Celebrating the Clones man who wrote the NZ anthem

THE LINKS between Ulster and New Zealand are to be celebrated, with the local man who wrote the Kiwi national anthem due to be front and centre.
Thomas Bracken hailed from Clones, just a few hundred metres from the Fermanagh border. The son of a postmaster, he was born in December 1843, and was sent to Australia at the age of 12 to join an uncle farming.
In 1869, when he was in his early 20s, Thomas decided to try his luck in New Zealand, where he became a journalist in Dunedin on The Otago Guardian. Within six years he and another man, Scot John Bathgate, set up a rival weekly newspaper, the Evening Herald.
Producing a high volume of journalism at the time, it was during this period Thomas, who was also known for his poetry, wrote and published the words of God Defend New Zealand’ in 1876.
Originally written as a poem, a competition was then launched for a composer to pen a tune to accompany Thomas’ words.
Now the national anthem of this Pacific nation known for a lifestyle where all creeds, colours and cultures are treated with equal respect.
It is an anthem whose words make no mention of defeating enemies, violence or conquest.Instead it asks that NZ be kept free from war, strife, dissension, envy, hate and corruption. Asking that NZ be made good and great.
On Saturday, June 7, Thomas life will be celebrated along with that of his fellow Ulsterman, 14th prime minister of NZ John Ballance, at Ballance House in Co Antrim. The event by the Ulster New Zealand Trust will also celebrate the other links between the two countries.
For more information visit https://www.theballancehouse.com/