A voluntary national poll was held across Australia in May 1977 to select the National Song. I was 10 years old and obviously didn’t vote.

Advance Australia Fair won the contest and later became the National Anthem.

Looking at the poll results on the Australian Electoral Commission website, it surprised me that Song of Australia (excellent version above by Peter Dawson from 1932) won the ballot convincingly in South Australia (with 34.12 percent), despite being trounced elsewhere in the country.

I have since discovered the lyrics were written by English-born poet, Caroline J Carleton, who moved to South Australia.

According to this website:

“Caroline Carleton (1820-1874), daughter of William Baynes, and her husband Charles James Carleton, arrived in South Australia from England in the Prince Regent in 1839. Their two children had died during the voyage. The Carletons lived in Adelaide for some time where Charles practised as a medical officer. They later moved to Kapunda where he had a similar position at the mines.

“After the death of her husband, on July 20, 1861, she started teaching but later, due to ill health, moved to Wallaroo where here daughter was teaching. Caroline died at Matta House on July 10, 1874, to be remembered as a clever, courageous, kind and courteous gentlewoman. Her admirers later had a monument placed over her grave at Wallaroo.”

The lyrics are:

Scottish athletes took matters into their own hands and voted to use Flower of Scotland as their anthem at the Commonwealth Games this year in New Delhi.

The traditional rugby song will replace Scotland the Brave, which has been used previously at Commonwealth Games.

I have Scottish blood — my grandmother was a Sutherland and her grandmother was a Ferguson from Bute — so I feel entitled to enter this discussion.

Here are the two songs:

Scotland the Brave

Flower of Scotland

I like both of them, but personally I prefer Scotland the Brave. Here are the lyrics:

Scotland the Brave

Hark when the night is falling
Hear! Hear the pipes are calling,
Loudly and proudly calling,
Down thro’ the glen.
There where the hills are sleeping,
Now feel the blood a-leaping,
High as the spirits of the old Highland men.

Towering in gallant fame,
Scotland my mountain hame,
High may your proud standards gloriously wave,
Land of my high endeavour,
Land of the shining river,
Land of my heart for ever,
Scotland the brave.

Flower of Scotland

O flower of Scotland
When will we see
Your like again
That fought and died for
Your wee bit hill and glen
And stood against him
Proud Edward’s army
And sent him homeward
Tae think again

Those days are passed now
And in the past they must remain
But we can still rise now
And be the nation again
And stood against him
Proud Edward’s army
And sent him homeward
Tae think again

I commented to Juliet and the big kids yesterday that when I was a boy the TV used to shut down at 11pm and play the national anthem, which until the late 1970s was “God Save the Queen”.

Juliet said it was the same in South Africa (different anthem though) and TV used to close for the night even earlier. In fact, they didn’t get TV there until the late 1970s!

I recall that Gough Whitlam changed the anthem to Advance Australia Fair in 1974. Malcolm Fraser changed it back to God Save the Queen before holding a national plebiscite in 1977.

For a few years afterwards, God Save the Queen continued to be played on vice-regal occasions (when the Governor or Governor-General was present). I was in the school band at St Paul’s College and remember playing the Royal Anthem for Sir Brian Murray when he was Governor of Victoria.

That practice ceased in 1984 and Advance Australia Fair became the sole anthem, except for royal occasions. According to this government web site, God Save the Queen will be played jointly with Advance Australia Fair in the presence of Her Majesty.

If the Queen opens the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne next year, protocol will require that the Royal Anthem be played. That will get up the nose of a few republicans!