Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Captain James Cook recommended Botany Bay as a site for British settlement after he discovered the east coast of Australia in 1770. The First Fleet later travelled halfway around the world, only to find something horribly wrong with his assessment. What was the problem?
2. What kind of animals (which later devastated the Australian countryside) were released into the wild in 1859 by a farmer who said at the time that they "could do little harm, and might provide a touch of home, in addition to a spot of hunting"?
3. In 1860-61, Burke and Wills led the first expedition to successfully cross Australia longitudinally. What unfortunate occurrence resulted in their deaths?
4. Australian colonial outlaw Ned Kelly had the brilliant notion of constructing an armoured suit to protect himself from bullets. What went wrong for him?
5. In colonial Australia, an ill-fated attempt to start a cochineal dye industry resulted in what?
6. Thousands of Australian and other Allied soldiers were killed at Gallipoli (in modern Turkey), during World War I. Which of the following blunders contributed to their demise?
7. Tragically, by the mid-1930s, over-zealous sheep farmers had rendered extinct which unique Australian animal?
8. What was the disastrous result of Australia's attempt to rid itself of problematic beetles?
9. What piece of short-sightedness made early interstate travel in Australia more difficult than it should have been?
10. Politicians obliterated the view of one of the world's great vistas by deciding to build an overhead road and railway at Sydney's Circular Quay in the 1950s. What is the name of this much-lamented monstrosity?
11. The Sydney Opera House is recognized as one of the world's great buildings, but what ridiculous problem became apparent during its construction?
12. A blunder by the Australian government in 1972 allowed the legal formation of what largely unrecognized nation WITHIN Australia?
13. The Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney was proving to be a great success - until it came to its climax. What went wrong?
14. Speed skater Steve Bradbury won Australia's first-ever Winter Olympics gold medal at Salt Lake City in 2002. What was unusual about his feat?
15. British pop singer Billy Idol was meant to be the star act at Australia's Rugby League Grand Final in 2002. A worldwide television audience of millions was watching him at the event when what blunder transpired?
Source: Author
Wizzid
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.