Australia
Advance Australia Fair
1878
1984
Peter Dodds McCormick
Peter Dodds McCormick
🌿 Nature 🤝 Unity 🌾 Prosperity 🕊 Freedom |
Key Facts
- 1. The original 1878 version had four verses, but only the first two are officially performed today; the omitted verses contain dated colonial-era language.
- 2. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, soprano Yvonne Kenny performed the anthem at the opening ceremony, and her rendition is widely considered the most iconic live performance of it.
- 3. In a 1977 national plebiscite, 'Advance Australia Fair' received only 43% of the vote, winning by plurality over 'Waltzing Matilda' (28%), 'God Save the Queen' (19%), and 'Song of Australia' (10%).
Lyrics
Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are one 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.
Beneath our radiant Southern Cross
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.
Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals
Analysis
EditorialWritten by Peter Dodds McCormick, a Scottish-born composer, in the late 1870s. It only became the official anthem in 1984 after a national plebiscite chose it over 'Waltzing Matilda,' 'God Save the Queen,' and 'Song of Australia.' In 2021, the second line was changed from 'for we are young and free' to 'for we are one and free' to acknowledge that Aboriginal Australians have inhabited the continent for over 65,000 years.