Advance Australia Fair
"Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish-born Australian composer Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed as a patriotic song in Australia in 1878. It replaced "God Save the Queen" as the official national anthem in 1974, following a nationwide opinion survey, only for "God Save the Queen" to be reinstated in January 1976. However, a plebiscite to choose the national song in 1977 preferred "Advance Australia Fair", which was in turn reinstated as the national anthem in 1984. "God Save the Queen" became the royal anthem (later "God Save the King" on the accession of King Charles III), and is used at public engagements attended by the King or members of the monarchy of Australia. The lyrics of the 1984 version of "Advance Australia Fair" were modified from McCormick's original and its verses were trimmed down from four to two. In January 2021, the official lyrics were changed once again, in recognition of the long habitation of Indigenous Australians.
Lyrics
Peter Dodds McCormick, November 1878
Peter Dodds McCormick, November 1878
9 April 1974
19 April 1984
22 January 1976
History[edit]
Origin[edit]
"Advance Australia Fair" was published in early December 1878 by Scottish-born Australian composer Peter Dodds McCormick (1833–1916) under the pen-name "Amicus" (which means "friend" in Latin).[1] It was first sung by Andrew Fairfax, accompanied by a concert band conducted by McCormick, at a function of the Highland Society of New South Wales in Sydney on 30 November 1878 (Saint Andrew's Day).[2][3] The song gained in popularity and an amended version was sung by a choir of around 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.[4]
In a letter to R.B. Fuller dated 1 August 1913, McCormick described the circumstances that inspired him to write "Advance Australia Fair" to be sung by a large choir with band accompaniment. McCormick had attended a concert at Sydney's Exhibition Building where various national anthems were played.
Criticism[edit]
General criticism[edit]
In May 1976, after reinstating "God Save the Queen", Fraser advised the Australian Olympic Federation to use "Waltzing Matilda" as the national anthem for the forthcoming Montreal Olympic Games.[29] Fraser responded to criticism of "Waltzing Matilda" compared with "Advance Australia Fair", and countered, "in the second verse... we find these words, 'Britannia rules the waves'."[29] Despite the outcome of the 1977 plebiscite to choose the National Song favouring "Advance Australia Fair", successive Fraser Ministries did not implement the change.[1]
The fourth line of the anthem, "our home is girt by sea", has been criticised for using the so-called archaic word "girt".[30] Additionally, the lyrics and melody of the Australian national anthem have been criticised in some quarters as being dull and unendearing to the Australian people. National Party 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".[31]
Political sentiment is divided. Craig Emerson of the Australian Labor Party has critiqued the anthem,[32] former MP Peter Slipper has said that Australia should consider another anthem,[33] in 2011 former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett suggested "I Am Australian",[34] while former Australian Labor Party leader Kim Beazley defended it.[35]
Recognition of Indigenous Australians[edit]
The song has been criticised for failing to represent or acknowledge Australia's Indigenous peoples and aspects of the country's colonial past, leading to modification. The lyrics have been accused of celebrating British colonisation and perpetuating the concept of terra nullius; the now-changed second line of the anthem ("for we are young and free") was criticised in particular for ignoring the long history of Indigenous Australians.[36] It has also been suggested that the word "fair" celebrates the "civilising" mission of British colonists.[37]
Since about 2015, public debate about the anthem has increased. Boxer Anthony Mundine stated in 2013, 2017 and 2018 that he would not stand for the anthem, prompting organisers not to play it before his fights.[38] In September 2018 a 9-year-old Brisbane girl was disciplined by her school after refusing to stand for the national anthem;[39] her actions were applauded by some public commenters, and criticised by others.[40][41] In 2019, several National Rugby League football players decided not to sing the anthem before the first match of the State of Origin series[42][43] and before the Indigenous All-Stars series with New Zealand;[44] NRL coach and celebrated former player Mal Meninga supported the protesting players and called for a referendum on the subject.[44]
Several alternative versions of "Advance Australia Fair" have been proposed to address the alleged exclusion of Indigenous Australians. Judith Durham of The Seekers and Mutti Mutti musician Kutcha Edwards released their alternative lyrics in 2009, replacing "for we are young and free" with the opening lines "Australians let us stand as one, upon this sacred land".[45] In 2015, Aboriginal Australian soprano Deborah Cheetham declined an invitation to sing the anthem at the 2015 AFL grand final after the AFL turned down her request to replace the words "for we are young and free" with "in peace and harmony". She has advocated for the lyrics being rewritten and endorsed Durham and Edwards' alternative version.[46]
In 2017 the Recognition in Anthem Project[47] was established and began work on a new version, with lyrics written by poet and former Victorian Supreme Court judge Peter Vickery following consultation with Indigenous communities and others.[48] Vickery's proposed lyrics replaced "we are young and free" with "we are one and free" in the first verse, deleted the second and added two new ones; the second verse acknowledging Indigenous history, immigration and calls for unity and respect, and the third adapting lines from the official second verse. It was debuted at the Desert Song Festival in Alice Springs by an Aboriginal choir.[49] Former prime minister Bob Hawke endorsed Vickery's alternative lyrics in 2018.[50] In 2017, the federal government under then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull granted permission for Vickery's lyrics to be sung at certain occasions as a "patriotic song", but said that before making any official change to the anthem, "The Government would need to be convinced of a sufficient groundswell of support in the wider community".[51]
In November 2020, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian proposed changing one word in the opening couplet, from "we are young and free" to "we are one and free", to acknowledge Australia's Indigenous history.[52] The proposal was supported by the federal Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt,[53][54] and in December 2020 Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that this change would be adopted from 1 January 2021, having received approval from Governor-General David Hurley.[55][56] This change was briefly used by the No Campaign's arguments[57] for the Voice to Parliament referendum.
Dharawal lyrics[edit]
Lyrics for the anthem have been written twice in the Dharug language, an Australian Aboriginal language spoken around Sydney by the Dharawal people.[58]
A first version was first performed in July 2010, at a Rugby League State of Origin match in Sydney, though there was some opposition:[59]
In December 2020, another setting, in Dharug, followed by the anthem in English, was sung before a Rugby Union international between Australia and Argentina:[60][61]