Commonwealth of Australia - The Song of Australia

Details

Description

‘Song of Australia’ became the accepted national song in South Australia and, for a time, throughout Australia. When Queen Elizabeth II landed at Circular Quay at the beginning of her 1954 royal tour ‘Song of Australia’ was played after ‘God Save the Queen’. However, its popularity waned; in a national poll conducted in 1974 by the Whitlam Labor government on the adoption of an Australian national anthem, ‘Song of Australia’ received 48 per cent of the South Australian vote but only 14 per cent nationally. In 1977 the Fraser Coalition government conducted an even larger poll, and the vote for ‘Song of Australia’ dropped to 34 per cent in South Australia and ten per cent nationally. The Adelaide Liedertafel still sings it in commemoration of its founder, Carl Linger, and it is occasionally played at functions at the Adelaide Town Hall, but ‘Song of Australia’ is now remembered mainly by older South Australians.
LYRICS
There is a land where summer skies
Are gleaming with a thousand eyes,
Blending in witching harmonies;
In harmonies.
And grassy knoll and forest height,
Are flushing in the rosy light,
And all above is azure bright,
Australia! Australia! Australia!

There is a land where, floating free,
From mountain-top to girdling sea,
A proud flag waves exultingly;
Exultingly.
And Freedom's sons the banner bear,
No shackled slave can breathe the air,
Fairest of Britain's daughters fair,
Australia! Australia! Australia!