The National Film and Sound Archive and APRA AMCOS launched the digital collection in Canberra on 4 November, with selections ranging from Waltzing Matilda to music from The Boys.
Australia’s National Songbook has inducted its first 10 works into a digital archive intended to celebrate and preserve music that has shaped the country’s cultural identity. The collection is a joint initiative of the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) and music rights organization APRA AMCOS.
The archive launched at the NFSA in Canberra on 4 November. Its first selections include songs associated with Midnight Oil, Yothu Yindi and Helen Reddy, as well as a film score. The Guardian said an expert panel made the selections.
The selections span compositions and recordings made across more than a century. The list includes works that were not commercial song releases.
| Work | Creators and associated performers |
|---|---|
| Beds Are Burning | Midnight Oil; written by Peter Garrett, Rob Hirst and Jim Moginie |
| Down City Streets | Ruby Hunter; initially recorded for Archie Roach’s album Charcoal Lane |
| Earth Cry | Peter Sculthorpe; featuring William Barton on yidaki, or didgeridoo |
| Friday on My Mind | The Easybeats; written by Harry Vanda and George Young |
| I Am Woman |
| Helen Reddy; written by Reddy and Ray Burton |
| My Island Home | Written by Neil Murray; released by Warumpi Band in 1987 and covered by Christine Anu in 1995 |
| My People | The Presets; written by Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes. The Guardian dates the song to 2008 in its report but lists it as 2007 |
| The Boys soundtrack | The Necks’ score for the 1998 film The Boys |
| Treaty | Yothu Yindi; written by Dr M Yunupingu, Stuart Kellaway, Witiyana Marika, M Mununggurr, Cal Williams, G Yunupingu, Peter Garrett and Paul Kelly |
| Waltzing Matilda | Written by Andrew “Banjo” Paterson in 1895 and later composed by Christina Macpherson; the panel discussed a 1927 recording |
Down City Streets concerns displacement experienced by Hunter as a member of the Stolen Generations. The panel praised it and I Am Woman for personal storytelling and lasting resonance. It chose My Island Home for its evolution and its evocation of home and belonging.
The panel called Treaty a landmark protest anthem. Friday on My Mind was honored for capturing the restless energy of a generation hungry for romance and escape. Kelly said he was proud to have contributed and compared the song’s collaborative creation to treaty-making around Australia, which he said was ongoing. My People addresses Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers; its lyrics were written as a declaration of solidarity. The panel said its political message might be less immediately apparent to listeners today, but its ferocity remained. The panel described the 1927 recording of Waltzing Matilda as one of Australia’s most enduring hauntings. The Boys score was chosen for its unsettling and off-kilter qualities, and Earth Cry for capturing the vastness of Australia.
To qualify, a work must have been written or co-written by an Australian APRA member, be at least a decade old and have a demonstrable cultural impact. An 11-member panel of music experts chose the first works. APRA chair Jenny Morris and NFSA chair Annette Shun Wah facilitated the discussion, which NFSA chief curator Meagan Loader described as “very robust.” Loader was not a panel member.
Loader said hearing Beds Are Burning as a child had helped her understand Australian history and culture differently. She said the continuing power and importance of its messages demonstrated the power of songwriting. She described the first collection as a conversation starter rather than a definitive list: no list, she said, could capture everyone’s taste. A new panel will be appointed to select 10 additional works each year.
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