Advance Australia Fair

"Advance Australia Fair" is the official national anthem of Australia.

Originally composed by Peter Dodds McCormick in the late 19th century (first performance at Sydney on St Andrew's Day, 1878), it emerged as the most popular choice for the national anthem after an opinion poll in 1974 (the Australian Bureau of Statistics polled 60,000 nationally). It was also the subject of a National Song Poll in 1977, where it garnered 43.6% of the vote, as against "Waltzing Matilda" (28.5%), the "Song Of Australia" (9.7%), and the then-current "God Save the Queen" (18.7%).

It was adopted as the national anthem by a 1984 decision of the Labor government of Bob Hawke (although it required a proclamation by the Governor-General for it to become official). In the process, the second, fourth, and fifth verses were dropped from the "official" version, as they emphasised the British aspects of Australia's heritage, along with the virtues of Britain, and three lines were changed:

the first line of the first verse: "Australia's sons let us rejoice" to "Australians all let us rejoice"
verse 3 (verse 2 of official version), line 3 : "To make this youthful Commonwealth" to "To make this Commonwealth of ours"
verse 3 (verse 2 of official version), line 5 : "For loyal sons beyond the seas" to "For those who've come across the seas"

On most occasions, only the first verse of the official version is sung.

The national anthem, though sung with enthusiasm at national celebrations, is still regarded by many with mixed feelings and many older people still struggle with the words. Some of the lyrics, particularly the word "girt", are odd by modern standards, and the tune is generally regarded as uninspiring by comparison with "La Marseillaise", or "Land of Hope and Glory".

"Advance Australia Fair" at least has the merit of being much easier to sing than "The Star Spangled Banner", and the lyrics do express relatively uncontroversial Australian self-beliefs and aspirations. Some ambiguity comes from the enduring popularity of "Waltzing Matilda", which is generally regarded as a much finer tune and has been part of the Australian imagination almost since its composition 120 years ago. Many non-Australians simply assume the tune is Australia's anthem. However, Matilda's lyrics, detailing the exploits of an itinerant who steals a sheep and then drowns himself in an effort to avoid capture by the police and the local squatter, are regarded by some Australians as unsuitable as an expression of Australian values, and, indeed, as unsuitable topics for discussion in a national anthem.

Other tunes that have gained recognition in the popular mind as patriotic songs include the pop ballad "I Still Call Australia Home", by Peter Allen and the reggae-influenced rock song "Down Under" by band Men At Work. Also gaining popularity is "We Are Australian" by The Seekers.

Table of contents

1 Historical notes
2 Lyrics

2.1 The official version
2.2 Dodds' original lyrics

3 External links

Historical notes

"Advance Australia Fair" was first performed, in its pro-British form (see below), on November 30 1878 in Sydney during a Highland Society function.

Before its adoption as Australia's national anthem, it saw considerable use elsewhere. For instance, during World War II, Australia's ABC used it to announce its news bulletins. It was also frequently played at the start or closing of official functions.