Thursday, January 31, 2008


"God Defend New Zealand" is one of the national anthems of New Zealand, together with "God Save the Queen". Although they both have equal status, "God Defend New Zealand" is the anthem that is in common use.

God Defend New Zealand History
The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage has responsibility for the national anthems. The Ministry's guidance [1] for choosing which anthem should be presented on any occasion advises that " 'God Save The Queen' would be specially appropriate at any occasion where Her Majesty The Queen, or a member of the Royal Family, or the Governor-General, when within New Zealand, is officially present or when loyalty to the crown is to be stressed, while 'God Defend New Zealand' would be specially appropriate whenever the national identity of New Zealand is to be stressed even in association with a toast to Her Majesty as Queen of New Zealand."

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