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
1988 in motoring a replacement for the Strada-based Regata. Toyota planned to launch their new Lexus brand. Its new brand would concentrate solely on luxury cars, and the LS 400 went on sale in 1989 to compete with the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class, powered by a 4.0 V8 engine. 1988 in motoring 1988 in motoring includes developments in the automotive industry throughout the year 1988 by various automobile manufacturers, grouped by country. The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles. The newly independent Leyland Bus company was acquired by Volvo Buses. The remaining Rover Group business, which by