Australian Bicentenary was officially declared to be the Golden Wattle "Acacia pycnantha". The Gazettal was signed by the Governor General, Sir Ninian Stephen, on 19 August 1988. A ceremony was held on 1 September 1988 at the Australian National Botanic Gardens. The Minister for Home Affairs, Robert Ray, made the formal announcement and the Prime Minister's wife, Mrs Hazel Hawke, planted a Golden Wattle 1988 was also marked by the completion of many unique development projects such as the Bicentennial National Trail and on 9 May of that year, Queen Elizabeth II opened the New Parliament House in Canberra. As well as
Country Knolls, New York (North), Country Knolls South, Country Knolls West, and the earlier Clifton Knolls were built by the local Clifton Park housing development company owned by Robert Van Patten. The Country Knolls Civic Association has an excellent description of the development and growth of the original Country Knolls from its initial homes built on Hillcrest Drive, Meridian Lane, Ridge Lane, and Manor Court in 1964, to the expansion of Country Knolls into the Town of Malta, and the later addition of homes in 1988/89 on previously untouched land in the middle of Country Knolls in 1988 on the new road Huntington Parkway.