National Song Poll
The only other national issue which was not a proposal to amend the Constitution was the poll for a national song, held on 21 May 1977. Voting was preferential as for a House of Representatives election, and after the distribution of preferences, Advance Australia Fair, became the national song.
| State/ Territory |
Enrolment | First Preference Votes | Formal | Informal | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God Save The Queen | Advance Australia Fair | Song of Australia | Waltzing Matilda | |||||
| NSW | 3,002,241 | 376,539 *15.15 |
1,277,853 *51.41 |
133,297 *5.36 |
697,748 *28.07 |
2,485,437 | 281,169 | 2,766,606 |
| VIC | 2,252,439 | 370,699 *20.46 |
728,349 *40.20 |
117,694 *6.50 |
595,010 *32.84 |
1,811,752 | 260,724 | 2,072,476 |
| QLD | 1,240,739 | 217,028 *21.22 |
469,278 *45.88 |
65,910 *6.44 |
270,518 *26.45 |
1,022,734 | 110,501 | 1,133,235 |
| WA | 682,441 | 122,556 *22.81 |
202,778 *37.73 |
84,232 *15.67 |
127,824 *23.79 |
537,390 | 76,036 | 613,426 |
| SA | 799,063 | 119,360 *17.91 |
160,648 *24.11 |
227,356 *34.12 |
159,011 *23.86 |
666,375 | 76,831 | 743,206 |
| TAS | 259,620 | 49,006 *22.31 |
92,491 *42.10 |
21,951 *9.99 |
56,252 *25.60 |
219,700 | 25,101 | 244,801 |
| NT | 38,209 | 679 *18.08 |
1,410 *37.55 |
533 *14.19 |
1,133 *30.17 |
3,755 | 171 | 3,926 |
| ACT | 120,875 | 1,468 *6.73 |
7,887 *36.14 |
1,863 *8.54 |
10,607 *48.60 |
21,825 | 373 | 22,198 |
| TOTAL | 8,395,627 | 1,257,335 *18.65 |
2,940,694 *43.61 |
652,836 *9.68 |
1,918,103 *28.45 |
6,768,968 | 830,906 | 7,599,874 |
* Percentage of first preference votes recorded in favour of the individual songs - to formal votes
Source: 1991 Parliamentary Handbook. Parliamentary Library




