Canberra, April 1973
National Anthem
Your Australia Day broadcast on the National Anthem1 was cabled to Australia House on 26 January, and a copy was forwarded to the Palace.
Background
Your Government’s decision to seek an alternative anthem is the culmination of a long history of pressure, exerted by a growing number of Australians, for a national song with a distinctly Australian flavour.
You made it clear, in your Australia Day announcement, that the intention is that the new anthem should be played on those formal occasions when patriotic sentiments are appropriately high, for example an Australian win at the Olympic Games. The present anthem ‘God Save The Queen’ will be retained for use on occasions when Her Majesty, or a representative appointed by her, is present at functions in Australia. This practice, besides giving Australia a popular song to identify the spirit of the country at home and overseas, will bring us into line with other Commonwealth countries, notably Canada.
The Competition
Following your Australia Day address more that 700 entries have been received, many from overseas. These include original melodies and lyrics, and expressions of support for traditional Australian songs. Other letters request entry forms and details of the competition.
A working party of the Australian Council for the Arts has drawn up details for the Competition. These await formal approval. The current thinking of the Council is that the Competition should be open only to citizens and permanent residents of Australia, copyright of the winning entry being vested in the Australian Government. This will effectively disqualify the majority of entries from the United Kingdom.
The Royal Visit in October
In any discussion of the matter you have with Her Majesty you could mention that it appears unlikely that a final choice of anthem will have been made prior to her opening the Opera House in October (an occasion when ‘God Save The Queen’ would be used anyway, according to the policy announced on page 2 of your Australia Day message). This is in view of the decision of the Australian Council for the Arts to extend the duration of the competition from 3 to 9 months.
1 See Document 442.
[NAA: A1209, 1973/6439]