Australia 1900s Trivia

1. When James Alexander Sorensen set fire to an apartment block in Bondi, Sydney in 1968 he killed four people. What ultimately led to arrest?

From Quiz Australia's Sordid Past: 5

Answer: A photograph published in the local newspaper.

Sorensen used to live at the apartment block that was located on Campbell Parade in Sydney. On 21st June 1968 he set fire to the lift well and the flames quickly spread throughout the building. A photographer for the Daily Mirror newspaper, John Gasparotto, arrived at the scene and took a number of photographs. One of those photographs ended up on the front page of the Daily Mirror and depicted a woman being carried out. In the background of that photo was Sorensen, with a smile on his face. Two informants made contact with a reporter from the Daily Mirror and passed on information that the killer was in the photo on the front page. It seemed that Sorensen was responsible for other fires and had managed to avoid suspicion from the police, but the informants were aware of his past. The information was passed to the police and they swooped. Sorensen was convicted and sentenced to life. He became known as "The Smiling Arsonist".

From Quiz Australia's Sordid Past: 4

Answer: The only door to the room that he was murdered in was nailed shut from the inside.

67-year-old Salvatore Tabone (also known as Samuel Borg, his anglicised name) lived by himself in North Melbourne, Victoria. He owned a café in the city and had a distrust of banks. He refused to keep his money in a bank and would store it at home. Friends started to worry about him when he had not been seen for a few days, so the police attended to check on his welfare. Police managed to get into his residence and when they tried to open the bedroom door they found it was unlocked, but attempts to open the door failed. In the end the police had to break the door down and found that it had been firmly nailed shut (with roofing nails) - from the inside. Tabone's body was found hidden under a bed. He had been beaten to death with a wooden table-leg, and it was established that the killer then left the room via a skylight. Although £1,000 was supposedly taken, substantial sums of money were later found in various locations inside the residence, and a loaded pistol belonging to Tabone was located under the mattress. The killer was never caught.

From Quiz Kids in Care in 20th Century Australia

Answer: 1905 Aborigines Act

In Western Australia, the Act giving the government power to forcibly remove children from their parents was enacted in 1905. The 1909 Act provided similar powers in New South Wales, 1897 in Queensland and 1939 in South Australia. Aboriginal children, especially those who were lighter skinned, were removed in the hope that within a generation or two, they would be "assimilated" completely into white society. According to Anna Haebich's book "Broken Circles", it was considered that "little could be done to help 'full bloods' apart from issuing rations to 'smooth the dying pillow"..i.e. support them until the race died out, mainly from disease introduced by the Europeans.

From Quiz Australia in the Twentieth Century

Answer: Lord Hopetoun

John Hope was the 7th Earl of Hopetoun. On July 13th 1900 Queen Victoria approved his appointment as Australia's first Governor General.

From Quiz Australia's Sordid Past: 3

Answer: She was the last woman in Australia to be executed by hanging.

Lee started out her criminal career as a prostitute in Sydney during World War II. Years later she hooked up with Robert David Clayton and they started a nice little scam. Lee would be in a hotel room with their intended male victim and Clayton would burst into the room furious that he had caught his "wife" with another man. The unsuspecting victim and the angry "husband" would then reach a compromise, bordering on blackmail, where cash would be handed over to resolve the situation. The scam continued for six years before the duo moved to Melbourne, Victoria and met up with Norman Andrews. The threesome continued using the same scam until they met William Kent, 73 years, on 7 November, 1949. The ageing Kent was known to have a lot of cash hidden away and he became the trio's next mark. The plan did not go too well. Kent was tied up, repeatedly bashed and tortured for information regarding the whereabouts of the cash. In the end he was stabbed a number of times and then strangled. The killers were caught by police within 12 hours. All three were hanged - Lee being the last female to be executed in Australia.

From Quiz 1975 - Australia

Answer: Chemistry

Sir John Cornforth won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975 for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalyzed reactions. He was deaf, and his wife contributed to his work and assisted with his communication difficulties.

From Quiz 1932 - Australia

Answer: Jack Lang

Jack lang was Premier of NSW during 1925-1927 and 1930-1932. In 1931, he disagreed with the policies of the John Scullin's Federal Labor government for coping with Depression. He formed his own "Lang Labor Party".

From Quiz Australia in 1974

Answer: Extensive flooding due to a cyclone

At the end of January 1974, cyclone Wanda lashed Brisbane with torrential rains, causing the Brisabane River to break its banks, flooding the city and low-lying suburbs. More than 7,000 homes had to be evacuated. Fourteen people died, with some being trapped in offices and homes by the rising waters.

From Quiz Australia in 1973

Answer: $15,000

You would need to fork out around $15,000.00 for your average 135 square metre dwelling back then! The average price for a 700 square metre block of land in 1973 was approximately $6,000.00.

From Quiz Australia in 1972

Answer: Shane Gould

Shane Gould took the honour in 1972. Evonne Goolagong was Australian of the Year in 1971. Rugby player Mark Ella was given the (more recently introduced) Young Australian of the Year award in 1982 and distance runner Robert de Castella in 1983.

From Quiz Australia in 1971

Answer: William McMahon

Following a nine day leadership struggle, a vote of no confidence by his party ends in a tie. Gorton, conceding that he had lost the confidence of the party, casts the deciding vote against himself. Therefore, literally 'resigning' from office.

From Quiz Australia in 1970

Answer: 13, 000, 000

We had an estimated population of 12,663,469 in 1970. Rounded to the nearest million, that makes it 13,000,000.

From Quiz Ash Wednesday Bushfires

Answer: 16th Feb 1983

The fires were alight and finished in the short space of a day. They started in a number of ways: through the clashing of electric power lines, tree branches connecting with power lines, fires being deliberately lit, and through unknown causes.

From Quiz Australia in the 1990s

Answer: Stuart Diver

Eighteen people were killed when a landslide buried a staff ski lodge in the NSW alpine town of Thredbo. Stuart Diver became a household name after his miraculous rescue.

From Quiz Australian Scientific Inventions

Answer: rotary clothes line

The Hills Hoist clothes line as we know it, was developed by Lance Hill and his brother-in-law Harold Ling in 1946. Other products that they developed were the TV antennae and children's play equipment. However, the idea wasn't new. It was invented in the U.S. in 1890 but it was very expensive. An Australian patent was granted for the winding mechanism.

From Quiz When the Truth Came Out

Answer: Bloodstained baby clothing was found near Ayers Rock

On 24th August 1980, Wally Goodwin, an English tourist, found a bloodstained jumpsuit, booties, nappy & singlet in a gully near Uluru about 4km from the campsite. A matinee jacket was not found. Mr Goodwin reported the findings to the police which stepped up the investigation. Lindy and Michael Chamberlain were interviewed and treated as suspects.

From Quiz Australia's Sordid Past: 4

Answer: It was the first known kidnapping to take place in Australia that incorporated a ransom demand.

Graeme Thorne will sadly be remembered as the 8 year old boy that was kidnapped while on his way to school. His parents, Basil and Freda, had just won £100,000 in the Opera House lottery. Back in those days an amount of cash like that would be the equivalent of winning a million dollars in this day and age. The Thorne's fortunate win did not go unnoticed by Stephen Leslie Bradley. His devious mind hatched a plan to make an easy score of cash and that resulted in the kidnapping of little Graeme. Soon after the kidnapping Graeme's distraught parents got the phone call that every parent would dread, "I have got your boy, I want 25,000 pounds by five o'clock or I'll feed him to the sharks". A massive search for the child followed, but 5 weeks later his body was located. Evidence was collected and it was not long until detectives had pieced together the clues and were knocking on Bradley's door. Bradley was aware that the net was closing and had already fled the country. His freedom was short lived and he was arrested in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and an extradition order granted. He got a life sentence and died in gaol.

From Quiz Kids in Care in 20th Century Australia

Answer: 3,200

Children were sent to religious and charitable organisations in almost every state. Some were treated very well, some very badly.

From Quiz Australia in the Twentieth Century

Answer: Helen Mitchell

Dame Nellie Melba was the first Australian opera singer to achieve international fame and recognition as a classical soprano.

From Quiz 1975 - Australia

Answer: 'You Just Like Me Cos I'm Good in Bed'

This radio station was aimed at youth. It was Australia's first non-commercial 24 hour rock music radio station.

From Quiz Australia in 1975

Answer: Colour television

Colour television made its debut in March 1975. The ABC officially launched its colour TV broadcasting with a five minute special, "Aunty Jack Introduces Colour", which ran from 11:58am to 12:03pm on the 1st of March. One of the first commercial TV shows to be broadcast in full was "Sound Unlimited".

From Quiz Australia in 1974

Answer: Sister Janet Mead

Sister Janet Mead, an Adelaide nun, had a top ten-hit with a pop arrangement of "The Lord's Prayer" in Australia and in the U.S. in 1974. It was first Australian record to sell a million copies in America.

From Quiz Australia in 1973

Answer: Whiskey Au Go-Go

On 8th March 1973, fifteen people died in the fire-bombing of the Whisky Au Go-Go nightclub at Fortitude Valley. John Stuart and James Finch were convicted of arson and murder, and sentenced to life imprisonment. It is alleged they greased the handles on the fire escape door to prevent people escaping.

From Quiz Australia in 1972

Answer: "Number 96" premieres

1972 was indeed the year that "Number 96" begins its controversial five year run.

From Quiz Australia in 1971

Answer: Young Talent Time

"Young Talent Time" began its 18 year run in April, 1971.

From Quiz Australia in 1970

Answer: Cardinal Norman Gilroy

Cardinal Norman Gilroy was Australian Of The Year in 1970. Lord Richard Casey had that honour bestowed upon him in 1969 and Evonne Goolagong, in 1971. Barry Crocker won the Gold Logie in 1970.

From Quiz History of the Great Down Under

Answer: Alfred Deakin

Deakin was Prime Minister three times: 1903-1904, 1905-1908 and 1909-1910.

From Quiz Ash Wednesday Bushfires

Answer: 75%

Victoria had been in a drought for more than ten months. This meant that water supplies, such as dams were low.

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