The sounds of Australia preserved by National Film and Sound Archive

Australia’s most iconic sounds for 2021 have been revealed, with some surprising entries making the list.

There are certain sounds that remind us what it means to be Australian when we hear them.

To help preserve some of that history, the National Film and Sound Archive has added 10 new clips to its Sounds of Australia catalogue.

Gotye’s hit song Somebody That I Used To Know, the national apology to the Stolen Generations and the soundtrack to the classic 1980s movie The Man from Snowy River were among those included in 2021.

The sounds were voted for by the public, with the only stipulation being that they be at least 10 years old and reflect Australian life.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd made the famous apology to the Stolen Generations on February 13, 2008.

Kevin Rudd’s National Apology to the Stolen Generations was among the sounds that have shaped Australia. Picture Kym Smith

It, like the other sounds included in the list, has played a central role in shaping our society.

A 1980 broadcast by Sydney’s first gay and lesbian radio program, Gaywaves, was another inclusion.

It features a discussion with activists Dennis Altman and Marg McMann about gay identity at the start of the 1980s.

Gotye’s hit, which he recorded at his parents‘ house on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, was released in 2011 and became one of the biggest songs of the 2010s.

Wouter ‘Wally’ De Backer, also known as Gotye, recorded ‘Somebody that I used to know’ at his parents home in Victoria. Picture: Supplied

Other classic Aussie songs to be included this year were Heading in the Right Direction by the Renee Geyer Band, Wide Open Road by The Triffids and He‘s My Blonde-Headed, Stompie Wompie, Real Gone Surfer Boy by Little Pattie and The Statesmen.

Also featured were the words spoken in 1945 by then acting Prime Minister, Ben Chifley, announcing the end of World War II

“It is with great pleasure that I announce to the house the complete defeat of Germany,” he famously said.

Australia’s first ever parliamentary broadcast featured Ben Chifley announcing the defeat of Germany in World War II. Photo: Phil Baird

There are now more than 160 sounds available to listen to in the complete Sounds of Australia list.