National anthem of New Zealand | |
Lyrics | Thomas Bracken, 1870s |
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Music | John Joseph Woods, 1876 |
Adopted | 1940 (as national hymn) 1977 (as national anthem) |
Audio sample | |
God Defend New Zealand (Instrumental) |
"God Defend New Zealand" (English pronunciation: /gɒd dəˈfend nju: ˈzi:lənd/), called "Aotearoa" (Māori pronunciation: [aɔˈtearɔa]; simply "New Zealand") in Māori, is the title of the most popular national anthem of New Zealand. It was originally a poem written by Thomas Bracken[1] in the 1870s until it was set to music by John Joseph Woods as part a competition for ten guineas in 1876. Two years later, Thomas Henry Smith wrote the lyrics in Māori—one of the country's official languages. The anthem was adopted in 1977.[2]
"God Save the Queen", the national anthem used for the United Kingdom and used as a royal anthem for a number of countries and territories, is also a national anthem of New Zealand.
According to copyright law of New Zealand, the English lyrics are no longer copyrighted since the beginning of 1949 or the end of the 50-year mark of Bracken's death,[3] and since the 1980s, the rights to the musical score are in the public domain.[4]
The meaning of the Māori lyrics are slightly different from the English lyrics.
English version | Māori version |
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God of Nations at Thy feet, |
E Ihowā Atua, |
Māori version | English version |
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[ˈe ihowaː aˈtu.a] |
[gɒd əv ˈneɪʃənz ət ðaɪ fi:t] |