Advance Australia Fair (The National Anthem of Australia) was composed by Peter Dodds McCormick sometime around the turn of this century. Several versions with different combinations of the verses are found in different references. Some Australian governments seemed to disapprove of the sentiment of some of these verses, and passively discouraged their remembrance. Consequently, several of these verses are very difficult to find unless one searches for old and original references.

Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are young and free;
We've golden soil and wealth for toil,
Our home is girt by sea;
Our land abounds in Nature's gifts
Of beauty rich and rare;
In history's page, let every stage
Advance Australia fair!
In joyful strains then let us sing,
"Advance Australia fair!"

When gallant Cook from Albion sail'd,
To trace wide oceans o'er,
True British courage bore him on,
Till he landed on our shore.
Then here he raised Old England's flag,
The standard of the brave;
With all her faults we love her still,
"Brittannia rules the wave!"
In joyful strains then let us sing
"Advance Australia fair!"

Beneath our radiant southern Cross,
We'll toil with hearts and hands;
To make this Commonwealth of ours
Renowned of all the lands;
For those who've come across the seas
We've bounblockquoteess plains to share;
With courage let us all combine
To advance Australia fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing
"Advance Australia fair!"

While other nations of the globe
Behold us from afar,
We'll rise to high renown and shine
Like our glorious southern star;
From England, Scotia, Erin's Isle,
Who come our lot to share,
Let all combine with heart and hand
To advance Australia fair!
In joyful strains then let us sing
"Advance Australia fair!"

Shou'd foreign foe e'er sight our coast,
Or dare a foot to land,
We'll rouse to arms like sires of yore
To guard our native strand;
Brittannia the shall surely know,
Beyond wide ocean's roll,
Her sons in fair Australia's land
Still keep a British soul.
In joyful strains the let us sing
"Advance Australia fair!"

The accepted authoritative work on Australian convicts is Charles Bateson's "Convict Ships" (Library of Australian History, out of print). In it, Bateson states that 160,151 total convicts were sent to Australia. Although most of the convicts were from the British Isles, some were also from various British colonies. The British Government first sent convicts to New South Wales, Australia in 1788, after the American Revolution. But NSW refused to accept convicts after 1842 because the population had grown after the success of free immigration. Convicts were first sent to Tasmania (formerly Van Diemens Land) in 1803. Western Australian accepted male convicts only from 1850 to 1868. [An attempt was also made to send convicts to Port Phillip (Melbourne, Victoria), but this failed.]

This database is an index compiled from the convict indexes for each state through numerous publications, as well as from many Internet sites. It gives the name of the convict, his/her age or birth year, birthplace or place of trial, occupation, marital status, ship, and year of arrival. The database includes more than 48,000 names of convicts sent to Australia between 1788 and 1868.

Source Information: Reakes, Janet, comp. "Australian Convict Index, 1788-1868" [database online] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2001. Original data: "1788-1868 Convict Records." Records kept at the New South Wales State Records Office, P.O. Box R625, Royal Exchange, NSW 2000; at the Archives Office of Tasmania, 77 Murray St., Hobart, TAS 7000; and at the State Records Office of Western Australia, Alexander Library, Perth Cultural Centre, Perth, WA 6000.

To search this database, go to:

The role of the Gaelic Club was to act as a safe haven for those feeling far from home.

Today the Gaelic Club is a hub of activity for today's Irish Community in Sydney.

This community is a mixture of those Australians whose backgrounds have an Irish identity with those new visitors to Sydney as travellers and as new Australians.