A Slice of Heaven Trivia Quiz

Answer: Boorloo

Perth was established in 1829 by Captain James Stirling as part of the Swan River colony for free settlers. The settlement's first priority was to ensure that the French did not obtain a strategic foothold in Western Australia. Stirling named the site Perth. This was under the instruction of the then Secretary of War and the Colonies Sir George Murray. The name was an adoption of Perthshire (now Perth) in Scotland, which was Murray's birthplace and parliamentary seat.

Prior to the arrival of the Europeans the inhabitants of this area were the Whadjuk Noongar people whose presence here could be traced back some 40,000 years prior through archaeological findings. Their name for the region, which centred at Point Fraser, near East Perth, and encompassed the lakes in the area that is now known as the Perth central business district, all the way to Northbridge was Boorloo. The term, which is sometimes stylized as "Boorlo" or "Burrell" means "Big Swamp".

Answer: True

There are numerous internet sites that will inform you that Perth is "the" most isolated city in the world, however, that would also be dependent upon which standards you apply. If remoteness were to be measured by population sizes, then Perth would not qualify. It boasts a population of near on a million people and there are other capitals with a lot less. Compare Perth with Nuuk in Greenland, a capital city with a population less than 20,000.

If you were to grade by accessibility, then Perth is relatively accessible. It has a port entry based at Fremantle, a mere 16 kilometres (10 miles) away. Internally the city can be accessed by rail and road. Perth also boasts an international airport though, until 2022, there were no direct flights to the city from either the United Kingdom or the rest of Europe. A stopover would be required at one of the state's nearest Asian neighbours. Compare that with the city of Iquitos in Peru, which has no road access, is surrounded by the Amazon River on one side and impenetrable jungle on the other. A boat trip would take you four days to reach it.

However, when it comes to distance away from other capitals Perth is one of the loneliest. The nearest to it is Adelaide (South Australia) which is 2,118 kilometres (1,316 miles) away. Perth is closer to Dili (East Timor, 2,786 kms/1,731 miles) and Jakarta (Indonesia 3,010 kms/1,870 miles) than it is to its own country's capital city, Canberra (3,091 kms/1,921 miles).

That said, Perth is able to provide the unique experience of a cosmopolitan lifestyle that allows you to step out of your front door to confront the pristine Indian Ocean and a backdoor that gives you access to an extraordinary outback wilderness.

Answer: Quokka

The quokka, known as the smiling marsupial, is found, with some abundance, on Rottnest Island, a protected nature reserve and tourist hot-spot, some 19 kilometres (12 miles) west of Perth. The quokka is a macropod, which puts it in the same family as kangaroos and wallabies, and is about the size of a domestic cat. The creature is curious by nature and will approach humans. As such it tends to end up in a number of tourist's selfies. Quokkas can also be found in lesser numbers, in scattered colonies around the south-west of Western Australia (WA).

Sugar gliders are mainly found on the eastern mainland of Australia, down to Tasmania, the cassowary tends to inhabit the tropical rainforest regions of north-east Australia and wombats are found in south eastern Australia, down to Tasmania.

WA is also closely associated with the black swan, which appears, along with the red kangaroo, on its Coat of Arms. The state is also a tourist hub for activities that involve a wide range of fauna. For example, it provides the opportunity to swim with the whale sharks in Ningaloo, and the dolphins off the coasts of Monkey Mia in the north of the state and Bunbury in the south west.

Answer: Wine

Western Australia (WA) is blessed with a number of strong wine growing areas. The most famous of these is the Margaret River region, some 270 kilometres/170 miles south of Perth and the emerging Geographe region which is a little closer. However, the grandfather to all of these is the Swan Valley, which is 25 kilometres/15 miles north-east of the city centre.

The first vines were planted here in 1829 (the year of Perth's settlement), making it the second oldest wine growing region in Australia. It would remain WA's only wine growing region for the next 150 years. However, the region has developed to be much more than just a string of superb wineries as the Valley has branched out to produce items as diverse as coffee, ice cream, Aboriginal bushtucker, asparagus (in season), cheese and honey.

Answer: Mining

A 2021 survey by the Canadian based researcher, The Fraser Institute, rated Western Australia (WA) as the top region in the world for mining investment. WA is considered to be the epicentre of mining in Australia, producing 98% of the country's iron ore output to be the largest supplier of the mineral in the world.

In addition, the state boasts Australia's largest gold mine and holds 60% of Australia's gold reserves, produces the most diamonds (by volume) in the world and is the world's largest producer of pearls. The WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy recently (2021) advised that mining and resources employed in excess of 20,000 people and contributes over $100 billion to the State's economy. Perth is the headquarters to most of these mining giants.

The photograph on your left shows a train, bearing the insignia of mining giant Rio Tinto, carting iron ore from the mine-site to the harbour in Port Hedland.

Answer: John Glenn

In February of 1962 John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. Perched in his Friendship 7 spacecraft he saw the city of Perth light up for him. The city lights blazed brightly as thousands of residents rushed into their backyards to wave torches and direct spotlights at white bedsheets draped on clothesline (for a better reflection) as a tribute to the lone astronaut.

In an interview via video link in 2012 Senator Glenn vividly recalled the moment and thanked those that participated, not only then but also in 1998 when Glenn, as a payload specialist on STS-95 aboard the space shuttle Discovery, once again flew over Perth, and the lights were once again turned on for him. "This time I could see the ground again, and it looked to me as though the lights of Perth and Rockingham were even more vivid than they had been back 36 years before in 1962, so it was a great view and once again we were happy to be able to say hello to the people of Perth on that dark side of the earth as I was going around," he said.

Glenn's 1962 flight was significant for Western Australia for another reason. Their tracking station at Muchea, 42 kilometres/26 miles north of the city centre, marked the first time an Australian technician had spoken to a space traveler.

Answer: True

A number of my mates in Queensland, which, by the way, is known as "The Sunshine State" in Australia, will not be impressed by this fact. Queensland obtained that nickname because of its tropical and sub-tropical climate zones, however, when it comes to sunshine, it doesn't quite stack up to Perth.

Scientists measure a peak sun hour as the period when the sun's intensity is at least 1,000 watts per square meter. This will vary from season to season, so an average peak sun hours is established to cater for this. Whilst there are numerous factors that will affect the average, the three main ones are (a) distance from the Equator - which will impact on the intensity of the sun (b) the climate zone - which determines cloud cover and the like; for example, the arid centres of the country are likely to have fewer cloudy days and (c) the size and the shape of the state - these will decide how many different climate zones are within the state and how wide these fluctuations are.

Perth generates peak sunlight for a little over 3,200 hours annually, an average of 9 hours per day compared to Brisbane's 8 hours. Melbourne is the least sunniest with 2,200 hours annually.

Trying to get a picture of a Perth beach without people on it was proving difficult, so, the picture on the left shows the Back Beach in Bunbury, approximately 170 kilometres/105 miles south of Perth.

Answer: Kings Park

Kings Park sits on Mount Eliza and overlooks both the waterways and the central business district of Perth. Nestled on almost 400 hectares (988 acres) the area is divided into three regions; parkland, botanical gardens and natural bushland, with the latter representing two thirds of the area.

The park attracts some five million visitors a year with elevation offering outstanding views of the city, the Swan River and the surrounds. There are over 300 native flora species in the park, over 200 indigenous fungi species and the park is home to 80 bird species. The park is also home to the State's War Memorial and the streets in the park are lined with trees that bear plaques to commemorate Western Australian servicemen and women who died serving their nation in World Wars I and II. The photograph on the left shows exactly that. Look closely at the base of the tree to see the tiny plaque.

Answer: Fremantle

When Australia II crossed the finish line at 5.21pm on 26 September 1983, off the coast of Rhode Island, it was the first time that the USA had surrendered the esteemed trophy, later named the America's Cup, since winning it in 1851. The Australian syndicate, that was formed by Perth millionaire Alan Bond, decided that they would defend their hard won title on the Indian Ocean, in the waters off Fremantle some 16 kilometres/10 miles from the centre of Perth.

Whilst some locals would argue to the contrary, Fremantle was positively transformed to accommodate the event that would take place late 1986 to early 1987. The State government threw both its weight and money behind the occasion. To this point, Fremantle was a city of great history and architecture, however, many of its heritage buildings were in disrepair and in danger of being lost. That changed overnight. The city's waterfront and its West End were also transformed and revitalized.

There were social shifts as well as the city, which had an inferiority complex and the feel of a large town, moved from having bars that primarily sold beer on tap and hot beef rolls to being a cosmopolitan centre that would hosts the likes of the Aga Khan.

Despite losing the Auld Mug in 1987, Fremantle had become the centre of the world for almost four years and emerged a big winner from the event.

Answer: Swan River

The Noongar name of Derbal Yerrigan relates to the Swan River estuary. The Perth waters are otherwise known as Buneenboro. Derbarl Yerrigan is the site of "yakan" (meaning turtle) dreaming and the place where it lays its noorook (eggs). Traditionally, the Noongar women would walk the edges of these waterways and use their toes to feel for small breathing holes. They'd identified that these were the places that they'd be able to find the yakan (turtle), the kooya (frogs) and the gilgies (small freshwater crayfish) as a food source. Their Dreamtime legends indicate that a snakelike being, known as the Wagyl, traced a path across the land to create the Swan River.

The river was named by the Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh in 1697, after spying the large number of black swans on the river. Until a rail system was introduced, the river would be the main means of transport between the city and the port that was created in Fremantle, a short distance away.

The photograph on the left shows the river, near the Barrack Street jetty, at night time.