As an additional question in the 1977 referendum, the voters were polled on which song they would prefer to be played as the de facto national anthem (in place of "God Save the Queen"). Voting on this question was not compulsory. This was the third plebiscite to be held in Australia, following two regarding military service in 1916 and 1917. [1] The winner, "Advance Australia Fair", was later formally declared the Australian anthem in 1984.
Prior to 1974, "God Save the Queen" was Australia's national anthem. In 1974, the Whitlam government performed a nationwide opinion survey, conducted through the Australian Bureau of Statistics, to determine the song to be sung on occasions of national significance. "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.
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.
Voters were presented with the following choice: Against the background that 'GOD SAVE THE QUEEN' is the NATIONAL ANTHEM to be played on Regal and Vice Regal occasions, electors may indicate their preferences as to which of the tunes of the songs listed below they would prefer to be played on other occasions. [2]
State | Electoral roll | Ballots issued | "God Save the Queen" | "Advance Australia Fair" | "The Song of Australia" | "Waltzing Matilda" | Informal | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vote | % | Vote | % | Vote | % | Vote | % | ||||
New South Wales | 3,007,511 | 2,537,805 | 348,885 | 15.32 | 1,169,421 | 51.35 | 121,456 | 5.33 | 637,795 | 28.00 | 260,248 |
Victoria | 2,252,831 | 1,951,160 | 352,603 | 20.68 | 683,451 | 40.09 | 110,591 | 6.49 | 557,991 | 32.73 | 246,524 |
Queensland | 1,241,426 | 1,056,804 | 204,453 | 21.38 | 438,929 | 45.90 | 61,234 | 6.40 | 251,609 | 26.31 | 100,579 |
South Australia | 799,243 | 706,392 | 114,477 | 18.07 | 152,507 | 24.07 | 215,085 | 33.95 | 151,434 | 23.90 | 72,889 |
Western Australia | 682,291 | 487,879 | 113,054 | 23.17 | 183,159 | 37.54 | 75,524 | 15.48 | 116,142 | 23.81 | 68,394 |
Tasmania | 259,081 | 253,525 | 47,346 | 22.38 | 88,825 | 41.98 | 21,091 | 9.97 | 54,329 | 25.68 | 23,934 |
Australian Capital Territory | 120,875 | 22,136 | 1,448 | 6.65 | 7,857 | 36.11 | 1,863 | 8.56 | 10,593 | 48.68 | 375 |
Northern Territory | 38,209 | 2,951 | 423 | 14.93 | 1,143 | 40.35 | 413 | 14.58 | 854 | 30.14 | 118 |
Total for Commonwealth | 8,401,467 | 7,069,046 | 1,182,689 | 18.78 | 2,725,292 | 43.29 | 607,257 | 9.65 | 1,780,747 | 28.28 | 773,061 |
"Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish-born 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 King/Queen" became known as the royal anthem, 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 lyrics were changed once again.
"God Save the King" is the national anthem of the United Kingdom and the royal anthem of each of the British Crown Dependencies, one of two national anthems of New Zealand since 1977, and the royal anthem of most Commonwealth realms. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, but an attribution to the composer John Bull has sometimes been made.
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