Woman is Anthem Winner

Robb Ellis has made this newspaper cutting (believed to be from the The Gwelo Times) of the winner to find the lyrics for Rhodesia's National Anthem.

When Rhodesia first declared its independence in 1965, it was a member of the British Commonwealth, and retained the Queen as the head of state, therefore "God Save the Queen" was the national anthem until Rhodesia became a republic in 1970, and ties were severed with the United Kingdom. Rhodesia then did not have a national anthem until a national competition was held and "Rise O Voices of Rhodesia" was  declared as the anthem on 26th August 1974. Using Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" (which was also used at the 

time as the anthem of the European Union, and still is today) as the melody, the lyrics were composed by  a South African born resident of Gwelo. The white majority rule was ended in 1979 (and the country was  renamed Zimbabwe-Rhodesia), and the nation of Zimbabwe was created the following year.

End

Thanks to Robb for sharing this special piece of Rhodesia's Heritage with us.

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