The Australian National Anthem

Composer Profile
Peter Dodds McCormick is the composer of ‘Advanced Australia Fair'. He composed the Australian National Anthem under the pen name ‘Amicus'. Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1835, Peter Dodds McCormick came to Australia in 1855 and was actively involved in music and children's choirs. For most of his life, McCormick was employed with the Education Department. Besides ‘Advanced Australia Fair' his other work includes "The Bonnie Banks of Clyde". He died on 30 th October 1916 in Sydney and fifty years later his copyright on ‘Advanced Australia Fair' ended.

Lyrics- the Original and the Official Versions
For the official version of the Australian National Anthem, some of the original lyrics had been altered. The second, fourth, and fifth verses were dropped due to their over emphasis on the British connection with the Australian heritage. In addition the following three lines were altered:

• Original line1of verse1 “ Australia's sons let us rejoice ” changed to “Australians all let us rejoice”
• Original line 3 of verse 3 “To make this youthful Commonwealth” changed to “To make this Commonwealth of ours”

• Original line 5 of verse 3 “ For loyal sons beyond the seas ” changed to “ For those who've come across the seas ”

The Anthem Debate:
Prior to “Advanced Australia Fair” becoming the official National Anthem of Australia, there was much public debate over the need for a national anthem. This resulted in several public opinion polls being conducted to come to a consensus about an official national anthem for Australia. In May 1977, a national poll was conducted and the nominations were ‘Advanced Australia Fair', ‘Waltzing Matilda', ‘God Save the Queen' and the ‘Song of Australia'. ‘Advanced Australia Fair' won with 43.6% votes and was finally declared to be the official national anthem while ‘God Save the Queen' was declared the Royal Anthem to be played in the presence of the Queen or the Royal family. ‘Waltzing Matilda', composed by Banjo Paterson is considered to be the ‘unofficial' national anthem of Australia.