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God Defend New Zealand
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Everything about God Defend New Zealand totally explained

"God Defend New Zealand" is one of the national anthems of New Zealand, together with "God Save the Queen". Although they both have equal status, "God Defend New Zealand" is the anthem that's in common use.

History

The words for "God Defend New Zealand" were written as a poem in the 1870s by Thomas Bracken of Dunedin, a freemason. A competition to compose music for the poem was held in 1876, with a prize of ten guineas. The winner of the competition was John Joseph Woods of Lawrence, New Zealand who composed the melody in a single sitting the evening after finding out about the competition.
   The song became increasingly popular during the 19th century and early 20th century, and in 1940 the New Zealand government bought the copyright and made it New Zealand's national hymn in time for that year's centennial celebrations. In 1976 a petition was presented to parliament asking for it to be made the national anthem, and, with the permission of Queen Elizabeth II, it became the country's second national anthem on November 21 1977, on equal standing with "God Save The Queen", which had been the traditional anthem since 1940.
   An alternative official arrangement for massed singing by Maxwell Fernie was announced by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Allan Highet on June 1 1978.
   While being used as New Zealand's national anthem at the British Empire Games from 1950 onward, it was first used at the Olympic Games in 1972 in Munich.

Protocol

The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage has responsibility for the national anthems. The Ministry's guidance for choosing which anthem should be presented on any occasion advises that "'God Save The Queen' would be specially appropriate at any occasion where Her Majesty The Queen, or a member of the Royal Family, or the Governor-General, when within New Zealand, is officially present or when loyalty to the crown is to be stressed, while 'God Defend New Zealand' would be specially appropriate whenever the national identity of New Zealand is to be stressed even in association with a toast to Her Majesty as Queen of New Zealand." (External Link)

Lyrics

"God Defend New Zealand" has five verses, each in English and translated into Māori.
   Commonly, only the first verse of each version is sung, usually in Māori first, then in English. However, it has been known to be sung English first.
   The second and last English verses may also be sung, but the third and fourth are rarely used.

Current English Version

Maori Version

Extended English Version

Extended Maori Version

Copyright on the English lyrics for "God Defend New Zealand" expired in 1948, 50 years after the death of the author.
   There is some discussion, with no official explanation, of the meaning of "Pacific's triple star". Unofficial explanations range from New Zealand's three biggest islands (North, South, and Stewart Island/Rakiura), the three stars on the shield of the New Zealand Anglican Church to the three stars on the flag of Te Kooti (a Māori political and religious leader of the 19th century) (External Link). Another explanation is that Bracken was referring to Alpha Centauri, the brightest triple-star system in the southern constellation of Centaurus, but this seems dubious since that system's third star (Proxima Centauri) wasn't discovered until 1915.
   The Māori language version was produced in 1878 by Thomas H. Smith of Auckland, a judge in the Native Land Court, on request of Governor George Edward Grey, and in 1979 this was back-translated into English by former Māori Language Commissioner, Professor Timoti S. Kāretu.
   Kāretu's back-translation is under New Zealand Crown copyright until 2079. Copyright information is at http://www.cultureandheritage.govt.nz/copy-right.html.

Further Information

Get more info on 'God Defend New Zealand'.


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