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Established in 2007, the Sounds of Australia is the NFSA’s selection of sound recordings with cultural, historical and aesthetic significance and relevance, which inform or reflect life in Australia.

 

Nominate a sound

Each year, the Australian public nominates new sounds to be added with final selections determined by a panel of industry experts.

Not sure what to nominate? Take a look below at the complete list of more than 100 sounds.

They can be popular songs, advertising jingles, famous speeches, radio broadcasts, or any other sound recordings – as long as they’re Australian and more than 10 years old.

Help us select the next sounds - Nominate now for 2017.

 

The complete Sounds of Australia list

1890s
1897 – The Hen Convention – Thomas Rome
1898 – The Recordings of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits — Alfred Cort Haddon and others
1898 – They Always Follow Me – Syria Lamonte
1899 – Fanny Cochrane Smith’s Tasmanian Aboriginal Songs – Horace Watson

 

1900-1919
c 1903—1910 The Black Watch — Percy Herford
1904 – Chant Vénitien – Nellie Melba
1910 – My South Polar Expedition – Ernest Shackleton
1912 - When Father Papered the Parlour - Billy Williams
1913 – Hold Your Hand Out Naughty Boy – Florrie Forde
1914 – Message recorded at Mena Camp, Cairo – Second Lieutenant Henry Miller Lanser
1915 – The Landing of the Australian Troops in Egypt – Zonophone
1919 – Country Gardens – Percy Grainger

 

1920s
1921 – Love Will Find a Way – Gladys Moncrieff
1924 – London Recordings – Newcastle Steelworks Band, conductor Albert Baile
1926 – Speech at the Opening of the Columbia Graphophone Company Australian Factory – Admiral Sir Dudley De Chair KCB MVO
1927 – The Sailors — Stiffy & Mo
1927 – Waltzing Matilda – John Collinson
1927—1932  Sydney Recordings - Queenie and David Kaili
1928 – Hinkler’s Message to Australia ; Incidents of My Flight – Bert Hinkler

 

1930s
1930 – The 1930 Australian XI: Winners of the Ashes
1931 – Along the Road to Gundagai – Peter Dawson
1936 – Wrap Me Up In My Stockwhip and Blanket – Tex Morton
1936-40 – Yes, What? – 5AD, Rex Dawe and cast
1937 - Life Without Love - Frank Coughlan’s Trocadero Orchestra
1937 – Dad and Dave from Snake Gully (Radio Series) – George Edward Players
1938 – The Aeroplane Jelly Song – Joy King
1939 – Give A Little Credit to Your Dad ; Lonesome For Your Mother Dear – Buddy Williams
1939 – Menzies Speech: Declaration of War – Prime Minister Hon. Robert Menzies

 

1940s
1941 – Curtin Speech: Japan Enters Second World War – Prime Minister Hon. John Curtin
1941 – Concert in a Cave at Tobruk – Chester Wilmot, ABC Field Unit
1941 – The Melbourne Cup – Ken Howard, sports commentator
1941-72 – Argonauts Row – Harold Williams
1943 – Dame Enid Lyons: Maiden Speech — Dame Enid Lyons
1943 Senator Dorothy Tangney: Maiden Speech — Dorothy Tangney
1943 – The Majestic Fanfare (ABC radio news theme) – Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra
1944 – Swanston St Shamble ; Two Day Jag – Graeme Bell
1944 onwards – Grace Gibson Productions’ radio serials — various artists
1948-1962 – Pick A Box – Bob Dyer
1949 – Theme from Blue Hills – New Century Orchestra

 

1950s
1950 – Maranoa Lullaby – Harold Blair
1950 – Corroboree – Sydney Symphony Orchestra
1953 – Sam Griffiths – sung by Jack Luscombe from the John Meredith Folklore Collection
1953 – Tribal Music of Australia – AP Elkin
1954 – The Vegemite Jingle
1955 – The Adventure of the Singing Bullet – Smoky Dawson
1957 – A Pub With No Beer – Slim Dusty
1958 – My Country – read by Dorothea Mackellar
1959 – Bye Bye Baby – Col Joye
1959 – Aboriginal Recordings – John Hutchinson

 

1960s
1960 – The Art of the Prima Donna — Dame Joan Sutherland
1960 – She’s My Baby – Johnny O’Keefe
1962 – Georgia Lee Sings the Blues Down Under – Georgia Lee
1963 – Royal Telephone — Jimmy Little
1963 – Bombora – The Atlantics
1963-1997 – The Luise Hercus Collection, AIATSIS Audiovisual Archive — Dr Luise A Hercus (creator)
1964 – I’ll Never Find Another You — The Seekers
1964 – The Land Where the Crow Flies Backwards – Dougie Young
1966 – Patrol from Da Nang — Tim Bowden
1966 – In the Head the Fire – Nigel Butterley
1966 – Friday On My Mind – The Easybeats
1967 – Irkanda IV – Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
1967 – Fireworks and The Orgasmic Opus – Dr Val Stephen
1968 – Lionel Rose Wins the World Title – Ron Casey
1968 – Bird and Animal Calls of Australia – Harold J Pollock
1968 - Skippy the Bush Kangaroo - Eric Jupp
1969 – The Real Thing – Russell Morris

 

1970s
1971 – Just the Beginning – Don Burrows Quartet
1971 – Eagle Rock – Daddy Cool
1971 - And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda - Eric Bogle
1972 – A Track Winding Back — Barry Humphries and Dick Bentley
1972 – I Am Woman – Helen Reddy
1972 – Most People I Know (Think That I’m Crazy) – Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs
1973 – Opening concert Sydney Opera House – Sir Charles Mackerras/Sydney Symphony Orchestra/Birgit Nilsson
1973 – The Loner – Vic Simms
1974 – Living in the 70s — Skyhooks
1974 – Cyclone Tracy, Darwin
1975 – It’s A Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll) — AC/DC
1975 – 'Kerr’s cur’ speech – Gough Whitlam
1976 – (I’m) Stranded – The Saints
1978 – Khe Sanh – Cold Chisel
1978 - C'mon Aussie C'mon - The Mojo Singers
1979-1989 – Sampling Sounds – Fairlight CMI

 

1980s
1980 – The 4×100 Medley Relay Final at the Moscow Olympics – Norman May
1980 – I Still Call Australia Home – Peter Allen
1981 – We Have Survived – No Fixed Address
1981 – Down Under – Men at Work
1981 – Improvisation in Acoustic Chambers – Ros Bandt
1981 – Boys in Town – Divinyls
1982 – Great Southern LandICEHOUSE
1982 - Power and the Passion - Midnight Oil

1983 – Jailanguru Pakarnu – The Warumpi Band
1983 – Cattle and Cane – The Go-Betweens
1983 – I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green) – Redgum
1985 - Sounds of Then (This is Australia) - GANGgajang
1985 – Like Wow, Wipeout – Hoodoo Gurus
1986 – We Are Going – Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker)
1986-2008 – This Sporting Life – Roy and HG
1987 – Rebetika Songs – Apodimi Compania
1987 – I Should Be So Lucky — Kylie Minogue
1987 – Voss — Richard Meale
1987 – Recording of a Superb Lyrebird at Healesville, Victoria – Greg Wignell
1988 – Tender Prey — Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

 

1990s
1990 – Took the Children Away – Archie Roach
1990 – Dingo – Vicki Powys
1991 – From Little Things (Big Things Grow) – Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody
1991 – Treaty – Yothu Yindi
1992 - Antarctica: Suite for Guitar and Orchestra - Nigel Westlake 
1992 – Paul Keating’s 'Redfern Address’ – Paul Keating
1993-2014 – Deadly Sounds – Vibe Australia
1993 – Alive and Brilliant – Deborah Conway
1995 – LSD – djhmc
1995 - Island Home - Christine Anu
1998 - Toot, Toot, Chugga, Chugga Big Red Car - The Wiggles

 

2000s
2001 – Aether — The Necks
2003 – Nosebleed Section – Hilltop Hoods