In 1977, New Zealand adopted "God Defend New Zealand as its national anthem. Did you know that the song was written by an Irish immigrant, Thomas Bracken, more than 100 years previously?
The Irishman who wrote New Zealand s national anthem
Updated / Monday, 8 Feb 2021
15:01
Thomas Bracken, author of God Defend New Zealand
On February 6th, 1840, over 500 Maori chiefs along with representatives of the British Crown signed the Treaty of Waitangi. The agreement set out certain rights for the Maori people, but handed over governance to England - making New Zealand a British colony.
As a result,
God Save the Queen became the country’s national anthem. But, years later, a second anthem penned by Irish-born poet Thomas Bracken was officially recognised.
Thomas Bracken’s Irish roots
Thomas Bracken was baptised at a Catholic church in Clonee, County Meath on December 30th, 1841. Four years later, during the Great Famine, his mother Margaret died. Then in 1852, his father Thomas, who worked as a postmaster, passed away as well.
We were blubbing like babies : How New Zealand got its national anthem by accident
6 Jan, 2021 04:00 PM
5 minutes to read
By: Max Cryer
Many people know the story of how God Defend New Zealand came to be written, but fewer know that it became our national anthem by accident. Max Cryer tells the story.
Irish-born Thomas Bracken gathered experience in New Zealand as a writer, poet, and also as an editor. In the late 1800s he was editing the Dunedin-published
Saturday Advertiser news-magazine into which he often put pieces of his own writing - sometimes disguised with a fictitious name.
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