German-born intellectual Carl Linger, who had studied at the Institute of Music in Berlin, came to South Australia in August 1849 aboard Princess Louise.

He was the founder and conductor of the Adelaide Liedertafel in 1858 and composer of church music, including the "Ninety-third Psalm", "Gloria", "O Lord who is as Thee" and "Vater unser".

][citation needed] Caroline Carleton's "Song of Australia" poem won the contest conducted by the Gawler Institute with a prize of ten guineas, and was published in the South Australian Register.

Of the twenty-three entries, Herr Linger's tune (submitted under the pseudonym "One of the Quantity") was announced as the winner on 4 November 1859,[4] the prize again being ten guineas (thousands of dollars in today's values).

Sir Bernard Heinze is reported as much preferring Linger's composition to "Advance Australia Fair", which has been criticised as derivative of the German folk song "The Polish Inn".