If I said the words “In joyful strains then let us sing”, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Exactly, the best national anthem on earth, Advance Australia Fair. Good morning/afternoon Australia Day Committee, today I will remind you exactly why our patriotic in-your-face masterpiece that makes every Aussie proud, unlike those pathetic dirges every other country has.
The captivating history behind our national icon is truly magical. Written by Peter Dodds McCormick in 1879, Advance Australia Fair was originally 4 verses long. Many of the verses were not very inclusive and still incredibly loyal to the United Kingdom. The first performance of the anthem was in 1878 by Andrew Fairfax during a Highland Society event, thus establishing its position as a well-known anthem of the world. Now, to further convince you, I’ll remind you how our gorgeous song developed into the beauty it is.
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Most of the changes were to make the song more inclusive for Australia’s developing multicultural society. The original version written by McCormick was four verses long and lasted over 3 minutes! During 1974, the Australian Government held a poll to decide what song represents us best, the choices were Waltzing Matilda, Song of Australia and Advance Australia fair. Just over half the voters agreed on Advance Australia fair. But, yet again, in 1977, a plebiscite fuelled by debate in 1976 over an appropriate song to represent Australia at the Olympic Games, the Fraser government requested the Australian Electoral Office conduct a national poll. Over 7 million of the 8.4 million people on the electoral roll chose to vote. Again, Advance Australia Fair was the preferred song, followed closely by Waltzing Matilda. Thus, leads perfectly into my next point that it is definitely embedded into our chilled-out