More than three decades on, the winner of the lost Silver Scroll Award has been declared.

Counting The Beat by The Swingers has won New Zealand's premier songwriting award - for 1981.

The catchy track went to number one in New Zealand and Australia and dominated the charts for ten months.

Band member Mark "Buster Stiggs" Hough told those at Vector Arena tonight Australia can't claim the track.

"Counting the Beat is a New Zealand song written for New Zealand pub audiences, it is a New Zealand song...it belongs to you guys."

A Silver Scroll was never awarded in 1981, and nobody really knows why - it was of course a tumultuous year, with the Springbok Tour dividing the nation.

Some absolute Kiwi classics were nominated for what's been dubbed "the lost scroll", including 'One Step Ahead' by Split Enz and Blam Blam Blam's 'There Is No Depression in New Zealand'.

The winners were:

2015 APRA Silver Scroll Award – won by Ruban Nielson and Kody Nielson for Multi-Love

1981 APRA Silver Scroll Award – won by Phil Judd, Wayne Stevens and Mark Hough for Counting the Beat

APRA Maioha Award – won by Stan Walker, Vince Harder and Troy Kingi for Aotearoa

SOUNZ Contemporary Award - won by Chris Watson for 'sing songs self'

APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Film – won by Grayson Gilmour for 'Consent'

APRA Best Original Music in a Series – won by Tom McLeod for Girl vs. Boy.

Most Performed New Zealand Work Internationally – won by Ella Yelich-O’Connor (Lorde) and Joel Little for Royals

Most Performed New Zealand Work in New Zealand – won by Marlon Gerbes, Matiu Walters and Priese Board for Special.

New Zealand Music Hall of Fame inductee – Bill Sevesi