With the mention of Max Merritt here recently, I'm thinking what would some pick as Australia's best pop tune?
Like what would Molly Meldrum pick? Or anyone's 2-cents' worth?

Here's APRA's list:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APRA_Top_30_Australian_songs

I agree with No 1, but then I like songs written by Vanda & Young.

I also like a lot of the stuff written by Paul Kelly.

I was wondering if there was a list like this, thanks for finding it. Funny enough, my top pick makes the top ten!

I would have included "The Sounds of Then" by Gangagang.

"The Sounds of Then" by Gangagang."

I checked it out on youtube, some good video editing.

My pick, which happens to be #9 on this APRA list, is related to the #1 with the Young Bros connection!
While acknowledging that the #1 is probably superior, I'll stick with 9 as being more interesting musically:
For instance, the various mysteries surrounding this tune: like was the bagpipe really pitch-shifted from A to Bb? (and how did they do that?)
And although Bb is ascribed as the song's Key, some (including me now) maintain it's really in Eb, as in this piano arrangement here:

https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0178378&ca=0&cmpid=art_sheetmusicboss&utm_source=art_sheetmusicboss&utm_medium=campaign#ProductDetails

My pick, which happens to be #9 on this APRA list

Aka It's a Long Way to The Shop (If You Want a Sausage Roll)

I'm coming up with some alt lyrics also featuring iconic Australian food:

"♪ If you think it's easy doin' one night stands; try eatin' pies-with-peas from vans ♪ "

(someone once said that the street pie vans originated in the Great Depression)(do they still have any?)(if things get worse, they could make a comeback!)

do they still have any?

Yep, and it's become a franchise operation:

https://www.harryscafedewheels.com.au/

Back in 1983 when the Americas Cup was on the verge of leaving the US for the first time in its history Australian bands produced a couple of songs pertinent to our somewhat unlikely chances of winning. Especially considering that we were to end up 1-3 in the finals before one of the greatest comebacks in history unfolded.

Australian radio conducted a poll on what the public thought of the two leading songs. One we all remember well and the other, perhaps not so well. The first was "Down Under by Men At Work" and the other was "We're Coming To Get You by Glenn Shorrock".

Both are linked below:-

And then the poor guys in Men At Work got stung with a copyright claim over the flute riff!

"Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree"

It was picked up on the TV music quiz show "Spicks and Specks".

I have also heard it was added to the recording by a girlfriend of one of the band members, who joined the session "just wanting to help" and added what everyone at the time took to be an improvisation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTR0awcvVN4

To this day I can hear no direct resemblance between the kid's song and Down Under's instrumental. It is a miscarriage of justice that one.

Pop song number one?
Remember we are talking about POP songs.

Easybeats, "Friday on my mind."
Mindless writing, one finger guitar work, BUT, short, sharp and terrific!
Way ahead of what ever is second!

2nd?
Daddy Cool, Eagle rock, not quite a pop song, more like a rock song, dumb musically but sticks in your mind and wont go away.

After that?
The rest.

Fred.

If any of you have the 5 CD Set from 2000 called "Australia's Ultimate Songs - AUS 100" released on the Liberation label, most of the songs in this thread are on that album. Seven and Prime played the music video version of this album to bring in 2000. I watched it all at work through the night whilst we were supposed to be testing things for the millenium bug - when we eventually got around to it, everything ended up passing the test because the bug was a fallacy.

the bug was a fallacy.

Not at all. Thousands of 'legacy' business applications with year stored as two digits had to be modified or replaced because of it. On top of that, embedded systems -- especially those which had implications for health and safety -- had to be certified by their manufacturers that there were no Y2K implications.

The fact that there were no serious mishaps at century rollover was due to a hell of a lot of work. The time bomb was real; the fact that it didn't go off was because it was defused in time.

Implementation of the GST had to be be delayed until July 2000 because of the amount of effort involved in addressing the Y2K issue.