 The economist and botanist R. T. Baker proposed that the waratah's endemism to the Australian continent made it a better choice than the wattle, as well as the prominence of its flowers.The South Australian "Evening News" also supported the bid, but to no avail.In New South Wales, the New South Wales waratah was proclaimed as the official floral emblem of the state in 1962 by the then governor Sir Eric Woodward, after being used informally for many years.