Patriotic music played an important role in motivating and propagandising during the First and Second World Wars, both for Australians fighting overseas and on the home front. The advent of radio and the popularity of sound recordings in the inter-war years brought the action of war much closer to home for Australians. The rise of publishing local professional songwriters led The Mail newspaper (Adelaide) to declare in 1942 the birth of Australia's 'Tin Pan Alley', named after the popular piano-driven sheet music published in New York City in the first half of the 20th century.

Here you can listen to recordings of two patriotic songs, 'What Did They Say?' by Alice Smith and 'Happy Landings' by Joy Nichols.

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