New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

is one of only two countries in the world—the other being Denmark—with two official

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

s of equal status. The traditional anthem "

God Save the King "God Save the King" is the national anthem, national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in ...

" is generally used only on

royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

and

viceregal A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

occasions. "

God Defend New Zealand "God Defend New Zealand" (, meaning 'New Zealand') is one of two national anthems of New Zealand, the other being "God Save the King". Legally the two have equal status, but "God Defend New Zealand" is more commonly used. Originally written as a ...

" is more commonly used on occasions when the

national identity National identity is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one or more states or to one or more nations. It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language". National identity ...

of New Zealand is the focus, such as sports events, where it is sung with

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

verses. On a few occasions both anthems may be used.

God Save the King

"God Save the King" (alternatively "God Save the Queen" in the reign of a queen) was inherited from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

when New Zealand was made a colony. In 1860 it was translated into Māori by

Edward Marsh Williams Edward Marsh Williams (2 November 1818 – 11 October 1909) was a missionary, interpreter, and judge who played a significant role in the British colonisation of New Zealand. He was born in Hampstead, Middlesex, the eldest son of Archdeacon Henr ...

, son of missionary

Henry Williams Henry Williams may refer to: Politicians * Henry Williams (activist) (born 2000), chief of staff of the Mike Gravel 2020 presidential campaign * Henry Williams (MP for Northamptonshire) (died 1558), Member of Parliament (MP) for Northamptonshire ...

, who had as a youth helped his father translate the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...

. It remained the country's sole national anthem until 1977. There is no authorised version of the anthem as the words are a matter of tradition; only the first verse is usually sung. The words ''King, he, his'', used at present (in the reign of

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

), are replaced by ''Queen, she, her'' when the monarch is a woman (as in the case of the previous monarch,

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

). As well as in Britain, the song is used in other

Commonwealth realms A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations whose monarch and head of state is shared among the other realms. Each realm functions as an independent state, equal with the other realms and nations of the Commonwealt ...

(such as Australia, together with "

Advance Australia Fair "Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish people, Scottish-born composer Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, sung in Australia as a patriotic song. It first replaced "God Save the ...

"), but does not have co-official status as a national anthem in those countries—it is regarded solely as a "

royal anthem The anthem for a person, office or rank is music played on formal or ceremonial occasions in the presence of the person, office-holder, or rank-holder, especially by a military band. The head of state in many countries is honored with a prescribe ...

". Its use in those countries is similar in practice to that of New Zealand, where "God Save the King" is now most often played only when the monarch, another member of the monarch's family or the

governor-general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

is present, or in other situations where a royal anthem would be used.

God Defend New Zealand

"God Defend New Zealand" is a poem that was written by

Thomas Bracken Thomas Bracken (c. December 1843 – 16 February 1898) was an Irish-born New Zealand poet, journalist and politician. He wrote "God Defend New Zealand", one of the two national anthems of New Zealand, and was the first person to publish the ph ...

in the 1870s. It was set to music and first publicly performed in 1876. A Māori translation of the original English was produced in 1878 by Thomas Henry Smith. 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. It was used at the

British Empire Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

from 1950 onward, and at the Olympics from

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

. Following the performance at the Summer Olympics in Munich, a campaign began to have the hymn officially adopted as a national anthem. In 1976 a petition was presented to Parliament asking "God Defend New Zealand" to be made the national anthem. With the consent of Queen

, it was gazetted as the country's second national anthem on 21 November 1977, on equal standing with "God Save the King/Queen". New Zealand was the first of the current Commonwealth realms to officially adopt a national anthem separate from "God Save the King". Until the 1990s only the first verse of the English version was commonly sung; it has since been common to sing in both English and Māori. The first verse is sung in Māori then it is repeated in English.

Other parts of the Realm of New Zealand

Te Atua Mou E "" ("God is Truth") is the national anthem of the Cook Islands. It was adopted in 1982, replacing the previous New Zealand anthem " God Defend New Zealand". History The music is by Sir Tom Davis, then Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. The ...

" and "

Ko e Iki he Lagi "" (), also titled in English as "Lord in heaven, Thou art merciful", is the national anthem of Niue. It was adopted in 1974, when Niue became a self-governing state within the realm of New Zealand. History During Niue's history as a territ ...

" are the national anthems of the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

and

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

, respectively. In 2012,

Tokelau Tokelau (; ; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, a ...

adopted a territorial anthem, " Te Atua o Tokelau".

References

External links

National anthems
nbsp;– Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

nbsp;– United States Navy Band {{National Anthems of Oceania and the Pacific Islands New Zealand patriotic songs National symbols of New Zealand