Australian History Trivia

1. The Cranebrook Terraces, which are home to the oldest archeological findings in the Sydney area, is located in which Sydney suburb?

From Quiz History of Sydney

Answer: Penrith

Penrith in Western Sydney is home to the oldest known archeological finds in the area. With artifacts dating back possibly 50,000 years, Penrith is believed to be the oldest known Aboriginal settlement in the area. When the British arrived, what is now Penrith was home to several thousand Mulgoa people, almost all of whom died from smallpox within a year. Unlike in other areas of Australia, there is no written documentation of any tension between the British and the Mulgoa.

From Quiz Aboriginal History

Answer: They migrated from Africa to southern Asia and then further south to Oceania.

Humans migrated from Africa to Asia around 60,000 years ago. From there, they travelled south through Asia and down to Papua New Guinea and Australia roughly 50,000 years ago. A 55,000-year-old rock shelter is one of the oldest known examples of early human settlement in the Northern Territory. At the time, sea levels were lower so there were more land bridges between Asia and Australia, but the early settlers would still have had to use watercraft to cross some areas.

From Quiz Going to Australia

Answer: 40,000-75,000 years ago

The exact date that the ancestors of the aboriginal people arrived in Australia is not known but there is a consensus that it was somewhere between 40-75,000 years ago when sea levels were lower and there was a land bridge between New Guinea and Australia. There is further evidence that the Aborigines reached southern Western Australia and Tasmania (also connected by land bridge to the Australian mainland) at least 30,000 years ago. Whilst there were distinct aboriginal nations within the Australian land mass, Aborigines did not have a name for Australia. They referred to the land and "Country" but no name. Today when visitors come to Australia they will be greeted with "Welcome to Country". This is out of respect for the first owners of Australia, and further, it is now customary to start any public meeting with an acknowledgement of the name of the aboriginal nation that occupied the land the meeting is held on and pay respects to the Aboriginal group and its past present and future elders. Note the Maori first inhabited what was to become New Zealand between 1250 and 1300, much later than the Aboriginal habitation of Australia.

From Quiz From Ashes to Agriculture

Answer: Merino

Australia is the largest wool producing nation in the world and the strength and reputation of its industry can be attributed to the work and foresight of John and Elizabeth Macarthur who purchased their first flock of Spanish merino sheep in 1796. Previously the fibre being produced by Australian sheep had been very coarse and of low quality. The Macarthurs were very impressed with the thick, fine, fleece that the merinos could produce, and the bonus was that they were able to adapt to and thrive in Australia's hot conditions. The best move that they made was to refuse to crossbreed these merinos, a practice other farmers happily engaged in. The advantage they gained in doing so arrived with the Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800s and with it came a skyrocketing demand for wool. The high quality of wool that John & Elizabeth produced fetched a premium price and made them extremely wealthy. Nowadays there are four basic strains of merino raised in Australia, the Peppin being the most important, the South Australian, the Saxon and, though their numbers have now reduced significantly, the Spanish merino. Breeding and selection continue to be the foundations of Australian merino and, to this end, DNA testing, embryo transfers and artificial insemination are now standard procedures for Australian breeders.

From Quiz More Noteworthy Australians

Answer: Parliament House

The new notes are vastly superior to the old paper money for several reasons. They are a lot more rugged: the lifespan of a paper $1 bill was only a few weeks, compared to ten years or more for the plastic notes. They also have many inbuilt anti-counterfeit measures, such as miniscule background words and pictures, watermarks, images in transparent windows, and more.

From Quiz Australian Republicanism

Answer: Changing the Constitution to replace the British sovereign with an Australian head of state, chosen by Australians

Australians support republicanism for a range of reasons. Some object to the English monarchy specifically for historical or cultural reasons, or because of its preference for males and exclusion of Catholics. Others feel that all hereditary models are out-of-date and result in a head of state who is not accountable to the population. Parts of the community have advocated republicanism since the early days of colonial settlement. The Australian Republican Association was formed late in the 19th century. However, as political efforts focused on forming and stabilising the Australian federation the issue faded from public attention.

From Quiz Australian History: People and Places

Answer: Lachlan Macquarie

William Cox built his road over the Blue Mountains in 1814. Lachlan Macquarie was Governor from 1810 till 1821.

From Quiz Eltham: Gateway to Melbourne's Green Wedge

Answer: Wurundjeri people

Along with the Wathaurong people, these groups made up the Kulin nation occupying the area in which Melbourne was established. According to the Nillumbik Shire Council, "a number of archaeological sites remain as evidence of Aboriginal custodianship of much land within the Shire, and the Wurundjeri are recorded as having co-existed with the early white squatters and selectors."

From Quiz Like Coals to Newcastle

Answer: 1801

Newcastle was first founded in June 1801. The settlement was abandoned in 1802 and re-established in 1804.

From Quiz A Short History of Western Australia

Answer: 40,000 - 60,000 years ago

Anthropologists and archeologists estimate that the first Australians arrived around 50,000 years ago.

From Quiz Australia's Sordid Past: 1

Answer: Three attempts to hang him were all unsuccessful.

He was sentenced to death for the murder of a policeman. Samuels was dubbed "The Man They Couldn't Hang". Three attempts were made to hang him. Attempt one - The rope snapped. Attempt two - A new rope was attached and as the cart moved off the rope unravelled causing Samuels to fall to the ground. Attempt three - The noose was remade and attached. Third time lucky, for Samuels, the rope snapped again! Fearing a riot, the Governor was requested to attend, and Samuels was granted a reprieve as it was thought that there had been some sort of divine intervention.

From Quiz Australia of Yesteryear

Answer: Dutch

The first recorded sighting of Australia by a European was in 1606 by Willem Janszoon who was captain of the Dutch ship Duyfken. They landed in Cape York but were attacked by Aborigines and left without exploring further. The second sighting was also by the Dutch when Dirk Hartog landed in Western Australia in 1616. Many Dutch ships explored the north coast between 1623 and 1636 and named the area Arnhem Land (which is still used today). Another Dutchman, Abel Tasman, was the first to sight Tasmania in 1642. He named it Van Diemen's Land and claimed it for the Netherlands. Tasman was also responsible for naming Australia 'Nova Hollandia' (New Holland) and it kept this name for 180 years. The first Englishman to see Australia was William Dampier in 1688. He also explored the north west coast and is the first to report the strange large 'hopping' animals on the land. Portuguese seafarer Christopher de Mendonca probably led a fleet of four ships into Botany Bay in 1522, according to 16th century hand-drawn maritime maps of the entire east coast, which describes the land as "Terra Java" (believed to have been drawn by Mendonca).

From Quiz Australian History: A Few Facts

Answer: Port Jackson

The First Fleet were sent to Australia with Captain James Cook's recommendation of Botany Bay, as the ideal place for a settlement. They arrived on 18th to 30th January 1788. However, on closer inspection Port Jackson was chosen as the better setting.

From Quiz All About Australia!

Answer: Steve Bracks

Steve Bracks was the 44th Premier of Victoria and served for three terms.

From Quiz Australian Disasters

Answer: Arson

In March, 1973, the Whiskey Au Go-Go nightclub was deliberately set alight, the ensuing fire killed 15 people.

From Quiz Australian History

Answer: Alfred Deakin

Australia's first prime minister was Edmund Barton, who served one term from the time of federation - 1901 to 1903. His friend, Alfred Deakin, served as the first Attorney General and later became the second prime minister, serving three consecutive terms - 1903-4, 1905-8 and 1909-10. Deakin University in Victoria is named after him.

From Quiz I Love a Sunburnt Country

Answer: 1981

Now available both in hardback and online, this book has become the authoritative reference for Australian English. An initiative that took more than 10 years to come to fruition, the Macquarie Dictionary was developed primarily by a working group led by Professor Arthur Delbridge from the newly established Macquarie University. Academics from across the nation's biggest universities contributed to the project and lexicographer Susan Butler was the chief editor at the time of its first publication. It provides a timeline of the development of the language in Australia, including the 'flash' language spoken by convicts, the influence of those who rushed to Australia for gold, the more refined tones of those who made up the governing class at the time of the country's founding, and the integration of words from local indigenous groups.

From Quiz History of Sydney

Answer: Sting Ray Harbour

James Cook and his crew aboard the HMS Endeavour first landed in Sydney on April 29, 1770. Cook originally called the area Sting Ray Harbour because there was an abundance of stingrays there. The name was quickly changed to Botany Bay because botanist Joseph Banks, who was with Cook, was amazed at the unusual and (at the time) unknown species of plants that littered the area. Cook declared possession of the area for the British Crown. The British control over Sydney was solidified by the arrival of the First Fleet in January 1788 and the issuing of a charter to Captain Phillip to colonize the area.

From Quiz History of Brisbane

Answer: Matthew Flinders

Matthew Flinders was exploring the Australian coastline aboard the Norfolk when he landed at Woody Pointe just north of what is now Brisbane and explored Moreton Bay. He named many of the places in and around Brisbane such as Redcliffe. In addition to his arrival in Brisbane, Flinders is best known for giving Australia its name and for being the first person to declare it a separate continent.

From Quiz Aboriginal History

Answer: The Mungo Lady and the Mungo Man

The Mungo Lady and the Mungo Man were both ritually buried around 40,000 years ago in a dried up lake bed. The Mungo Lady was cremated first and then her bones were crushed. She was then burned again and buried. When she was discovered in the 20th century, the Mungo Lady was the oldest known ritual burial in Australia. The Mungo Man was found nearby. He was also ritually buried, but in a different way. He was buried on his back with his hands crossed in his lap. His body was also covered in red ochre, which had been brought from hundreds of kilometres away. The traditions of burial and cremation continued for thousands of years. When British settlers arrived in New South Wales, they noted that the Aboriginal people mainly buried or cremated their dead.

From Quiz Events in Australian History

Answer: Willem Janszoon

Willem Janszoon arrived in Australia at the Pennefather River near the location where the town of Weipa, Queensland now stands. Originally, Janszoon believed he was actually in a previously unencountered part of New Guinea. He mapped part of the coastline but found the swampy terrain difficult to cross. Janszoon also had trouble dealing with the native Aboriginal people who killed several of his men forcing him and the remainder of his crew to leave in June 1606.

From Quiz A Chinese-Checkered History

Answer: Gold

Edward Hargraves, who had been in the California gold fields, submitted a sample of the mineral he found near the NSW town of Orange. Upon confirmation by the Colonial Geologist that it was indeed gold, Australia became the 'New Gold Mountain' - the name written in Chinese on the banknotes of the Commercial Bank of Australia.

From Quiz From Ashes to Agriculture

Answer: A shearing machine

Wolseley may not have produced the first shearing apparatus but his was the first to use it commercially and successfully. It helped to modernise the wool industry. His primary aim was to create a machine that would remove the whole fleece rather than the small pieces that were being cut by using blade shears. This would have the effect of doubling and, in some cases, tripling the value of the wool. Fred's initial experiments began in 1868 and he secured a number of patents for his initial devices. Whilst they all worked well he still couldn't set it to remove the fleece as a single unit. By 1886 he created a model with a "cog-gear universal" that worked to his satisfaction. He pitted a local shearing champion, Dave Brown armed with blade shears, against a young man from Sudan, Hassan Ali, using the new unit. Wolseley's machine proved to be superior on so many levels and, after adopting some suggestions from local shearers, he immediately began manufacturing and establishing a successful business venture.

From Quiz More Noteworthy Australians

Answer: Poet

Banjo Paterson may have worked as all the options listed but Dame Mary Gilmore was a poet and a journalist. She was a champion of the workers and the oppressed. While she was inspired mostly by Henry Lawson, it was A. G. Stephens, literary editor of "The Bulletin", who published her verse and established her reputation as a feisty radical poet. Gilmore's first volume of poetry was published in 1910 but in 1908 she became women's editor of "The Worker", the newspaper of Australia's largest (at the time) and most powerful trade union, the Australian Workers' Union (AWU). She was the union's first woman member. "The Worker" gave her a voice for her journalism, in which she campaigned for better working conditions for working women, for children's welfare and for better conditions for the indigenous Australians. During World War II she wrote stirring patriotic verse such as "No Foe Shall Gather Our Harvest". The Australian $10 note, featuring her portrait also includes an illustration inspired by "No Foe Shall Gather Our Harvest" and, as part of the clear window featured on all Australian banknotes (copy-protection micro-print), the text of the poem itself. Besides the banknote, Dame Mary Gilmore is honoured by an Australian postage stamp and a Canberra suburb is named after her. Submitted by 1nn1 who was old enough to remember the introduction of decimal currency (just!) but not old enough to meet Dame Mary Gilmore.

From Quiz Noteworthy Australians: Their Place in History

Answer: The artwork was used without the artist's knowledge

The image depicts the mortuary feast of the ancestral hunter Gurrmirringu. The artist was David Malangi. The reproduction on the $1 note was done originally without his knowledge, but acknowledged in 1967 with the release of the Australian five dollar note. He was later financially compensated after the Governor of the Reserve Bank intervened. Question submitted by 1nn1

From Quiz Australian History: People and Places

Answer: Robert Menzies

Prime Minister Menzies made Australia's declaration of war on Germany 3rd September 1939: Fellow Australians, it is my melancholy duty to inform you officially, that in consequence of a persistence by Germany in her invasion of Poland, Great Britain has declared war upon her and that, as a result, Australia is also at war. No harder task can fall to the lot of a democratic leader than to make such an announcement.

From Quiz Great Bloopers of Australian History

Answer: Rabbits

Rabbits were brought to Australia by the First Fleet in 1788 to provide food. Once released into the wild by Victorian grazier Thomas Austin in 1859, they bred like - well, you know. Millions of rabbits later, widespread damage was done to habitats, wildlife, and crops (due to soil erosion, competition, and ravenous hunger). The Myxomatosis virus, introduced into wild rabbit populations after 1950, dramatically reduced their numbers. Some say that Thomas Austin should have been released into the wild to provide "a spot of hunting"!

From Quiz Eltham: Gateway to Melbourne's Green Wedge

Answer: timber cutting

Timber cutting was the first industry in the area, but it was the discovery of gold nearby that led to major growth during the second half of the 19th century. Viticulture was established by early settlers as a minor local industry, and vineyards in the northern part of Eltham and the nearby Yarra Valley are a growth industry in the 21st century.

From Quiz Like Coals to Newcastle

Answer: As a harsh penal settlement for the worst convict offenders

Newcastle was founded as a place for the re-offenders, the 'worst of the worst' that had been sent to Australia from the United Kingdom. They were put to work mining coal and exporting lime for building projects in Sydney.

From Quiz A Short History of Western Australia

Answer: Dutch

In 1616 Dirk Hartog, a Dutch explorer, sailed the west coast of the continent and landed north of Shark Bay. Hartog left a pewter plate which is now on display in a Dutch museum. The first undisputed sighting of Australia by a European was made in early 1606 on the east coast of the continent by another Dutch vessel, Duyfken, captained by Willem Janszoon. He landed on the west coast of Cape York peninsula.

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