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Information about God Defend New Zealand

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 is in common use.

History

The words for God Defend New Zealand were written as a poem in the 1870s by Thomas Bracken, 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, 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 1840.

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 (Munich).

Protocol

The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage has responsibility for the national anthems. The Ministry's guidance [1] 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."

Lyrics

"God Defend New Zealand" has five verses, each in English and translated into Māori.

Commonly, only the first verse is sung, in English and/or in Māori, followed by the same verse in the other language. During sports events, it is always sung Māori first and English second.

The second and last English verses may also be sung, but the third and fourth are rarely used.


God Defend New Zealand
God of Nations at Thy feetE Ihowā Atua
In the bonds of love we meetO ngā iwi mātou ra
Hear our voices, we entreatĀta whakarongona
God defend our free landMe aroha noa
Guard Pacific's triple starKia hua ko te pai
From the shafts of strife and warKia tau tō atawhai
Make her praises heard afarManaakitia mai
God defend New ZealandAotearoa
Men of ev'ry creed and raceŌna mano tāngata
Gather here before Thy faceKiri whero, kiri ma
Asking Thee to bless this placeIwi Māori Pākeha
God defend our free landRūpeke katoa
From dissension, envy, hateNei ka tono ko ngā he
And corruption guard our StateMāu e whakaahu ke
Make our country good and greatKia ora mārire
God defend New ZealandAotearoa
Peace, not war, shall be our boastTōna mana kia tu
But should our foes assail our coastTōna kaha kia u
Make us then a mighty hostTōna rongo hei paku
God defend our free landKi te ao katoa
Lord of battles, in Thy mightAua rawa ngā whawhai
Put our enemies to flightNgā tutū a tata mai
Let our cause be just and rightKia tupu nui ai
God defend New ZealandAotearoa
Let our love for Thee increaseWaiho tona takiwa
May Thy blessings never ceaseKo te ao mārama
Give us plenty, give us peaceKia whiti tōna ra
God defend our free landTaiāwhio noa
From dishonour and from shameKo te hae me te ngangau
Guard our country's spotless nameMeinga kia kore kau
Crown her with immortal fameWaiho i te rongo mau
God defend New ZealandAotearoa
May our mountains ever beTōna pai me toitu
Freedom's ramparts on the seaTika rawa, pono pu
Make us faithful unto TheeTōna noho, tana tu
God defend our free landIwi nō Ihowa
Guide her in the nations' vanKaua mōna whakama
Preaching love and truth to manKia hau te ingoa
Working out Thy Glorious planKia tū hei tauira
God defend New ZealandAotearoa





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) [2]. Another possibility is that Bracken was referring to Alpha Centauri, the brightest triple-star system in the southern constellation of Centaurus, which contains the fourth-brightest star in the sky.

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.

Media

    Recording by the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage


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External links

National anthems of Oceania and the Pacific Islands
National anthems: Australia • Cook Islands • Federated States of Micronesia • Fiji • Kiribati • Marshall Islands • Nauru • New Zealand (Also God Save the Queen) • Niue • Palau • Papua New Guinea • Samoa • Solomon Islands • Tonga • Tuvalu • Vanuatu
Regional anthems: American Samoa • French Polynesia • Guam • Hawaii • New Caledonia • Northern Mariana Islands • Wake Island • Wallis and Futuna
For the Radiohead song, see "The National Anthem".
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a country's government as the official
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"God Defend New Zealand"
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"God Save the Queen", or "God Save the King", is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms; it currently serves as the national anthem of the United Kingdom, one of the two national anthems of New Zealand, and the royal anthem of Canada and of Australia.
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Thomas Bracken (21 December 1843 – 16 February 1898) was a noted late 19th century poet. He wrote "God Defend New Zealand", one of the two National anthems of New Zealand and was the first person to publish the phrase "God's Own Country".
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John Woods (1849–1934) was a New Zealand teacher and songwriter. He composed the music for the New Zealand national anthem God Defend New Zealand, winning a competition to set Thomas Bracken's words to music.
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