Sydney's Official Flower
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Officially adopted in 1992 as part of the sesqui celebrations of Council, the Banksia ericofolia sp. serves as a symbol of Australia's oldest city.
The orange-rusty coloured banksia was first documented by Sir Joseph Banks, when Captain Cook came to Botany Bay in 1770. The species, which is indigenous to the foreshores of the Harbour and heathlands along the coast, still survives in abundant numbers.
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Banksia ericaefolia. From The Botanical Magazine, 1804. (Reproduced with permission from the State Reference Library, State Library of New South Wales) |
"This Banksia was the winter life blood of the Wadi Wadi people of the Illawarra. They left the beaches to winter on our escarpment ... winter threatened no bushfires and the Banksia yielded all their food requirements. Nectar supplied sugar and gill birds (large flocks) moved in on this syrup which in turn gave them all the meat. Fuel came from the cobs which burn cleaner and far better than coal or coke ... (it was) a complete life support system."
Noel Carr, Australian & New Zealand Society of Ecologists, 1992.
The flowers are formal in appearance and have formed the basis of the floral arrangements sent to Sydney's Sister City, Nagoya for their Annual Floral Festivals.
"There is, I think, no more decorative plant in the bush than this particular Banksia, when the bottle brushes are newly-opened and the little hooked styles are deep red with yellow tips. A bunch of them arranged with their own green in a big bronze jar is a sight to gladden a whole household."
Excerpt from A Bush Calendar by Amy E. Mack, 1909.
