverty.
Swift died in 1745 aged 78, well above average life expectancy for the period.
Australia’s golden wattle is more than a national flower, symbolising unity, resilience and the democratic spirit of a nation.
THE FIRST DAY of September has many names.
Some welcome it as spring’s dawn, a time to celebrate nature’s renewal. For others, it is National Wattle Day — a time when the smells of spring are in the air as well as Australia’s vivid gold blossom.
I have written before on how National Wattle Day is celebrated annually on the first day of spring. On this day, a sprig of Australia’s national floral emblem, the golden wattle (acacia pycnantha) is traditionally worn to symbolise unity, resilience and national identity.
The wattle is the largest genus of flowering plants in Australia. These acacias are extremely diverse and found in habitats from rainforest to arid lands. You could plant two or three different acacia species for every day of the year and still have plenty left over.
Wattle grows in all parts of Australia, with differing varieties flowering throughout the year. It is a broad and inclusive symbol of an egalitarian, classless, free citizenry.
The golden wattle, though, is the only wattle that grows all over Australia. This democracy of wattles was the overpowering reason why the wattle was chosen as the national floral emblem in the early 20th Century. It represents the spirit of the Australian people, thriving despite droughts, bushfires and harsh conditions. Its bright yellow blooms symbolise hope, renewal and unity, making it a powerful emblem of national pride.
Wattle celebrations first arose as occasions when earlier generations of Australians stood up and said: “I am from this land. This place is home.” It is a symbol that comes directly from our land. Wattle is Australian and represents us all. Like the Southern Cross, the appeal of wattle is not first and foremost to the idea of nation, but to the idea of place.
The first known use of wattle as a meaningful emblem in the Australian colonies was in Hobart Town in 1838, when a resident suggested wearing a sprig of wattle to celebrate the golden jubilee of the landing at Sydney Cove. In this seemingly small gesture lay a suggestion of an independent Australia.
From the 1860s to the early 1900s, there was a push for Australia to recognise the wattle as the national flower, which was further compounded by the establishment of the Wattle Club in Victoria. Founded by Archibald James Campbell, an ornithologist and field naturalist who was passionate about Australian wattles, this club organised special outings, especially during September, for wattle appreciation. Archibald was one of the first people to mention the creation of a special day to celebrate Australia’s most famous flower.
In 1910, the Wattle Day League was formed and established the annual celebration of Wattle Day on the first day of spring. The Wattle Day League was headed by Sydney Botanic Gardens director, JH Maiden, and founded multiple branches across the country.
Support for Wattle Day continued even during the First World War when wattle sprigs were sold to raise money for organisations like the Red Cross. As a tradition, pressed wattles were sent in letters to wounded soldiers.
Wattle touches all levels of society.
Early pioneers and World War I diggers were buried with a customary sprig of wattle. Then Governor-General Sir William Deane took wattle blossoms to Switzerland to commemorate young Australians who died there. Prime Minister John Howard also wore sprigs of wattle at ceremonies after the Bali bombings.
“…wattle has journeyed with us in kitbags, pockets and letters to places that become synonymous with our shared story; be they Gallipoli, Kokoda or Swiss canyons.”
Australian athletes wear wattle-inspired green and gold uniforms, and those honoured with an Order of Australia receive awards with an insignia designed around the wattle flower.
The green and gold of wattle leaves and blossoms were declared our national colours in 1984, then in 1988, the wattle was adopted as the official national flower. Subsequently, National Wattle Day was formally declared on 1 September 1992, standardising the celebration across the country.
Australians may have made a home for themselves among the gum trees, but it is the wattle tree that has found its way into Australian republican symbolism. In 1993, the Australian Republic Movement gave its support to Wattle Day celebrations being held throughout Australia on 1 September. Wattle captures something crucial to the success of the republic — feeling for country. It is a unifying symbol.
This year, 1 September marks the 34th anniversary of the declaration of National Wattle Day, as well as the 33rd anniversary of the Australian Republic Movement giving its support to National Wattle Day celebrations throughout Australia.
The Republican Party of Australia was founded on 11 January 1982 by Peter Consandine and four others; however, Consandine was to become the mainstay of the party. The RPA continued down a separate path since the 1990s to the more high-profile Australian Republican Movement, which has steadfastly kept an apolitical advocacy approach, whereas the Republican Party of Australia has actively sought political election for its members.
‘Peter Consandine remained steadfast in his conviction that Australia was a unique and vibrant nation that deserved its own head of state for well over four decades.’
Pictured with Dr Ben Jones (left; 2023 Australian Republican of the Year) are Peter Consandine and Dr Glenn Davies (2015 Australian Republican of the Year) (Image supplied)
Let’s all take a moment this National Wattle Day and reflect on the wattle flower, which symbolises an egalitarian, classless, free citizenry.
So, when the blaze of wattle lights up the Australian landscape each year, let’s all remember that the wattle is a symbol of our land that unites us all.
2026 Wattle Day scheduled events can be found HERE.
The Charters Towers Labor politician Charles McDonald never lost an election. 100 years ago today, on the day before the 1925 Federal Election Day, he maintained his 30-year winning streak when he died in office.
Charles McDonald was born in North Melbourne, Victoria on 25 August 1860. He moved to Charters Towers in 1888 to start his own business as a watchmaker and jeweller and became involved with the labour movement. Despite watchmakers and jewellers not being occupationally inclined to unionism, he was accepted as an organiser with the local Mining and Accident Association and became secretary of the Land Nationalisation League.
Known as ‘Fighting Charlie’ or “Fighting Mac” for his vigorous political campaigning style, in one campaign, McDonald reportedly rode over 3,000 miles (4,800 km) on bicycle on the rough outback roads of north-western Queensland.
On 1 August 1890, at the First General Congress of the Australian Labour Federation in Brisbane, Charters Towers delegate, Charles McDonald raised the question of the trade union movement involving itself directly in political action and the Australian Labour Party (ALP) was born.
On 11 March 1891, Charters Towers established the second branch of the ALP and continued to play a central role in the early days of Labor’s existence.
In Edmeades Park, Charters Towers is a plaque commemorating the establishment in 1891 of the Charters Towers District Australian Labour Federation.
In 1893, ‘Fighting’ Charlie McDonald was elected as the Labor Member for Flinders in the Queensland legislative assembly, where he became known for his mastery of the Standing Orders.
In 1901, he successfully stood for the federal seat of Kennedy in the House of Representatives at the first federal election and held the seat continuously until his death in 1925.
Charlie McDonald was Chairman of Committees 1906-10 and the first Labor Speaker of the House of Representatives in the Andrew Fisher government from 1910-1913, an office he held again 1914-17. A noted republican, McDonald did not wear the traditional Speaker’s wig and gown and had the ceremonial mace removed from the table of the House of Representatives.
During the 1917 parliamentary term, McDonald split with the Hughes government and went with Labor to the opposition backbench.
Charles McDonald was the last of the first Queensland Labour Party of 1893 to remain in public life. He never lost an election. His death on 13 November 1925, the day before the 1925 federal election, led to his opponent being declared elected unopposed – which could be declared not a lost election. Afterwards, his substantial private library was gifted to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library by his widow.
