What Do You Know About Australia? Quiz

Answer: Red Kangaroo and Emu

There is a common belief that both the kangaroo and emu are unable to move backwards easily and were so chosen to represent a nation moving forward. Also their sizes compared favourably. The red kangaroo is the largest kangaroo in Australia and a male can jump over 9 metres (30ft) in one leap. Males can grow to 1.4 metres (4ft 7in) and weigh up to 85 kilograms (190 lbs).

The emu is the second largest bird in the world, is flightless, and can reach a height of 2 metres (6ft 6in). Because of their long legs, they can take strides of nearly 3 metres (approximately 9 feet). An adult emu can weigh between 30 and 45 kilograms (66-99 lbs). Generally female emus are larger than males and emus can run at a speed of 50 km per hour (31 mph).

Answer: Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth

Up until 1813, it was believed that no white person had ever crossed the Blue Mountains, which are part of the Great Dividing Range that stretches down a good part of the east coast of Australia. They set out from Sydney on 11 May 1813 and succeeded in crossing by 31 May.

The then Governor of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie, as a reward for their accomplishment, granted each of them 1,000 acres of land.

Answer: Mt Kosciuszko

Compared to the rest of the world, Australia's mountains are not all that high. At about 2220 metres above sea level, Mt Kosciuszko is Australia's highest mountain. It is in the Kosciuszko National Park in southern New South Wales and lies within the Snowy Mountains which form part of the Great Dividing Range.

The mountain was first scaled by Europeans in 1840 and was named by the Polish explorer Paul Edmund Strzelecki. The Aboriginal name for the mountain is Tar Gan Gil. The few ski fields that Australia has are in the Snowy Mountains.

Answer: Great Victoria Desert

The Great Victoria Desert is approximately 424,400 sq. kilometres (163,500 sq. miles). It lies both in South Australia and Western Australia. The first crossing of the Great Victoria Desert by Europeans was by the explorer Ernest Giles in 1875 and he named it after Queen Victoria.

Answer: Western Australia

For its large size, Australia only has six states and two territories. Western Australia (WA) occupies approximately the entire western third of Australia and its coast lies on the Indian Ocean. Western Australia has 12,889 km (8,009 miles) of coastline and the total land area is 2.5 million square kilometres. The capital, and largest city, is Perth.

Answer: Sydney

What is now Sydney was chosen as the site for the first penal colony in Australia when the First Fleet landed in 1788. Sydney is now a huge modern metropolis and, being on the coast, has many great beaches, including the world famous Bondi Beach.

In early 2023, Melbourne grew to be larger than Sydney.

Answer: Canberra

Canberra is in The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) which lies within New South Wales. There was a lot of rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne to be named the capital city, however in 1908 a compromise was reached and the ACT was situated between Sydney and Melbourne. Construction of Canberra commenced in 1913 after an international contest had been held which was won by Chicago architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin.

The Australian Parliament and the High Court of Australia are situated in Canberra as well as the Australian War Memorial, Australian National University, Australian Institute of Sport, National Gallery, National Museum and the National Library. The Australian Army's officer corps are trained at the Royal Military College, Duntroon and the Australian Defence Force Academy is also located in the capital.

Answer: Over 40,000 years

According to scientists it is difficult to estimate when the first humans came to Australia, but they are saying somewhere between 40,000 and 125,000 years. The oldest remains found are those of Mungo Man and have been dated at 40,000 years old. There are differing thoughts as to where these early Aboriginal inhabitants came from, but the most popular theory is that Australia separated from Antarctica over 80 million years ago and had been part of the Gondwana Continent.

The first white settlers to Australia arrived in 1788 with the arrival of the First Fleet.

Answer: Monolith

In 1873 the surveyor William Gosse discovered a large landmark and named it Ayers Rock after the then Chief Secretary of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers. Uluru, as it was known to the Aboriginal people is a sacred site to the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara tribes of the area.

It was officially named as Uluru / Ayers Rock on 6 November 2002 and is usually referred to as Uluru. Uluru stands 348m (1,142 ft) high with most of its bulk below the ground. It measures 9.4 km (5.8 miles) in circumference.

Answer: Dark Brown

Dr. Cyril P Callister of the Fred Walker Company, following months of tests, developed a tasty spreadable paste from brewers' yeast. The Walker Company held a country-wide competition to find a name for this new product offering fifty pounds as a prize.

The winning name was Vegemite and it first appeared in shops in 1923. Over the next few years the name was changed a couple of times but then went back to Vegemite. Vegemite has a well-known jingle and if asked, probably every Australian would be able to sing it! Australian are really "Happy Little Vegemites".