Advance Australia Fair Trivia Quiz

Answer: False

Up until 1984, "God Save the Queen" was Australia's national anthem. Advance Australia Fair was chosen as the national song on a 1977 plebiscite, but was met with some criticism and was not immediately adopted.

Answer: Scotland

Peter Dodds McCormick was born in Scotland around 1834 and arrived in Sydney at the age of 21. He became a school teacher and taught at schools around Sydney.

Answer: False

Peter Dodds McCormick wrote the anthem in 1878 and it was first sung in that year. The anthem was sung by a 10,000 strong choir at the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. McCormick made some minor changes to the verses for this occasion.

Answer: 4

There were four verses originally written by McCormick. The first verse is known by most Australians. The second verse which we know today is actually a modified version of the original third verse. When the song was adopted as an anthem in 1984, the song was modified to two verses. There is also an extra verse that has an overly Christian tone, but this was not written by McCormick.

Answer: girt

Girt is the past tense of gird; a word that means surrounded. It is used in the line 'Our home is girt by sea'. Apart from in the national anthem, I have never seen it used anywhere else. In 2001, the then Labour opposition leader Kim Beazley, had this to say when asked about the relevancy of the national anthem, "I stand up on behalf of girt. Girt by sea needs to be celebrated".

Answer: God Save the King/Queen

"God Save the King/Queen" is still used as the anthem when the UK monarch is present, but not for any other events. "Waltzing Matilda" and "The Song of Australia" were the other options on the 1977 plebiscite. "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" is a song written by Rolf Harris in 1957.

Answer: False

Although not compulsory in all schools, in 2006 NSW Premier Morris Iemma made it compulsory for all New South Wales schools to sing "Advance Australia Fair" at school assemblies. In the rest of Australia it is not compulsory to sing the anthem but some schools choose to sing the anthem at assembly.

Answer: False

Anyone in the community can freely use "Advance Australia Fair". Commercial use is examined on a case by case basis by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The song may not be parodied or modified in any way. Substitute words are also not allowed.

Answer: False

There was some debate on whether "God Save the Queen" should be played at the Commonwealth games as Australia's anthem, especially at the 2006 games held in Melbourne. The organisers decided that they would play "Advance Australia Fair".

Answer: Norfolk Island

Cocos Island and Christmas Island have "Advance Australia Fair" as their anthem. Tasmania is a state of Australia and therefore has the same anthem as the mainland. Norfolk Island although being a territory of Australia uses the Pitcairn Anthem. This song called "Come All ye blessed" is a hymn taken from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, verses 34-36 and 40.