A countryās national anthem is the cultural badge by which a nation state chooses to identify itself.
It is one of the most important cultural identifiers a country can have and is obviously a source a great pride for the citizens of said country.
This is no different when it comes to our national anthem; āAdvance Australia Fairā.
This song is one we would have all grown up singing along to during school assemblies as well as at sporting and political events throughout our lives.
Advance Australia Fair Lyrics:
Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are young and free;
Weāve golden soil and wealth for toil,
Our home is girt by sea;
Our land abounds in Natureās gifts
Of beauty rich and rare;
In historyās page, let every stage
Advance Australia fair!
In joyful strains then let us sing,
āAdvance Australia fair!āĀ
When gallant Cook from Albion sailād,
To trace wide oceans oāer,
True British courage bore him on,
Till he landed on our shore.
Then here he raised Old Englandās flag,
The standard of the brave;
With all her faults we love her still,
āBrittannia rules the wave!ā
In joyful strains then let us sing
āAdvance Australia fair!āĀ
Beneath our radiant southern Cross,
Weāll toil with hearts and hands;
To make this Commonwealth of ours
Renowned of all the lands;
For those whoāve come across the seas
Weāve boundless plains to share;
With courage let us all combine
To advance Australia fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing
āAdvance Australia fair!āĀ
While other nations of the globe
Behold us from afar,
Weāll rise to high renown and shine
Like our glorious southern star;
From England, Scotia, Erinās Isle,
Who come our lot to share,
Let all combine with heart and hand
To advance Australia fair!
In joyful strains then let us sing
āAdvance Australia fair!āĀ
Should foreign foe eāer sight our coast,
Or dare a foot to land,
Weāll rouse to arms like sires of yore
To guard our native strand;
Brittannia then shall surely know,
Beyond wide oceanās roll,
Her sons in fair Australiaās land
Still keep a British soul.
In joyful strains then let us sing
āAdvance Australia fair!āĀ
Letās learn a little bit more about the song we all know and love:
Origins
The song āAdvance Australia Fairā was first written in the late 19th century by Scottish composer Peter Dodds McCormick ā whose pen-name was āAmicusā which translated to āfriendā in Latin.
Mr McCormick was inspired to write the anthem after attending an exhibition where world anthems were performed and he noticed a lack of Australian attention. He wrote the first verse on the bus ride home and came up with the rest of the song the next day.
The song was first officially performed at a Sydney Highland Society Function in November 1878 by Andrew Fairfax. On Federation Day (January 1st, 1901) Advance Australia Fair was sung by a 10,000 strong choir. It was first recorded in a TV commercial depicting ANZAC troops landing in Egypt on their way to Gallipoli.
Before it became the national anthem a century later, the song was used routinely in news bulletins as well as in theatres at the end of the Second World War.
In 1943 and ā45 the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) held competitions looking for a new national anthem. However, it was not until 1973 that the Federal Government decided the country needed an official anthem.
The Whitlam government launched a national poll to allow people to vote for which of the three songs; āAdvance Australia Fairā, āWaltzing Matildaā by Banjo Paterson or āSong of Australiaā by Carl Linger would be the new national anthem. In 1974 āAdvance Australia Fairā became the nationās anthem after narrowly defeating the other two songs.
āGod Save the Queenā was briefly reinstated as the national anthem in 1976 during the Fraser government. April 19, 1984 is the date the song officially became the national Australian anthem. Since then, āGod Save the Queenā has been relegated to ceremonial services involving the British Royal Family.
The song has been altered over the decades to make to more acceptable to modern sensibilities. For example, the opening of the song was originally āAustraliaās sons let us rejoiceā and this has since been changed to āAustralians all let us rejoiceā.
Cultural impact and criticism
The anthem has been criticised for not representing indigenous people and that it is a racist glorification of European colonisation. Critics have said that the meaning of āAdvance Australia Fairā is to continue the white colonisation of the nation at the expense of the original indigenous inhabitants.
The anthem has also been criticised for being a mix of modern and archaic language without any consistency. For example, the line āour home is girt by seaā uses the word āgirtā which not many modern citizens would know the meaning of.
Others have simply said that the anthem is boring and does not reflect the national spirit as much as its original competitor āWaltzing Matildaā. Defends have said that the anthem strikes a perfect balance between international formality and truly feeling uniquely āAussieā.