Advance Australia Fair
Encyclopedia
"Advance Australia Fair" is the official national anthem
of Australia
. Created by the Scottish-born composer, Peter Dodds McCormick
, the song was first performed in 1878, but did not gain its status as the official anthem until 1984. Until then, the song was sung in Australia as a patriotic song. In order for the song to become the anthem, it had to face a vote between the Royal anthem God Save the Queen
, the "unofficial anthem" Waltzing Matilda
and Song of Australia
. Other songs and marches have been influenced from Advance Australia Fair, such as the Australian Vice-Regal salute.
The earliest known sound recording of Advance Australia Fair appears in "The Landing of the Australian Troops in Egypt", circa 1916, a short commercial recording dramatising arrival of the Australian troops in Egypt en route to Gallipoli.
under the pen-name 'Amicus' (which means 'friend' in Latin), in the late 19th century, and first performed by Andrew Fairfax at a Highland Society function in Sydney on 30 November 1878. The song quickly gained popularity and an amended version was sung by a choir of 10,000 at the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. In 1907 the Australian Government awarded McCormick £100 for his composition.
In a letter to R. B. Fuller Esq., dated 1 August 1913, McCormick described the circumstances that inspired him to write Advance Australia Fair:
Before its adoption as Australia's national anthem, Advance Australia Fair saw considerable use elsewhere. For example, Australia's national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Commission
, used it to announce its news bulletins until 1952. It was also frequently played at the start or end of official functions. Towards the end of World War II
, it was played in picture theatres after "God Save the Queen" and the American national anthem.
. The entry by the Austrian-born conductor Henry Krips
, This Land of Mine, won the competition, but it was decided to make no change to the status quo.
Up until 1974 God Save the Queen
was Australia's national anthem. In 1973 the Whitlam
government decided that the country needed an anthem that could represent Australia with "distinction" and started a competition to find one. The Australia Council for the Arts organised the contest, which was dubbed the Australian National Anthem Quest. The contest was held in two stages, the first seeking lyrics and the second music, each having an A$
5,000 prize for the winning entry. On the recommendation of the Council for the Arts, none of the new entries were felt worthy enough, so the contest ended with the suggestions for Advance Australia Fair, Waltzing Matilda
and Song of Australia
.
In 1974 the Whitlam government then performed a nationwide opinion survey to determine the song to be sung on occasions of national significance. Conducted through the Australian Bureau of Statistics
, it polled 60,000 people nationally. Advance Australia Fair was chosen and was enshrined as the national song, to be used on all occasions excepting those of a specifically regal nature. A spokesman for the Prime Minister Gough Whitlam stated that the Government regarded the tune primarily as the national anthem.
In January 1976 the Fraser
government reinstated God Save the Queen for royal, vice-regal, defence, and loyal toast occasions, and made plans to conduct a national poll to find a song for use on ceremonial occasions when it was desired to mark a separate Australian identity. This was conducted as a plebiscite to choose the National Song
, held as an optional additional question in the 1977 referendum
on various issues. Advance Australia Fair received 43.29% of the vote, defeating the three alternatives: Waltzing Matilda
(28.28%), Song of Australia
(9.65%), and the existing national anthem God Save the Queen
(18.78%).
Advance Australia Fair, with modified lyrics from the original (See #Development of lyrics), was adopted as the Australian national anthem on 19 April 1984 by a proclamation by the Governor-General
Sir Ninian Stephen
, on a recommendation by the Labor
government of Bob Hawke
.
Verse 1
Verse 2
of Peter Dodds McCormick's original lyrics has expired, as he died in 1916, the Commonwealth of Australia does copyright the official lyrics and particular arrangements of music. Non-commercial use of the anthem is permitted without case-by-case permission, but commercial use does require permission.
, an immigrant from Hungary. It was first commissioned by ABC Records in 1984 and then televised by Channel 10 in 1986 in their Australia Day Broadcast, featuring Julie Anthony as the soloist.
in 1901.
The original lyrics published in 1879 were as follows:
Verse 1
Verse 2
Verse 3
Verse 4
The 1901 Federation version of the third verse was originally sung as:
Third verse
Senator Sandy Macdonald
said in 2001 that Advance Australia Fair is so boring that the nation risks singing itself to sleep, with boring music and words impossible to understand. His Parliamentary colleague Peter Slipper
thought Australia should consider another anthem.
politician Craig Emerson
criticised the archaic
word "girt" in the national anthem's lyrics by saying, "This must rank as one of the worst lines of any national anthem. That Australia is an island should be pretty obvious, but is our anthem girt by a sea of mediocrity?" Later in 2001, Kim Beazley
, the then Labor leader, defended the lyric saying, "I stand up on behalf of girt. Girt by sea needs to be celebrated and if we can't do that regularly when Australia enjoys its sporting triumphs, at the beginning of our school assemblies and I think something would be lost that is new and decent and essential to the Australian character."
The anthem's lyrics and the phrase "girt by sea" have also drawn criticism in the media. In 2008, the Herald Sun
published an article headed Time girt went down the gurgler, arguing that the anthem's lyrics were largely irrelevant to modern Australian life and that "girt by sea" is "simply an antiquated way of making the obvious statement that we live on an island." The article suggested replacing the first four lines of the anthem with:
in 1998 and again at World Youth Day 2008
with the qualification 'This is not the official verse, but a Catholic adaptation of the Australian National Anthem'.
The version was later controversially adopted by some Christian private schools for singing as a hymn at internal assemblies. The substituted verse did not appear in the 1879 publication of Peter Dodds McCormick’s original work. The office of Prime Minister Julia Gillard said that, under national protocols, the anthem should not be modified and alternative words should not be used.
Substituted verse
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Created by the Scottish-born composer, Peter Dodds McCormick
Peter Dodds McCormick
Peter Dodds McCormick , a Scottish-born schoolteacher, was the composer of the Australian national anthem "Advance Australia Fair"....
, the song was first performed in 1878, but did not gain its status as the official anthem until 1984. Until then, the song was sung in Australia as a patriotic song. In order for the song to become the anthem, it had to face a vote between the Royal anthem God Save the Queen
God Save the Queen
"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...
, the "unofficial anthem" Waltzing Matilda
Waltzing Matilda
"Waltzing Matilda" is Australia's most widely known bush ballad. A country folk song, the song has been referred to as "the unofficial national anthem of Australia"....
and Song of Australia
Song of Australia
"The Song of Australia" was written by English-born poet Caroline J. Carleton in 1859 for a competition sponsored by the Gawler Institute. The music for the song was composed by the German-born Carl Linger , a prominent member of the Australian Forty-Eighters.The song was popularised in Australia...
. Other songs and marches have been influenced from Advance Australia Fair, such as the Australian Vice-Regal salute.
The earliest known sound recording of Advance Australia Fair appears in "The Landing of the Australian Troops in Egypt", circa 1916, a short commercial recording dramatising arrival of the Australian troops in Egypt en route to Gallipoli.
Origin of Advance Australia Fair
The original song Advance Australia Fair was composed by Peter Dodds McCormickPeter Dodds McCormick
Peter Dodds McCormick , a Scottish-born schoolteacher, was the composer of the Australian national anthem "Advance Australia Fair"....
under the pen-name 'Amicus' (which means 'friend' in Latin), in the late 19th century, and first performed by Andrew Fairfax at a Highland Society function in Sydney on 30 November 1878. The song quickly gained popularity and an amended version was sung by a choir of 10,000 at the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. In 1907 the Australian Government awarded McCormick £100 for his composition.
In a letter to R. B. Fuller Esq., dated 1 August 1913, McCormick described the circumstances that inspired him to write Advance Australia Fair:
Before its adoption as Australia's national anthem, Advance Australia Fair saw considerable use elsewhere. For example, Australia's national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Commission
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
, used it to announce its news bulletins until 1952. It was also frequently played at the start or end of official functions. Towards the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, it was played in picture theatres after "God Save the Queen" and the American national anthem.
Competitions, plebiscite and adoption
In 1951 there was a competition for a new national anthem to celebrate the golden jubilee of the Federation of AustraliaFederation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
. The entry by the Austrian-born conductor Henry Krips
Henry Krips (conductor)
Henry Maria Krips MBE was an Austrian-Australian conductor and composer, best known for his 23-year record term as principal conductor of the South Australian Symphony Orchestra...
, This Land of Mine, won the competition, but it was decided to make no change to the status quo.
Up until 1974 God Save the Queen
God Save the Queen
"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...
was Australia's national anthem. In 1973 the Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
government decided that the country needed an anthem that could represent Australia with "distinction" and started a competition to find one. The Australia Council for the Arts organised the contest, which was dubbed the Australian National Anthem Quest. The contest was held in two stages, the first seeking lyrics and the second music, each having an A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
5,000 prize for the winning entry. On the recommendation of the Council for the Arts, none of the new entries were felt worthy enough, so the contest ended with the suggestions for Advance Australia Fair, Waltzing Matilda
Waltzing Matilda
"Waltzing Matilda" is Australia's most widely known bush ballad. A country folk song, the song has been referred to as "the unofficial national anthem of Australia"....
and Song of Australia
Song of Australia
"The Song of Australia" was written by English-born poet Caroline J. Carleton in 1859 for a competition sponsored by the Gawler Institute. The music for the song was composed by the German-born Carl Linger , a prominent member of the Australian Forty-Eighters.The song was popularised in Australia...
.
In 1974 the Whitlam government then performed a nationwide opinion survey to determine the song to be sung on occasions of national significance. Conducted through the Australian Bureau of Statistics
Australian Bureau of Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistical agency. It was created as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia...
, it polled 60,000 people nationally. Advance Australia Fair was chosen and was enshrined as the national song, to be used on all occasions excepting those of a specifically regal nature. A spokesman for the Prime Minister Gough Whitlam stated that the Government regarded the tune primarily as the national anthem.
In January 1976 the Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
government reinstated God Save the Queen for royal, vice-regal, defence, and loyal toast occasions, and made plans to conduct a national poll to find a song for use on ceremonial occasions when it was desired to mark a separate Australian identity. This was conducted as a plebiscite to choose the National Song
Australian plebiscite, 1977 (National Song)
As an additional question in the 1977 referendum, the voters were polled on which song they would prefer to be used to mark occasions where a particularly Australian national identity was desired. Voting on this question was not compulsory...
, held as an optional additional question in the 1977 referendum
Australian referendum, 1977
The 1977 Australian Referendum was held on 21 May 1977. It contained four referendum questions and one non-binding plebiscite.Referendums:* Simultaneous Elections * Senate Casual Vacancies ...
on various issues. Advance Australia Fair received 43.29% of the vote, defeating the three alternatives: Waltzing Matilda
Waltzing Matilda
"Waltzing Matilda" is Australia's most widely known bush ballad. A country folk song, the song has been referred to as "the unofficial national anthem of Australia"....
(28.28%), Song of Australia
Song of Australia
"The Song of Australia" was written by English-born poet Caroline J. Carleton in 1859 for a competition sponsored by the Gawler Institute. The music for the song was composed by the German-born Carl Linger , a prominent member of the Australian Forty-Eighters.The song was popularised in Australia...
(9.65%), and the existing national anthem God Save the Queen
God Save the Queen
"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...
(18.78%).
Advance Australia Fair, with modified lyrics from the original (See #Development of lyrics), was adopted as the Australian national anthem on 19 April 1984 by a proclamation by the Governor-General
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
Sir Ninian Stephen
Ninian Stephen
Sir Ninian Martin Stephen, is a retired politician and judge, who served as the 20th Governor-General of Australia and as a Justice in the High Court of Australia.-Early life:...
, on a recommendation by the Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
government of Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
.
Lyrics
The lyrics of the anthem officially adopted in 1984 are as follows:Verse 1
- Australians all let us rejoice,
- For we are young and free;
- We've golden soil and wealth for toil;
- Our home is girt by sea;
- Our land abounds in nature's gifts
- Of beauty rich and rare;
- In history's page, let every stage
- Advance Australia Fair.
- In joyful strains then let us sing,
- Advance Australia Fair.
Verse 2
- Beneath our radiant Southern CrossCruxCrux is the smallest of the 88 modern constellations, but is one of the most distinctive. Its name is Latin for cross, and it is dominated by a cross-shaped asterism that is commonly known as the Southern Cross.-Visibility:...
- We'll toil with hearts and hands;
- To make this Commonwealth of ours
- Renowned of all the lands;
- For those who've come across the seas
- We've boundless plains to share;
- With courage let us all combine
- To Advance Australia Fair.
- In joyful strains then let us sing,
- Advance Australia Fair.
Copyright
Even though any copyrightCopyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
of Peter Dodds McCormick's original lyrics has expired, as he died in 1916, the Commonwealth of Australia does copyright the official lyrics and particular arrangements of music. Non-commercial use of the anthem is permitted without case-by-case permission, but commercial use does require permission.
Orchestral version
The wordless orchestral version of Advance Australia Fair that is now regularly played for Australian victories at international sporting medal ceremonies, and at the openings of major domestic sporting, cultural and community events, is by Tommy TychoTommy Tycho
Thomas Tycho AM MBE is a multi-talented Hungarian-born Australian pianist, conductor, composer and arranger. He was associated with musical productions on Australian television for many years from its inception in 1956, including such programs as The Mavis Bramston Show...
, an immigrant from Hungary. It was first commissioned by ABC Records in 1984 and then televised by Channel 10 in 1986 in their Australia Day Broadcast, featuring Julie Anthony as the soloist.
Development of lyrics
Since the original lyrics were written in 1879, there have been several changes. Some of these were minor while others have significantly changed the song. The original song was four verses long. For its adoption as the national anthem, the song was cut from four verses to two. The first verse was kept largely as the 1879 original, except for the change in the first line from "Australia's sons let us rejoice" to "Australians all let us rejoice". The second, third and fourth verses of the original were dropped, in favour of a modified version of the new third verse which was sung at FederationFederation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
in 1901.
The original lyrics published in 1879 were as follows:
Verse 1
- Australia's sons let us rejoice,
- For we are young and free;
- We've golden soil and wealth for toil,
- Our home is girt by sea;
- Our land abounds in Nature's gifts
- Of beauty rich and rare;
- In hist'ry's page, let ev'ry stage
- Advance Australia fair.
- In joyful strains then let us sing,
- Advance Australia fair.
Verse 2
- When gallant Cook from Albion sailed,
- To trace wide oceans o'er,
- True British courage bore him on,
- Til he landed on our shore.
- Then here he raised Old England's flag,
- The standard of the brave;
- "With all her faults we love her still"
- "Britannia rules the wave."
- In joyful strains then let us sing
- Advance Australia fair.
Verse 3
- While other nations of the globe
- Behold us from afar,
- We'll rise to high renown and shine
- Like our glorious southern star;
- From England soil and Fatherland,
- Scotia and Erin fair,
- Let all combine with heart and hand
- To advance Australia fair.
- In joyful strains then let us sing
- Advance Australia fair.
Verse 4
- Should foreign foe e'er sight our coast,
- Or dare a foot to land,
- We'll rouse to arms like sires of yore,
- To guard our native strand;
- Britannia then shall surely know,
- Though oceans roll between,
- Her sons in fair Australia's land
- Still keep their courage green.
- In joyful strains then let us sing
- Advance Australia fair.
*
The 1901 Federation version of the third verse was originally sung as:
Third verse
- Beneath our radiant Southern Cross,
- We'll toil with hearts and hands;
- To make our youthful Commonwealth
- Renowned of all the lands;
- For loyal sons beyond the seas
- We've boundless plains to share;
- With courage let us all combine
- To advance Australia fair.
- In joyful strains then let us sing
- Advance Australia fair!
*
Lack of impact
Both the lyrics and melody of the official anthem have been criticised in some quarters as being dull and unendearing to the Australian people. National PartyNational Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
Senator Sandy Macdonald
Sandy Macdonald
John Alexander Lindsay "Sandy" Macdonald is a former Australian politician. He was member of the Australian Senate from 1993 to 1998, and again from 2000 to 2008, representing the state of New South Wales for the National Party.-Early life:...
said in 2001 that Advance Australia Fair is so boring that the nation risks singing itself to sleep, with boring music and words impossible to understand. His Parliamentary colleague Peter Slipper
Peter Slipper
Peter Neil Slipper , Australian politician, has served as the 27th Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives since November 2011, after serving as Deputy Speaker following the 2010 election...
thought Australia should consider another anthem.
"Girt" lyric
In 2001, Australian Labor PartyAustralian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
politician Craig Emerson
Craig Emerson
Craig Anthony Emerson , Australian politician, has represented the House of Representatives seat of Rankin in Queensland for the Australian Labor Party since the 1998 federal election...
criticised the archaic
Archaism
In language, an archaism is the use of a form of speech or writing that is no longer current. This can either be done deliberately or as part of a specific jargon or formula...
word "girt" in the national anthem's lyrics by saying, "This must rank as one of the worst lines of any national anthem. That Australia is an island should be pretty obvious, but is our anthem girt by a sea of mediocrity?" Later in 2001, Kim Beazley
Kim Beazley
In the October 1998 election, Labor polled a majority of the two-party vote and received the largest swing to a first-term opposition since 1934. However, due to the uneven nature of the swing, Labor came up eight seats short of making Beazley Prime Minister....
, the then Labor leader, defended the lyric saying, "I stand up on behalf of girt. Girt by sea needs to be celebrated and if we can't do that regularly when Australia enjoys its sporting triumphs, at the beginning of our school assemblies and I think something would be lost that is new and decent and essential to the Australian character."
The anthem's lyrics and the phrase "girt by sea" have also drawn criticism in the media. In 2008, the Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
published an article headed Time girt went down the gurgler, arguing that the anthem's lyrics were largely irrelevant to modern Australian life and that "girt by sea" is "simply an antiquated way of making the obvious statement that we live on an island." The article suggested replacing the first four lines of the anthem with:
- Australians all let us rejoice,
- For we are proud and free;
- We've golden sands and willing hands,
- For home and family."
Alternative Christian verse
A Christian movement, Awakening, in the 1990s substituted an alternative second verse naming Christ and promoting Christian values An archived claim that the verse was sung in the 1930s at Smithton, Tasmania, is unsubstantiated and has been withdrawn from the original website. It was sung during the Global March for JesusMarch for Jesus
March for Jesus is an annual interdenominational event in which Christians march through towns and cities.March for Jesus began as City March in London in 1987. It emerged out of the friendship of three church groups: Pioneer, led by Gerald Coates; Ichthus led by Roger Forster; and Youth with a...
in 1998 and again at World Youth Day 2008
World Youth Day 2008
The 23rd World Youth Day 2008 was a Catholic youth festival that started on 15 July and continued until 20 July 2008 in Sydney, Australia. It was the first World Youth Day held in Australia and the first World Youth Day in Oceania. This meeting was decided by Pope Benedict XVI, during the Cologne...
with the qualification 'This is not the official verse, but a Catholic adaptation of the Australian National Anthem'.
The version was later controversially adopted by some Christian private schools for singing as a hymn at internal assemblies. The substituted verse did not appear in the 1879 publication of Peter Dodds McCormick’s original work. The office of Prime Minister Julia Gillard said that, under national protocols, the anthem should not be modified and alternative words should not be used.
Substituted verse
- With Christ our head and cornerstone,
- We'll build our Nation's might.
- Whose way and truth and light alone
- Can guide our path aright.
- Our lives, a sacrifice of love
- Reflect our Master's care.
- With faces turned to heaven above
- Advance Australia fair.
- In joyful strains then let us sing
- Advance Australia fair!
External links
- AdvanceAustraliaFair.org – Author information, history, MP3's, videos, and latest tweets
- Lyrics on official Government website
- Brief history
- Australian Government websites:
- Official published words, music with band parts and sound recordings
- Four-part musical score & words PDF 169 KB
- Australian National Anthem Audio for download (MP3 3.12 MB)
- Department of Foreign Affair and Trade's webpage on Advance Australia Fair
- Online scores held by Australian government libraries (The MusicAustralia collaboration)
- Advance Australia Fair (Original Lyrics) - Australian singer Peter Dawson (c. 1930)
- youtube video 1987 ABC Sign on and National Anthem (with sketches of Early Australia) (ignore begin of first program)
- youtube video 1980 ABC Sign off and National Anthem (with sketches of Early Australia) (ignore end of previous program)