New Zealand National Anthem — God Defend New Zealand

"God Defend New Zealand" is a prayer for the nation. It asks the "God of Nations" to hear the voices of a people meeting "in the bonds of love", and to "defend our free land" from "the shafts of strife and war".

Its imagery is distinctly of the country and the Pacific — "Guard Pacific's triple star" is often read as a reference to New Zealand's islands. The Māori verse, "E Ihowā Atua", is not a literal translation but a parallel text carrying the same spirit of blessing and protection over Aotearoa.

Thomas Bracken, an Irish-born poet, wrote the words in the early 1870s and ran a competition to set them to music; John Joseph Woods composed the winning melody in 1876. A Māori translation was made by Thomas Henry Smith around 1878. The song grew in popularity and was recognised as New Zealand's national song in 1940. In 1977, with the Queen's permission, "God Defend New Zealand" was given equal status with "God Save the Queen" as a national anthem.

Today "God Defend New Zealand" is almost always the anthem used, and it is now standard to sing the first verse in Māori and then in English — a practice that has helped bring the Māori language to national occasions and sporting events. Its dual-language performance has become a celebrated symbol of modern New Zealand identity.

"God Defend New Zealand" is a national anthem of New Zealand — the one most often sung — and a distinctive bilingual entry among the world's national anthems. The English words are by Thomas Bracken, the music by John Joseph Woods (1876), and the Māori version by Thomas Henry Smith.

It gained equal status as a national anthem in 1977. The words and music are in the public domain.