evidence: There’s still time to perfect the lyrics of the Kiwi national anthem - and learn the history behind them. The anthem, God Defend New Zealand, was recognised officially in 1977 and actually originates from a poem. [...] ‘God Defend New Zealand’ comes from a poem by Thomas Bracken of Dunedin, before it was turned into a song by John Joseph Woods. One day, he read about a competition to compose a national anthem melody in 1876. [...] It was this energy that turned into God Defend New Zealand in and in 1977, it was named one of the country’s two national anthems.