'D' is For Drung Drung Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dreamtime Stories

Dreamtime is the name given to the oral stories that the Aboriginals use to describe how spirits made the land, animals and plants. These stories are told so as to teach the younger people how to find food, to perform ceremonies, dance, sing, paint and keep the laws.

The stories usually start in an ancient, far off past in a time called the Dreamtime or Dreaming - before the world had been finished.

Answer: True

"Eagle Rock" was Daddy Cool's debut single from the album "Daddy Who? Daddy Cool!". Ross Wilson, Ross Hannaford, Gary Young and Wayne Duncan formed this band for light relief from the band's other endeavours as "Son of the Vegetal Mother" until "Daddy Cool" came the main interest. Another smash hit album in 1973 saw their fame peak before studio difficulties led to the break up 1974.

Answer: Clothing

The Driza-bone manufacturing company originally concentrated on coats, but now have branched into other forms of clothing. Driza-bone coats originated aboard the early windjammers from sailor's wet weather coats. They could easily be adapted to land use; as they had a fantail to protect the seat of the rider's saddle, leg straps to keep the coat from taking off in high winds, and extra long sleeves.

The name was essentially a description of how good they were - as they were compared to the dried and parched bones of animals in the arid Australian outback (Dryza-bone).

Answer: Blow fly

I think that this slang came about when the toilets were outside and they were the old can types. In the summertime, apart from smelling, there were swarms of flies hovering. The flies made lots of sound when together, so both the flies and toilet were 'singing' like a budgie (bird species).

Answer: No

Sarah (Fanny) Durack (1894-1956) was a swimmer at the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games. She was Australia's first female gold medallist, winning the 100m freestyle. This was the first time that a pool event for women was allowed in the Olympics. It was in a time that mixed bathing was not allowed therefore it was hard to be selected.

In addition, she also had to overcome a rule that banned women swimming in front of men by the NSW Ladies Swimming Association. Ms Durack set twelve world records and held the fastest time for every event from 50 yards to one mile.

She retired from swimming in 1921 but coached until the 1950s. "The Little Bush Maid" by Bruce is an actual book published in that year.

Answer: Western Australia

Dirk Hartog Island is situated in the Indian Ocean, off the tip of Edel Land Peninsula and opposite Peron Peninsula. The west point on this island is Australia's westernmost point. Dirk Hartog Island is named after its discoverer, Dutchman - Dirk Hartog, in 1616. It is approximately 80km long and well known for fishing.

Answer: 10

The deserts are:
Great Victoria (348,750 sq km) situated in WA and SA
Great Sandy (267,250 sq km) situated in WA
Tanami (184,500 sq km) located in WA and NT
Simpson (176,500 sq km) located in NT, Qld and SA
Gibson (156,000 sq km) is in WA
Little Sandy (111,500 sq km) located also in WA
Strzelecki (80,250 sq km) located in SA, Qld, and NSW
Sturt Stony (29,750 sq km) found in SA, Qld, and NSW
Tirari (15,250 sq km) is in SA
Pedirka (1,250 sq km) is also in SA.
(Cited from Geoscience Australia - National Mapping Division (Commonwealth of Australia) fact sheet published in 2001)
The longest sand dunes in the world are in the Simpson Desert. Some run parallel, without a break, for more than 200km. Some references cite 11 deserts, namely the Central Desert in NT (others incoorporate this with the Tanami).

Answer: Dingo

This is a traditional bush song. It tells about a parade of Australian animals doing strange things in a dream of a sheep drover. This dream was so real, that he did not know he was asleep. Writer is unknown.

One version of this poem/song in totality is as follows:
One night when drovin' sheep, my companions lay asleep
There was no star to luminate the sky
I was dreamin' I suppose, for my eyes were partly closed
When a very strange procession passed me by

First there came a Kangaroo with a swag of blankets blue
A Dingo ran beside him as his mate
They were travellin' mighty fast but they shouted as they passed
We'll have to run along, it's getting late

The Pelican and the Crane, had come in from off the plain
To amuse the company with the highland fling
The dear old Bandicoot played a tune upon his flute
And the koala bear sat 'round him in the ring

The Drongo and the Crow sang songs of long ago
The Frill-necked Lizard listened with a smile
And the Emu standing near with his claw up to his ear
Said "the funniest thing I've heard for quite a while"

Three frogs from out the swamp where the atmosphere is damp
Came bounding in and sat upon some stones
They each unrolled their swags and produced from little bags
The violin, the banjo and the 'bones

The Fieldmouse and the snake and the Bunyip wide awake
With an Alligator dancing Soldier's Joy
In the spreading Silky-Oak, the old Jackass cracked a joke
And the Magpie sang The Wild Colonial Boy

Some Brolga's darted out from the Teatree all about
And performed a set of lances very well
Then the parrot green and blue gave the orchestra it's cue
To strike up The Old Cabin in the dell

I was dreaming I suppose of these entertainin' shows
But it never crossed my mind I was asleep
Till the boss beneath the cart woke me up with such a start
Yelling "Dreamy, where the hell are all the sheep?"

Answer: The Idiot Tree

The Idiot Tree only grows in a small part of the Daintree Rainforest, in northern Queensland. This is due to the seeds being as big as tennis balls and when they fall and they are too heavy to be carried by any means. The seeds are extremely poisonous and if animals eat them death will occur.

Answer: 3

William Dobell (1899-1970) is regarded as one of Australia's great painters. He won the Archibald Prize in 1943 for his portrait of Joshua Smith, and two painters who lost to Dobell took him to court over this. They claimed his painting was a caricature and should be disqualified but he won the case. Mr Dobell won the Archibald again in 1948 and 1959. Prime Minister Menzies was also not impressed by Dobell's style when he sat for a "Time" magazine cover painted by Dobell and later refused to comment on the painting. Mr Dobell was knighted in 1966 and was awarded the OBE in 1965.

Answer: Division 4

There were 300 episodes made of "Division 4". At that time Crawford Productions made numerous police shows, such as Homicide. Other actors in this show included Diane Craig, Ted Hamilton, Gerard Kennedy and Andrew McFarlane.

Answer: False

It is the longest fence in the world at 2,500 km long, and it is made of wire mesh. It was designed to protect Western Australia's pastoral areas from rabbits to hinder the presence of dingoes.

Answer: 1966

Australia converted from pounds, shilling and pence to dollars and cents on the 14th February. A dollar was ten shillings, twenty cents was a florin, ten cents was a shilling, five cents was a sixpence, and one cent equalled 1.2 pence. The one and two cent coins were phased out circulation in the 1990s.

Answer: Didgeridoo

A didgeridoo or drone pipe is made from bamboo or a tree branch hollowed out by termites They are usually from 1m to 1.5m long and often elaborately decorated. Skilled musicians are able to produce a variety of tone qualities. Didgeridoos are used singly, with clapping sticks or in ensembles of both with a singer.

Answer: Dictation Test

The Dictation Test is a selective and applied test of the 1930s based on being able to take dictation in Scottish Gaelic. It was used to deny entry to Australia of undesirable 'aliens'. When Egon Kisch was banned, he appealed to the High Court and won because Scottish Gaelic was not a European language. Kisch stayed, wrote a book entitled "Australian Landfall" and left in 1935.

Answer: True

Alfred Deakin was Prime Minister in the years 1903-1904 (Protectionist), 1905-1908 and in 1909-1910 (Protectionist-Free Trade Coalition). He is regarded as being Australia's second, fifth and seventh Prime Minister. He campaigned for improved conditions for workers in factories and shops. During his prime ministership, old age pensions were first introduced and Canberra was chosen as the capital city.

He was born in 1856, retired in 1913 from politics, and died in 1919.

Answer: Digger

"Digger" was more connected to infantry soldiers than to the other branches of the forces. It was commonly used from about 1916 throughout the Australian Imperial Forces and NZ Forces serving in France. There are several theories as to its source: (a) It came to AIF from NZ troops who inherited it from gum diggers of NZ. (b) That it stemmed from military detachments from goldmining centres (especially WA). (c) The practice of 'digging in' in trench warfare.

Some references state that the term was in use in the New South Wales' bush long before WWI.

Answer: Diamantina River

Daly River is only in Northern Territory, the Derwent River in Tasmania and the Dunham River in Western Australia. The Diamantina River is a tributary of Everard River in South Australia. The river is seasonal and the Birdsville Track follows its course. Discovered by Burke and Wills in 1860 but was thoroughly explored by George Phillip and William Landsborough who named it in 1866 after Diamantina Roma, wife of Sir George Bowen (then Governor of Queensland).

Answer: Gundagai

The statue of a dog on a box, by F Rusconi, was originally nine miles from Gundagai - but now it is eight kilometers due to road and urban development. Prime Minister Joe Lyons unveiled it in 1932.

Answer: 52

This little bit of trivia was found in a book titled "The Great Aussie Fact Book" by Belinda Edwards. It did not say who was counting, or if those that were counting were drinking too! Another drinking record was held by Bob Hawke (ex Prime Minister) in 1955. The record was 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds, which he set at Oxford University.