Australian Bodies of Water Trivia

1. Three rivers in the Northern Territory in Australia are all named after a ferocious creature not even native to this country. What is their one name?

From Quiz Rivers of Australian Life

Answer: Alligator Rivers

Found in the Arnhem Land of the Northern Territory in Australia are the East, West and South Alligator Rivers. Very unimaginative use of names I must say - not to mention the fact that we don't actually have alligators in this country. What we do have, particularly in that part of Australia, are ferociously huge crocodiles. The East Alligator River flows northwest and is about 160 kilometres long. It enters the sea at Van Diemen Gulf. The South Alligator is around the same length and also flows northwest - passing through disused uranium mines along the way - and again enters the sea at Van Diemen Gulf. The West Alligator is only eighty kilometres long and, although my map doesn't say, it probably ends up in the same area of the sea as well. Just in passing, there is a huge hotel in Jabiru, a town right up the top of the Northern Territory. It is called the Crocodile Hotel, and, rather creepily, it is built in the shape of one of those horrifying beasts. The architecture, though, is really impressive.

From Quiz Australian Waterways With British Names

Answer: New South Wales

There are two Avon Rivers in NSW and one each in Victoria and Western Australia. One Avon River indeed flows through the town of Stratford before reaching Gloucester (NSW). The other Avon River in NSW is located near Wollongong. In Victoria, the Avon River is located in Gippsland and flows into Lake Wellington. The Western Australian Avon River is a tributary of the Swan River which flows through Perth on the way to the Indian Ocean.

From Quiz Aussie Surf and Sand

Answer: Cable Beach

Cable Beach is situated 7km from the town of Broome, in Western Australia's Kimberley region. Broome is recognised as one of the world's pearl capitals, with the immaculate Japanese cemetery paying tribute to the hundreds of international divers who lost their lives in this treacherous industry.

From Quiz Australia's Waterfalls

Answer: Wallaman Falls, QLD

Located in the Girringun National Park west of Ingham, Wallaman Falls is a total of 305 metres making it Australia's tallest waterfall. This includes a single drop of 268 metres. It is fed by Stony Creek, a tributary of Herbert River. (Some sources claim Wallaman Falls is closer to 340 metres in length.) Some speculation has 'Tin Mine Falls' near Mt Kosciuszko as the largest waterfall in Australia but it is not confirmed. Tin Mine Falls is also seasonal. Source. Geoscience Australia

From Quiz The Great Barrier Reef

Answer: Coral Sea

The Coral Sea is located on the northeast coast of Queensland and is the location where the Battle of the Coral Sea was fought in World War II. The Great Barrier Reef is not a single reef but is made up of a group of approximately 2900 reefs and 900 islands and covers more than 300,000 square kilometres.

From Quiz Suburban Australian Waterways

Answer: Hawkesbury River

The Hawkesbury-Nepean is a magnificent waterway, given two names by European explorers before they realised that the big broad inlet at Broken Bay (the Hawkesbury River) was connected to the deep inland river west of Sydney (the Nepean River). The name change occurs near Richmond, when the Grose River tributary joins the Nepean.

From Quiz Rivers of Australia

Answer: New South Wales

A tributary of the Clarence River, it runs through the northern rivers region of NSW.

From Quiz Rivers of Australian Life

Answer: Cooper Creek

At some 1,300 kilometres long, Cooper Creek is also frequently referred to as the Barcoo River, but that's actually the name of one of the misnamed Cooper Creek's tributaries. Both are part of three major drainage systems that flow way down south into the Lake Eyre basin. All that however depends on whether we get rain in this part of the world or not. Cooper Creek, once known as Cooper's Creek, but referred to as a river in its early days (Oh this is so confusing) rises is the far north east of Queensland, west of the Great Dividing Range, crosses down into South Australia, and then makes its weary way into Lake Eyre, a lake that is sometimes full and teeming with fish and beautiful birds, but sometimes as dry as a bone. Because of the instability of the weather, Cooper Whatever is often absorbed into the ground of the several deserts through which it passes, leaving just a few waterholes to show where it has passed. Australia can break your heart if you let it. This water system is famous for one other tragedy. It is where, in 1860-61, two of our early explorers, Burke and Wills, died of hunger and thirst on their attempt to cross this unforgiving continent from south to north, a distance of some 3,250 kilometres. (D.B. Cooper was a man who hijacked an American Boeing 727 in November, 1971 - parachuted out of the plane in the middle of nowhere, and was never seen again)

From Quiz Australian Beach Challenge

Answer: Brightly coloured beach huts (or bathing boxes)

If you've never seen these, look them up. They have been made famous by artists and photographers and are highly sought after as real estate investments. Other beaches along Port Phillip Bay also have bathing boxes but none seem to be as iconic as those at Dendy Street Beach. The beach is located approximately 14km south of Melbourne's CBD.

From Quiz Australian Waterways With British Names

Answer: Clyde River

The Clyde River in Australia was named after the River Clyde (Scotland) by Lieutenant Robert Johnson in 1821. The River Clyde in Scotland flows through Glasgow and is an important part of the city's ship building and trade history.

From Quiz Aussie Surf and Sand

Answer: Bells Beach

Built by returned servicemen as a memorial to fallen soldiers, the Great Ocean Road stretches for 243km along the south eastern coast of Australia. Spectacular coastal locations such as Bells Beach, Port Campbell and the Twelve Apostles make the drive extemely popular with tourists.

From Quiz Australia's Waterfalls

Answer: Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls

Both Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls are located in the World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory. Twin Falls is known as Gungkurdul in the local Aboriginal dialect.

From Quiz The Great Barrier Reef

Answer: Matthew Flinders

Captain James Cook was the first explorer to find the reef in 1770. Matthew Flinders was responsible for naming the reef as well as many other places including suggesting the name for Australia. His book "A Voyage to Terra Australis" was published on 18 July 1814 one day before he died. The book had references to the name "Australia" but the name was not officially adopted until 1824.

From Quiz Rivers of Australia

Answer: Todd

The Todd River is dry for the majority of the year but runs through the town of Alice Springs where they have the famous Henley-on-Todd Regatta where competitors row their boats with foot power.

From Quiz Rivers of Australian Life

Answer: Swan River

Located in the south west of Western Australia, the beautiful Swan River runs right through the heart of Perth. It's not a very long river as such, measuring only 72 kilometres, but it drains several catchment areas of 121,000 square kilometres. Its three major tributaries are the Avon, the Canning and the Helena rivers. When the sea levels were much lower than they are today, the Swan River once flowed all the way out to Rottnest Island, which is nineteen kilometres off the coast of Fremantle, but now the river drains directly into the Indian Ocean at Fremantle itself. The gorge the water carved out on that long ago trip, now all under water, is approximately the size of America's Grand Canyon. The Swan River was so named because of the beautiful graceful black swans which dwell on its banks and water.

From Quiz Australian Beach Challenge

Answer: Bells Beach

Located 86km south-west of Melbourne, Bell's Beach was named after a farming pioneer. The Rip Curl Pro surfing competition is held at Bells Beach annually. Parts of the movie 'Point Break' (starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves) were set there although the scenes were filmed in the USA.

From Quiz Australian Waterways With British Names

Answer: Queensland and Tasmania

The Dee River in Queensland is a small tributary of the Fitzroy River which reaches the Pacific Ocean near Rockhampton. The Dee River in Tasmania is a tributary of the Derwent River which flows into Hobart. In Scotland, the River Dee flows from the Cairngorms and to the North Sea at Aberdeen. The other River Dee starts flowing in Wales, flows through England and then becomes part of the England/Wales border. It eventually empties into the Irish Sea.

From Quiz Aussie Surf and Sand

Answer: Bondi

Established in 1907, Bondi is the world's oldest official surf lifesaving club. Neighboring Bronte established a club in 1903 but records of annual meetings were not maintained prior to 1907.

From Quiz Australia's Waterfalls

Answer: Victoria

Although Victoria has some of Australia highest mountains in Australia and plenty of rain (when not in drought), it does not have any large single-drop waterfalls. The largest waterfall is Stevenson Falls and is only about 84 metres long over several cascades. It is located 6 km from Marysville, northeast of Melbourne. The falls are floodlit in the evenings which makes it a worthwhile visit after dark. These falls should not be confused with the Stevenson Falls at Barramunga in the Otway Ranges, also in Victoria.

From Quiz The Great Barrier Reef

Answer: HMS Pandora

The British Royal Navy warship HMS Pandora was sent on a mission to bring back the mutineers from the HMAV Bounty in 1790. In August 1791, the Pandora ran aground in the Great Barrier Reef, the ship sank and claimed the life of 31 crew and 4 prisoners. The wreck of the Pandora was discovered in 1977 and lies within Pandora Entrance, approximately 140km east of Cape York.

From Quiz Suburban Australian Waterways

Answer: Molonglo River

The Molonglo and Cotter Rivers are both tributaries of the Murrumbidgee, and all three flow through the Canberra region. The Cotter flows into the Murrumbidgee from the Brindabella Ranges west of Canberra, and the Molonglo flows through Canberra from the southern tablelands in the southeast. There is no Burley Griffin River in Canberra.

From Quiz Rivers of Australia

Answer: Namoi

Nothing much intersting about Narrabri.

From Quiz Rivers of Australian Life

Answer: Ord River

The Ord River rises in the Kimberley Plateau of Western Australia before making its way over a distance of 650 kilometres to discharge into the Timor Sea at Cambridge Gulf. It was named after the then governor of Western Australia, Harry Ord (and a lot of letters after his name) by the river's initial European explorer, Alexander Forrest. Who was Harry Ord when he was home? Who cares. The Ord River, Irrigation Scheme, which features two massive dams and irrigation systems, is said - so far - not to have damaged the quality of the water in the lower reaches of the river, but that remains to be seen. Murmurs of salinity and erosion issues are beginning to be heard in the area. The protected estuarine section of the river is famous for its forests, lagoons, creeks, and beautiful birds and wildlife. Let us pray it remains that way.

From Quiz Australian Waterways With British Names

Answer: Hobart, Tasmania

Tasmania's Derwent River was named after the River Derwent in Cumbria, England. Several dams are located on Tasmania's Derwent River to provide hydro-electricity. It's probably most famous as being the finishing point for the annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. There is another Derwent River in Australia. It's in South Australia on the Birdsville Track. It has been dammed to form the Mungerannie Waterhole.

From Quiz Aussie Surf and Sand

Answer: Nobbys

Located 180kms north of Sydney, Newcastle is one of Australia's major ports. The nearby Hunter Valley produces exceptional wines and export quantities of coal

From Quiz Australia's Waterfalls

Answer: Fitzroy Falls

Named by Charles Throsby in the 1850s after Sir Charles Augustus Fitzroy (NSW Governor from 1846 to 1855). Fitzroy Falls is easily accessible by road and is located approximately 150 km south of Sydney. It plunges in a single drop of 81 metres into Yarrunga Valley.

From Quiz Rivers of Australian Life

Answer: Queensland

Queensland's Flinders River is just over one thousand kilometres long. It rises on the north western side of the Great Dividing Range (which runs practically the entire length of the east coast of the continent) before making its leisurely way through largely flat terrain way up north to empty out at the Gulf of Carpentaria. Australia is a very flat country in its great heart, and thus unfortunately, when rain occurs in larger amounts than normal, sees not particularly dramatic rivers easily spilling over their banks to spread like great wet blankets across the land. Along the slow journey of the Flinders to the northern waters of the nation, it passes by several well known country towns and settlements, collects 36 tributaries, carves out a gorge at the Porcupine National Park, nods at two dams that had the impertinence to be built on its waters, and, just before it empties into the sea, flows through a very important wildlife area called, wait for it, the Gulf Plains Important Bird Area. Truly, the people who named many of the important and glorious geographical areas of our nation had all the creativity and imagination of a dry cracker. That area is replete with some of the loveliest and unique birds in the world - and look at the dopey name they called it.

From Quiz Australian Beach Challenge

Answer: Byron Bay

Byron Bay is 165km south of Brisbane and 770km north of Sydney. It is also famous for its annual Blues Festival.

From Quiz Australian Waterways With British Names

Answer: Clarence River

The British River Esks are located in Cumbria, North Yorkshire, Aberdeenshire and Angus, and Dumfries and Galloway. The Aussie Esk River contributes flow to the Clarence River. The Clarence has one of the largest watershed areas in Australia so when torrential rains occur the flow increase immensely. The area has still has some temperate and semi-tropical rainforest. The Clarence River flows into the Pacific Ocean, the estuary having the towns of Iluka on one side and Yamba on the other. The other rivers (Hastings, Hunter and Tweed) are all in New South Wales also.

From Quiz Aussie Surf and Sand

Answer: Wineglass Bay

Tasmania is an island state, separated from mainland Australia by Bass Strait. Freycinet National Park is located on the east coast and is noted for it's rugged granite cliffs, secluded beaches and unique fauna.

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Last Updated Dec 28 2024 5:55 AM

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