Nostalgia

Remember singing the national anthem at school

Dec 29, 2018

While singing the national anthem with pride is something many Baby Boomers remember from their school days, it's something that's no longer required from all Aussie schools and students. Source: National Archives of Australia

For many Baby Boomers growing up, singing the national anthem at school was a regular part of growing up and going to school.

Most will remember singing ‘God Save the Queen’ at school assemblies, at ANZAC day parades, sport carnivals and at other important events throughout the school year.

Singing the anthem was about showing pride in Australia and having respect for the nation. Of course, many will remember Australia’s 21st prime minister Gough Whitlam dedicating his entire Australia Day speech in 1973 to finding a new anthem and after much back and forth, ‘Advance Australia Fair’ was officially adopted as the Australian national anthem in 1984.

While it was the norm for Boomers as children, some schools and students across Australia don’t actually sing the national anthem. In fact, some from younger generations believe it’s disrespectful and discriminates against indigenous Australians.

Earlier this year, a year four student made national headlines when she was threatened with suspension after refusing to join in with or stand for the national anthem. Haper Nielsen, who was nine at the time, explained she refused to stand for the anthem because she thought it ignores native Australians who resided in Australia long before the country was colonised.

“The reason why I don’t sing it or stand is because Advance Australia Fair means advance White Australia,” she told the Courier Mail. “When it says we are young it completely ignores the fact that indigenous culture was here for over 50,000 thousand years before colonisation.”

Meanwhile, Mark Latham also expressed his concerns in April after several parents contacted him and claimed the national anthem was being banished from schools because it was deemed offensive. Taking to Mark Latham’s Outsiders Facebook page, he said schools should focus less on topics such as gender fluidity and be teaching kids about Aussie pride.

“It should be the job of schools to teach pride in Australia,” he said. “Part of that is to learn the words of Advance Australia Fair and sing it with pride. Clearly this is not happening in the Australian Capital Territory.”

Latham claimed that he contacted the ACT Education Directorate about the issue and they informed him that it was up to individual schools to come up with rules that are unique to their school.

“There is nothing racist about Advance Australia Fair. It should be a point of national unity and respect,” he continued. “But this is not happening for the Lefties running schools and education policy in the ACT. The proper ‘cultural observance’ is to respect Australia and its anthem.”

On the flip side, boxer Anthony Mundine has refused on numerous occasions to stand for the national anthem, claiming it is “racist” and that it doesn’t represent his community.