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Australia 1900s Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Australia 1900s Quizzes, Trivia

Australia 1900s Trivia

Australia 1900s Trivia Quizzes

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22 Australia 1900s quizzes and 235 Australia 1900s trivia questions.
1.
  Nostalgia: Growing Up In Australia in the 70s   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
Warning. If you were not around in Australia in the 70s, this is going to be a tough quiz for you and it is unlikely you will do well. If you were around in the 70s, then some of the questions may cause you to smile wistfully ... (or cringe).
Average, 15 Qns, 1nn1, Jul 19 15
Average
1nn1 gold member
892 plays
2.
  When the Truth Came Out   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
In this Commission 45 quiz, we examine the facts surrounding the Azaria Chamberlain case, perhaps Australia's most sensational trial that polarised a nation. When the truth came out, it had taken far too long.
Average, 10 Qns, 1nn1, Oct 28 17
Average
1nn1 gold member
361 plays
3.
  Ten Dates in 20th Century Australian History    
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
Australia is a big country. Match these ten events from Australia's big history with the year the event occurred.
Easier, 10 Qns, bernie73, Sep 15 18
Easier
bernie73 gold member
Sep 15 18
441 plays
4.
  Australia: 20th Century History by Decade   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Each question is an Australian history question from each decade of the 20th century. Additionally each question is prefaced by other significant events or people for that decade. See if you can determine why they have been included as well. Good luck.
Tough, 10 Qns, 1nn1, Mar 08 19
Tough
1nn1 gold member
Mar 08 19
637 plays
5.
  The Stolen Generation   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
From the early 1900s to 1969, more than 100,000 Australian children of indigenous descent were taken from their families and raised as wards of the state. Test your knowledge of this sad chapter of history.
Average, 10 Qns, CellarDoor, Mar 18 08
Average
CellarDoor gold member
827 plays
6.
  Australia in 1973    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This is the fourth installment in my series of quizzes based on events that happened in Australia during the 1970s. See how much you know, or can remember, from the year 1973.
Average, 10 Qns, mandamoo, Apr 14 15
Average
mandamoo
1365 plays
7.
  Australia in the 1990s    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
In the 1990s, Australia was involved with many political, social, sporting and other events. How many do you remember?
Tough, 10 Qns, biscuit_girl, Feb 19 10
Tough
biscuit_girl
3439 plays
8.
  Australia's Sordid Past: 4   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
It has been a while, but here is another quiz about the worst of Australian criminals. I cannot stress this enough, it is not for the kiddies, or weak minded. Gruesome details follow .... Be careful, is it the obvious answer or is there more to it?
Tough, 10 Qns, Lssah, Feb 18 12
Tough
Lssah
361 plays
9.
  Australia's Sordid Past: 5   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Are you ready for the next trip down memory lane with Australia's worst and notorious criminals? Adults only!
Tough, 10 Qns, Lssah, Feb 20 12
Tough
Lssah
324 plays
10.
  Australia in 1974    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Hi. Here is the next installment in my series of quizzes based on events that happened in Australia during the 1970s. See how much you know, or can remember, from the year 1974.
Average, 10 Qns, mandamoo, Oct 24 12
Average
mandamoo
1211 plays
trivia question Quick Question
For what movie did Australian actor Geoffrey Rush win his Academy Award for Best Actor in 1997?

From Quiz "Australia in the 1990s"




11.
  Australia in the Twentieth Century    
Multiple Choice
 20 Qns
January 1st 1901 a new century. The Commonwealth of Australia was born. For the next 100 years Australians forged a Nation. This quiz follows some of the people and events that shaped Australia during the twentieth century.
Tough, 20 Qns, Paul1405, Aug 19 16
Tough
Paul1405
575 plays
12.
  Australia in 1975    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Part six in my series of quizzes based on events that happened in Australia during the 1970s. See how much you know, or can remember, from the year 1975.
Average, 10 Qns, mandamoo, Sep 14 14
Average
mandamoo
1118 plays
13.
  Australia in 1971    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Here is the second part to my series of quizzes based on events that happened in Australia during the 1970's. See how much you know, or can remember, from the year 1971.
Average, 10 Qns, mandamoo, Nov 09 12
Average
mandamoo
878 plays
14.
  1932 - Australia   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
1932 was difficult year for Australia. It relied heavily on borrowed funds to cope with the Depression. This quiz highlights significant events during that year.
Average, 10 Qns, skirwood, Aug 27 15
Average
skirwood
832 plays
15.
  Australia in 1972    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This is the third in my series of quizzes based on events that happened in Australia during the 1970s. See how much you know, or can remember, from the year 1972.
Average, 10 Qns, mandamoo, Dec 07 16
Average
mandamoo
1494 plays
16.
  Australian Scientific Inventions   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
While most people know that the black box flight recorder was invented in Australia, how much do you know about other famous inventions that Australia can lay claim to? 'A regular bloke with a simple idea' from hills.com.au sums it all up.
Difficult, 10 Qns, Exit10, Jul 26 10
Difficult
Exit10 gold member
1471 plays
17.
  1975 - Australia    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
1975 was an interesting year culminating in the dismissal of the Federal government by the Governor General
Average, 10 Qns, skirwood, Apr 15 15
Average
skirwood
694 plays
18.
  Kids in Care in 20th Century Australia    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
In the twentieth century, social policies in Australia impacted heavily on children - indigenous, children in care and those exported by the UK. This quiz examines the impact of such policies.
Average, 10 Qns, tezza1551, Apr 14 15
Average
tezza1551
308 plays
19.
  History of the Great Down Under    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
How much do you know about Australia in the 20th Century?
Average, 10 Qns, bubbly_bimbo, Jul 27 13
Average
bubbly_bimbo
3185 plays
20.
  Australia's Sordid Past: 3    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Ding ding - round three of Australia's Sordid Past. Take a trip through the crimes that have rocked the land down under. Once again - NOT for kids!
Difficult, 10 Qns, Lssah, Feb 06 11
Difficult
Lssah
420 plays
21.
  Australia in 1970    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This is the first in a series of quizzes based on events that happened in Australia during the 1970s. See how much you know, or can remember, from the year 1970.
Tough, 10 Qns, mandamoo, Dec 16 11
Tough
mandamoo
1001 plays
22.
  Ash Wednesday Bushfires    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
A quiz about the Ash Wednesday bushfires that devastated South Australia and Victoria.
Difficult, 10 Qns, loopy_lonny, Mar 27 07
Difficult
loopy_lonny
709 plays

Australia 1900s Trivia Questions

1. When James Alexander Sorensen set fire to an apartment block in Bondi, Sydney in 1968 he killed four people. What ultimately led to arrest?

From Quiz
Australia's Sordid Past: 5

Answer: A photograph published in the local newspaper.

Sorensen used to live at the apartment block that was located on Campbell Parade in Sydney. On 21st June 1968 he set fire to the lift well and the flames quickly spread throughout the building. A photographer for the Daily Mirror newspaper, John Gasparotto, arrived at the scene and took a number of photographs. One of those photographs ended up on the front page of the Daily Mirror and depicted a woman being carried out. In the background of that photo was Sorensen, with a smile on his face. Two informants made contact with a reporter from the Daily Mirror and passed on information that the killer was in the photo on the front page. It seemed that Sorensen was responsible for other fires and had managed to avoid suspicion from the police, but the informants were aware of his past. The information was passed to the police and they swooped. Sorensen was convicted and sentenced to life. He became known as "The Smiling Arsonist".

2. In 1960 a Maltese man by the name of Salvatore Tabone was found murdered in his home. What was unusual about the crime scene?

From Quiz Australia's Sordid Past: 4

Answer: The only door to the room that he was murdered in was nailed shut from the inside.

67-year-old Salvatore Tabone (also known as Samuel Borg, his anglicised name) lived by himself in North Melbourne, Victoria. He owned a café in the city and had a distrust of banks. He refused to keep his money in a bank and would store it at home. Friends started to worry about him when he had not been seen for a few days, so the police attended to check on his welfare. Police managed to get into his residence and when they tried to open the bedroom door they found it was unlocked, but attempts to open the door failed. In the end the police had to break the door down and found that it had been firmly nailed shut (with roofing nails) - from the inside. Tabone's body was found hidden under a bed. He had been beaten to death with a wooden table-leg, and it was established that the killer then left the room via a skylight. Although £1,000 was supposedly taken, substantial sums of money were later found in various locations inside the residence, and a loaded pistol belonging to Tabone was located under the mattress. The killer was never caught.

3. What was the name of the Act in Western Australia that allowed the removal of Indigenous children from their families ?

From Quiz Kids in Care in 20th Century Australia

Answer: 1905 Aborigines Act

In Western Australia, the Act giving the government power to forcibly remove children from their parents was enacted in 1905. The 1909 Act provided similar powers in New South Wales, 1897 in Queensland and 1939 in South Australia. Aboriginal children, especially those who were lighter skinned, were removed in the hope that within a generation or two, they would be "assimilated" completely into white society. According to Anna Haebich's book "Broken Circles", it was considered that "little could be done to help 'full bloods' apart from issuing rations to 'smooth the dying pillow"..i.e. support them until the race died out, mainly from disease introduced by the Europeans.

4. On the very first day of the new century, January 1st 1901, the Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed in Sydney's Centennial Park, by the first Governor General. Who was he?

From Quiz Australia in the Twentieth Century

Answer: Lord Hopetoun

John Hope was the 7th Earl of Hopetoun. On July 13th 1900 Queen Victoria approved his appointment as Australia's first Governor General.

5. Jean Lee was a attractive woman who was convicted by the Courts on 25th March 1950 for her crimes. What was her claim to fame that was to add her name to the history books?

From Quiz Australia's Sordid Past: 3

Answer: She was the last woman in Australia to be executed by hanging.

Lee started out her criminal career as a prostitute in Sydney during World War II. Years later she hooked up with Robert David Clayton and they started a nice little scam. Lee would be in a hotel room with their intended male victim and Clayton would burst into the room furious that he had caught his "wife" with another man. The unsuspecting victim and the angry "husband" would then reach a compromise, bordering on blackmail, where cash would be handed over to resolve the situation. The scam continued for six years before the duo moved to Melbourne, Victoria and met up with Norman Andrews. The threesome continued using the same scam until they met William Kent, 73 years, on 7 November, 1949. The ageing Kent was known to have a lot of cash hidden away and he became the trio's next mark. The plan did not go too well. Kent was tied up, repeatedly bashed and tortured for information regarding the whereabouts of the cash. In the end he was stabbed a number of times and then strangled. The killers were caught by police within 12 hours. All three were hanged - Lee being the last female to be executed in Australia.

6. John Cornforth was named Australian of the Year in 1975. He also won the Nobel Prize in 1975. Which category did he win?

From Quiz 1975 - Australia

Answer: Chemistry

Sir John Cornforth won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975 for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalyzed reactions. He was deaf, and his wife contributed to his work and assisted with his communication difficulties.

7. Who was Premier of New South Wales (NSW) at the beginning of 1932?

From Quiz 1932 - Australia

Answer: Jack Lang

Jack lang was Premier of NSW during 1925-1927 and 1930-1932. In 1931, he disagreed with the policies of the John Scullin's Federal Labor government for coping with Depression. He formed his own "Lang Labor Party".

8. January 1974 saw a major natural disaster occur in Brisbane. What was it?

From Quiz Australia in 1974

Answer: Extensive flooding due to a cyclone

At the end of January 1974, cyclone Wanda lashed Brisbane with torrential rains, causing the Brisabane River to break its banks, flooding the city and low-lying suburbs. More than 7,000 homes had to be evacuated. Fourteen people died, with some being trapped in offices and homes by the rising waters.

9. 1973 saw Australia's population grow to over thirteen and a half million people and inflation was a whopping 13.2%. By how much would an average three bedroom home have set you back in 1973?

From Quiz Australia in 1973

Answer: $15,000

You would need to fork out around $15,000.00 for your average 135 square metre dwelling back then! The average price for a 700 square metre block of land in 1973 was approximately $6,000.00.

10. While Australia's population steadily increased to well over the 13 million mark, 1972 saw a young athlete named as Australian of the Year. Who was it?

From Quiz Australia in 1972

Answer: Shane Gould

Shane Gould took the honour in 1972. Evonne Goolagong was Australian of the Year in 1971. Rugby player Mark Ella was given the (more recently introduced) Young Australian of the Year award in 1982 and distance runner Robert de Castella in 1983.

11. Prime Minister John Gorton was deposed by a party room vote in March of 1971. Who was his successor?

From Quiz Australia in 1971

Answer: William McMahon

Following a nine day leadership struggle, a vote of no confidence by his party ends in a tie. Gorton, conceding that he had lost the confidence of the party, casts the deciding vote against himself. Therefore, literally 'resigning' from office.

12. What was Australia's estimated population in 1970, rounded to the nearest million?

From Quiz Australia in 1970

Answer: 13, 000, 000

We had an estimated population of 12,663,469 in 1970. Rounded to the nearest million, that makes it 13,000,000.

13. On what date did the Ash Wednesday bushfires occur?

From Quiz Ash Wednesday Bushfires

Answer: 16th Feb 1983

The fires were alight and finished in the short space of a day. They started in a number of ways: through the clashing of electric power lines, tree branches connecting with power lines, fires being deliberately lit, and through unknown causes.

14. Who was the only survivor of the Thredbo landslide in 1997?

From Quiz Australia in the 1990s

Answer: Stuart Diver

Eighteen people were killed when a landslide buried a staff ski lodge in the NSW alpine town of Thredbo. Stuart Diver became a household name after his miraculous rescue.

15. Found in backyards and gardens all over the world, what item has become synonymous with one of Australia's most famous inventions?

From Quiz Australian Scientific Inventions

Answer: rotary clothes line

The Hills Hoist clothes line as we know it, was developed by Lance Hill and his brother-in-law Harold Ling in 1946. Other products that they developed were the TV antennae and children's play equipment. However, the idea wasn't new. It was invented in the U.S. in 1890 but it was very expensive. An Australian patent was granted for the winding mechanism.

16. Azaria Chamberlain was still missing after a week, but then a significant development occurred, which was?

From Quiz When the Truth Came Out

Answer: Bloodstained baby clothing was found near Ayers Rock

On 24th August 1980, Wally Goodwin, an English tourist, found a bloodstained jumpsuit, booties, nappy & singlet in a gully near Uluru about 4km from the campsite. A matinee jacket was not found. Mr Goodwin reported the findings to the police which stepped up the investigation. Lindy and Michael Chamberlain were interviewed and treated as suspects.

17. The name of Graeme Thorne, and the date of the 7th of July, 1960 signaled a new era in crime that would be remembered by many for what reason?

From Quiz Australia's Sordid Past: 4

Answer: It was the first known kidnapping to take place in Australia that incorporated a ransom demand.

Graeme Thorne will sadly be remembered as the 8 year old boy that was kidnapped while on his way to school. His parents, Basil and Freda, had just won £100,000 in the Opera House lottery. Back in those days an amount of cash like that would be the equivalent of winning a million dollars in this day and age. The Thorne's fortunate win did not go unnoticed by Stephen Leslie Bradley. His devious mind hatched a plan to make an easy score of cash and that resulted in the kidnapping of little Graeme. Soon after the kidnapping Graeme's distraught parents got the phone call that every parent would dread, "I have got your boy, I want 25,000 pounds by five o'clock or I'll feed him to the sharks". A massive search for the child followed, but 5 weeks later his body was located. Evidence was collected and it was not long until detectives had pieced together the clues and were knocking on Bradley's door. Bradley was aware that the net was closing and had already fled the country. His freedom was short lived and he was arrested in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and an extradition order granted. He got a life sentence and died in gaol.

18. Under the Child Migrant Scheme, between 1947 and 1953, approximately how many children from the UK came to Australia ?

From Quiz Kids in Care in 20th Century Australia

Answer: 3,200

Children were sent to religious and charitable organisations in almost every state. Some were treated very well, some very badly.

19. In the early part of the century Australians were captivated by the brilliant operatic voice of the soprano Dame Nellie Melba. What was Dame Nellie's given name?

From Quiz Australia in the Twentieth Century

Answer: Helen Mitchell

Dame Nellie Melba was the first Australian opera singer to achieve international fame and recognition as a classical soprano.

20. Double J radio station opened on 19th January 1975. What Skyhooks song was the first song broadcasted?

From Quiz 1975 - Australia

Answer: 'You Just Like Me Cos I'm Good in Bed'

This radio station was aimed at youth. It was Australia's first non-commercial 24 hour rock music radio station.

21. On 1st March 1975, what appeared on Australian television screens?

From Quiz Australia in 1975

Answer: Colour television

Colour television made its debut in March 1975. The ABC officially launched its colour TV broadcasting with a five minute special, "Aunty Jack Introduces Colour", which ran from 11:58am to 12:03pm on the 1st of March. One of the first commercial TV shows to be broadcast in full was "Sound Unlimited".

22. A surprise hit song in the form of "The Lord's Prayer" came out of 1974. Who was the singer?

From Quiz Australia in 1974

Answer: Sister Janet Mead

Sister Janet Mead, an Adelaide nun, had a top ten-hit with a pop arrangement of "The Lord's Prayer" in Australia and in the U.S. in 1974. It was first Australian record to sell a million copies in America.

23. Which Brisbane nightclub was the scene of one of Australia's worst mass murders in 1973?

From Quiz Australia in 1973

Answer: Whiskey Au Go-Go

On 8th March 1973, fifteen people died in the fire-bombing of the Whisky Au Go-Go nightclub at Fortitude Valley. John Stuart and James Finch were convicted of arson and murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment. It is alleged they greased the handles on the fire escape door to prevent people escaping.

24. 1972 was the year that "Australian television lost its virginity". How?

From Quiz Australia in 1972

Answer: "Number 96" premieres

1972 was indeed the year that "Number 96" begins its controversial five year run.

25. Can you name the long running childrens' variety television show that premiered in 1971?

From Quiz Australia in 1971

Answer: Young Talent Time

"Young Talent Time" began its 18 year run in April, 1971.

26. Can you name the Australian Of The Year for 1970?

From Quiz Australia in 1970

Answer: Cardinal Norman Gilroy

Cardinal Norman Gilroy was Australian Of The Year in 1970. Lord Richard Casey had that honour bestowed upon him in 1969 and Evonne Goolagong, in 1971. Barry Crocker won the Gold Logie in 1970.

27. Many people know that Australia's first Prime Minister was Edmund Barton (who was Prime Minister from 1901 - 1903). But who succeeded him?

From Quiz History of the Great Down Under

Answer: Alfred Deakin

Deakin was Prime Minister three times: 1903-1904, 1905-1908 and 1909-1910.

28. The summer rainfall for Victoria was up to how much percent less than in previous years?

From Quiz Ash Wednesday Bushfires

Answer: 75%

Victoria had been in a drought for more than ten months. This meant that water supplies, such as dams were low.

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