Waken the nation To a new dawn, Shake your bonds, Seek your goal Find your way.
That’s from The Australia Day Song, a ditty written by Peter Jennings and launched by Sir Mark Oliphant in 1977 in a (fruitless) attempt “to stir apathetic Australians” to take an interest in Australia Day.
It’s a long way from Jennings’ dinky tune (intended, according to the Canberra Times to “awaken dozing patriots”) to the full throttle jingoism unleashed by the most recent Australia Day lamb advertisement. In the new commercial, SBS personality Lee Lin Chin plays the head of Operation Boomerang, a commando-style body ready to use military force to ensure our holidays are spent in a manner deemed appropriate by Meat and Livestock Australia.
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