Australians: Famous & Historical Trivia

1. This lady is recognised as the last full-blooded Aboriginal in Tasmania. What was her name?

From Quiz Born in Tasmania

Answer: Truganini

Truganini was born in Tasmania before it was known by that name, instead it was known as Van Diemen's Land. Her date of birth is estimated as 1812, and she passed away in 1876. She was from the Bruny tribe. Oodgeroo Noonuccal was known as Kathleen Walker (nee Ruska), and was a well-known author and teacher. She received an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire), which she returned in 1987 as a protest against treatment of Aboriginal people. Rosalie "Ngarla" Kunoth-Monks was known as the first indigenous leading actress, when she appeared in 'Jedda', in 1955. After her acting career, she returned to her home of Northern Territory as a political activist. Coleen Shirley Perry Smith (Mum Shirl), established the Aboriginal Housing Company in Redfern, an inner suburb of Sydney, along with several other Aboriginal services.

From Quiz Born in South Australia

Answer: Janine Haines

She led that party after the retirement of Don Chipp, who had founded the Australian Democrats Party in 1977. She died in 2004, aged only 59, and was given a State funeral in Adelaide. Natasha Stott Despoja also led the Democrats, in 2001-02. She resigned from the position because of internal dissent from other senior party members. Kristina Keneally was the first female to be State Premier of New South Wales, but she was born in Las Vegas, USA. Julia Gillard was the first female Prime Minister of Australia, and therefore leader of the Australian Labor Party, from 2010-13. She was born in Wales, but her family moved to Australia when she was a child.

From Quiz Born in Queensland, Australia

Answer: Pioneer aviation

He fought in WWI, serving at the ill-fated landing at Gallipoli, in Turkey, before joining the British Royal Flying Corps. Post-war, he continued his love of aviation in UK and USA, before returning to Australia. In 1928, Kingsford-Smith, known as Smithy, was the first to fly across the Pacific Ocean. He set several other records, before he disappeared in the Andaman Sea, off the coast of Burma. He has been honoured by having an electorate named after him, and the airport in Sydney is known as the Kingsford Smith International Airport. His plane, the Southern Cross, has pride of place at Brisbane Airport. Australia Post has issued stamps commemorating his life.

From Quiz Australians and their Achievements: Part 2

Answer: Sir Ernest "Weary" Dunlop

Ernest "Weary" Dunlop (1907-1993) was an Australian surgeon and an accomplished sportsman. He earned the nickname "Weary" because of his surname, "tired" like a Dunlop tyre. He became the first Victorian born player to play for the national rugby union team the Wallabies. He made his debut against the All-Blacks in Sydney in July 1932. His determination and exploits on the sporting field were superseded by his leadership as a POW during WWII. He joined the Australian Army Medical Corps in 1935, spent time in England and when WWII broke out served in the Middle East and Tobruk and then was shipped to Java, where he was captured in 1942 and became a POW and was sent to Changi Camp. He was then sent with other POW's to work on the Burma-Thailand Railway. It was here that he became a legend among his fellow prisoners, attending the sick, wounded and operating under extreme conditions with primitive instruments. Once returning to civilian life he devoted his time and energies to the welfare and health to former war veterans and their families. He was awarded the Knight Bachelor in 1969 and was voted Australian of the Year in 1976. Vivian Bullwinkel (1925-2000) was born in Kapunda, South Australia and was an Australia Army nurse during WWII. As an Australian Army Nurse she was sent to Singapore in 1941. When it was eminent that the Japanese were going to take Singapore she left by boat, but the boat was sunk by Japanese aircraft. Many of the survivors were able to make it to Bangka Island(Dutch East Indies but now Indonesia) but when discovered by the Japanese the men were executed and the 22 nurses were told to wade into the water at Radji Beach, where they were machine gunned down by the soldiers. Although Bullwinkel was wounded, she feigned death and was the only nurse to survive. She spent a number of days in the jungle but was then discovered and sent to a POW camp. She was a prisoner until the end of the war and it is believed that all the nurses on the beach were raped before being gunned down. At the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal in 1946, it is believed that Vivian Bullwinkel was "gagged" by the Australian Government not to mention anything about the raping.. The execution event on the Beach is now known as "the Bangka Island massacre". She retired from the Army in 1947 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. She continued in nursing and later became the President of the Australian College of Nursing. Albert Jacka (1893-1932) was the first Australian to be awarded the Victoria Cross during WWI. It is the British and Commonwealth's highest decoration for bravery "in the face of the enemy". Sir John Monash (1865-1931) was a civil engineer and a military commander during WWI. He was a great strategist and devised many successful campaigns during the conflict. He was knighted by King George V on the battlefield in August 1918. It was the first time in 200 years that a British monarch had honored a commander on the battlefield. Monash University in Melbourne is named in his honour.

From Quiz Australians and their Achievements: Part 1

Answer: Bill Woodfull

William "Bill" Maldon Woodfull (1897-1965) captained the Australian cricket team against England in the famed bodyline series of 1932-33 when both nations nearly came to cancelling diplomatic relations. Bill was a mathematics teacher and became Headmaster of Melbourne High School. He was asked to captain the Australian side to England for the 1934 tour as more of a goodwill tour after the tumultuous bodyline series, which he accepted reluctantly. It was while on this tour that he was offered a knighthood for services to cricket. He turned the offer down as he would have accepted the offer if it had of been for services to education which he considered more important than cricket. Don Bradman(1980-2001) is considered the greatest batsman internationally to have ever graced a cricket field. He was the first Australian cricketer to be knighted in 1949. He was a national hero during the Depression era of the 1930s and his test career spanned 1928-1948. He finished his career with a batting average of 99,94 which is still to this day over 30,00 runs ahead of number two. Richie Benaud (1930-2015) is considered one of Australia's greatest test captains. Not only did he have a distinguished playing career but post cricket he became one of the best commentstors on radio and television on his sport. Warwick Armstrong ((1879-1947) captained Australia in 10 test matches between 1920-21. He captained the first Australian Team to whitewash England 5-0 in 1920-21. The next whitewash against England occurred in 2006-7 lead by Ricky Ponting. Warwick Armstrong was a huge man at 6ft 3ins(1,9m) tall and 21 stone (133kg) and earned the nickname the "Big Ship". He was the first of only two players to have bowled consecutive overs in a test match. He achieved this feat at Old Trafford in 1921.

From Quiz Famous Aussies on the World Stage

Answer: Ian Thorpe

Ian Thorpe, affectionately dubbed 'The Thorpedo' due to his amazing speed through the water, was born in 1982. A large child, and swimming with his head out of the water due to a chlorine allergy, Thorpe won his first race at the age of 7. Although missing Olympic Selection for Atlanta in 1996 at the age of 13, Thorpe was already making a name for himself in Australian swimming. Over the next four years leading up to Sydney 2000, he won numerous national titles with record breaking swims. He debuted for Australia in the 1997 Pan-Pacific Games. His career peaked over the period 1998-2004 when he won three gold medals at the Sydney Olympics and another two at Athens in 2004. He also set world records in several events and won 32 Commonwealth Games, Pan-Pacific and World Championship gold medals in his favorite events, the 100, 200, 400 and 800 m freestyle and anchored Australia to many relay gold medals as well. He retired after Athens. He attempted two comebacks, the first in 2005-6 and then again trying to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics. Both were unsuccessful.

From Quiz Underwhelming Australians

Answer: His shoe

Surprising others on the podium, Ricciardo who finished second in the 2016 Grand Prix race in Hockenheim Germany poured the champagne into his raceboot and proceeded to drink it. Afterwards when asked why, he commented "It's an Australian thing. It's called a 'shoey'". Good one Dan!

From Quiz Better Drowned Than Duffers

Answer: Stealing two pigs

John "Red" Kelly was born in Tipperary, Ireland in 1820. He was transported to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in 1841 for stealing two pigs and was released in 1848. At the age of 30, he married the daughter of his employer, farmer James Quinn for whom he worked as a bush carpenter. He had achieved a certain notoriety as a duffer (cattle rustler). Ellen Quinn bore him eight children, of which Ned was the third.

From Quiz Salt of the Earth

Answer: Victor Chang

Dr Victor Chang was a pioneer in heart transplant surgery and the development of an artificial heart valve. He was instrumental in setting up the National Heart Transplant Programme in Australia. he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1986, and after his death in 1991 The Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institutes was established in 1993. The murder of Dr Chang was one that shocked Australia especially when it was revealed it was an extortion attempt.

From Quiz Born in New South Wales

Answer: Norfolk Island

'The Thorn Birds' was a saga about an Irish family living in outback Australia and was made into a television mini-series in 1983. Norfolk island is an island at the northern end of the Tasman Sea, equidistant from the east coast of Australia and the northern tip of New Zealand. It is an Australian territory, and MacCullough was probably the most famous resident.

From Quiz Aussie Achievers

Answer: Bob Jane

Born Robert Frederick "Bob" Jane in 1929, this Brunswick (Victoria) entrepreneur started in the 1950s with a company distributing parts for Jaguar and Alfa Romeo which he called Bob Jane Autoland. He also entered competitive car racing and had some impressive wins in the Armstrong 500 (later known as the Bathurst 1000) before an ongoing back problem caused him to retire from competitive motor racing in 1981 and pour all of his energy into expanding his chain of tyre retailers, Bob Jane T-Marts.

From Quiz Sheila Be Right, Mate!

Answer: She challenged the sitting Prime Minister for leadership of their party

Gillard was popular as Deputy Prime Minister in the first Rudd government, but the instability within the government that culminated in her assumption of the top job was controversial, to say the least. Leaving those divisive questions aside, there can be no disputing that Australia's first female Prime Minister had an eventful three years in the job. Julia Gillard led her party to the 2010 election and emerged with a minority government, which managed to shepherd significant legislative reforms including maternity leave, carbon pricing and a national disability insurance scheme through a hostile parliament.

From Quiz Explorers of Australia

Answer: Named Australia's highest mountian

Interestingly, Pawel Strzelecki arrived in Australia on what would later become an extremely important historic date - 25 April (ANZAC day). Strzelecki explored Gippsland (to the east of Melbourne), Tasmania and named Mt Kosciuszko after the Polish national hero, Tadeusz Kosciuszko (1746-1817).

From Quiz Beach Party with Australians!

Answer: Rolf Harris

Rolf Harris was born in Perth on 30th March 1930. His move to England in 1952 bought a host of opportunities his way, including television shows and chart success with his songs "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport", "Jake the Peg" and "Sun Arise". He bought us the wobble board, a piece of hardboard with enough flexibility that would make it "whoop-whoop" when flicked with both hands.

From Quiz Australian Inventions Number Two

Answer: Surf ski

The humble little surf ski originated from the need to have a flotation device that would be easier to manoeuvre in the waters of the family's oyster farm, rather than the small boats they were then using. From that it was a logical progression to begin using the surf ski for enjoyment in the beautiful waters around Port Macquarie.

From Quiz Australian Inventions

Answer: Pre-paid postage

The gentleman in question was one James Raymond. He came up with the idea of pre-stamping sheets of paper which could then be used as envelopes, thus eliminating the need for extra envelopes and stamps in the one hit.

From Quiz People of the 20th Century (Australia)

Answer: Charles Kingsford Smith

Charles Kingsford Smith, or Smithy, as he was affectionately known to Australians, flew from Sydney to San Francisco in a single engine plane with a navigator and became the first man to cross the Pacific by plane.

From Quiz Strictly For Senior Citizens

Answer: Gough Whitlam

These are all former Prime Ministers. Edward Gough Whitlam (21st) is best remembered for his party's 'It's Time' slogan in 1973, when his Labour Party ousted Billy McMahon's Liberals. He was in turn dismissed by then Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, in 1975. Billy McMahon (23 February 1908 - 31 March 1988) was the 20th Prime Minister. John Howard (born 26 July 1939) was the 25th PM. Harold Holt (5 August 1908 - 17 December 1967) was PM number 17, disappearing and presumed drowned in 1967.

From Quiz Australia's Got Talent

Answer: Rolf Harris

Rolf Harris was born on 30th March 1930 in Perth, Western Australia. His entertainment career took off when he moved to England. "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport" (1960) was one of his hit singles. Others included "Two Little Boys" (1969), "Jake the Peg" (1965) and "Stairway To Heaven" (1993). On his entertainment shows, he was noted for seemingly making up paintings as he went along, telling stories all the time. (In reality he was tracing on a screen over a pre-made painting that he could see, but the TV cameras did not pick up). For an such an apparently 'unhip' performer, he became a sensation at the Glastonbury music festivals in 2009 and 2010 among young people not even born when he was at his prime.

From Quiz Australian Scientists

Answer: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

The CSIRO had its beginnings in World War I and became the CSIRO in 1949. There are 15 major fields of research including mining, health, communications and astronomy. One of the major inventions credited to CSIRO is the polymer bank note which is now used in many countries around the world. They are fabulous as you can wash them by mistake and they won't disintegrate!

From Quiz Admirable Antipodeans

Answer: Donald Bradman

Although Donald Bradman was not born in South Australia, he moved there in 1934 and lived and worked in Adelaide until his death in 2001. He donated to the State Library of South Australia his memorabilia, including bats, balls trophies, and all his personal newspaper cuttings and other archival material. The papers have been put into 52 books and can be accessed by the public at the Library. A special Bradman Museum has been built at the Adelaide Oval to house the other items.

From Quiz Inspirational Australian Women

Answer: Leanne Tander

Leanne Tander, wife of Garth, started competing in motorsport in 1993 with karts then progressing to Formula Ford in 1998. She started competing in V8 Supercar racing in 2001 with Garry Rogers Motorsport then moved between Improved Production racing, the Australian Production Car Championship and Australian Formula three before getting back into a V8 Supercar in 2009 for Team McGrath. The Team McGrath car was sponsored by the McGrath Foundation, an Australian foundation set up to support women suffering from breast cancer, and their families. Leanne finished first in both the Victorian Improved Production Car Championship and New South Wales Improved Production Car Championship in 2005 and second in the Australian Drivers Championship in 2007 and 2008. Natalie Lowndes, Deborah Bargwanna, Renee Winterbottom are all wives of Australian V8 Supercar drivers but none actually race themselves.

From Quiz Famous Novocastrians

Answer: Mikey Robins

Mikey Robins was born in Newcastle on 8th December, 1961. Mikey Robins rose to fame after a successful seven-year stint on the radio station Triple J. He has appeared on such T.V. shows as "Live and Sweaty", "Mcfeast" and "Australian's Brainiest Comedian", which saw him eventually win $20,000 for his chosen charity NSW Autism Association.

From Quiz Help! I've Forgotten Who I Am!

Answer: Slim Dusty

Slim Dusty had a career in Australian country music spanning over 50 years. His real name was David Kirkpatrick. Slim was born in 1927, and died in 2003, and had the distinction of being the first Australian to receive a Gold Record.

From Quiz Amazing Australians

Answer: Winston

John Winston Howard was the 25th and second longest serving Australian prime minister. He served in Parliament for 22 years before becoming PM on 11th March 1996. His government lost office on 3rd December 2007; and he lost his own parliamentary seat of Bennelong, to become the second prime minister to lose his seat in parliament (the first was Stanley Bruce, on 12th October 1929).

From Quiz Australian Firsts

Answer: Carol Martin

Carol Martin was elected as member for the seat of Kimberley in Western Australia in 2000. Carol is a qualified Social Worker. Clare Martin was the Chief Minister in the Nothern Territory until 2007, and Dame Enid Lyons was one of the first women elected to Federal Parliament. Edith Cowan was the first woman elected to the West Australian Parliament.

From Quiz Aussies Making Headlines In The 1960s

Answer: Johnny O'Keefe

Johnny O'Keefe was also known as JOK and he hosted Six O'clock Rock which was first broadcast in 1959 on the ABC. He had many hit singles in the 1960s including 'She's My Baby', 'She Wears my Ring' and 'I'm Counting on You'. In 1960 he was involved in a serious car accident near Kempsey NSW. He died of barbiturate poisoning in 1978.

From Quiz More Australian Authors

Answer: Glenda Adams

Glenda Adams was an author and writing teacher. She left Australia in 1964 to study at Columbia University in New York and had short stories published in 'Ms magazine', 'Harper's', 'The Village Voice' and 'Transatlantic Review'. She returned to Australia and became a full-time teacher at the University of Technology in Sydney in 1990, but returned to New York regularly to be with her daughter. Not a prolific writer, she nevertheless made a valuable contribution to Australian writing through her teaching, and is described by many as being a 'writer's writer' who understood the creative process. Source: Sydney Morning Herald Obituary 18th July 2007.

From Quiz Australian Authors

Answer: Patrick White

Patrick White won the 1973 Nobel Prize for Literature. He was a prolific short story writer as well as a novelist, and his most famous books would probably be 'The Tree of Man' (1955) and 'Voss' (1957).

From Quiz Famous Queenslanders

Answer: Joh Bjelke-Petersen

Johannes Bjelke-Petersen was born in 1911 in Dannevirk, New Zealand. His family moved to Australia in 1913. He was elected to State Parliament in 1946 and was the Premier of Queensland from 1968 to 1987. He was knighted by the Queen in 1984 for 'services to commerce and finance'. A controversial figure, he was noted for his unorthodox, and some would argue, dubious, ways of getting things done. His political career essentially unravelled as a result of the Fitzgerald Enquiry into "Illegal Activities and Police Misconduct". He faced trial in 1991 on a charge of committing perjury at the enquiry, but the trial jury was deadlocked and failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Famed for his colourful turns of phrase, Sir Joh referred to press conferences as "Feeding the chooks", and when asked to explain issues that were of concern to others, he would frequently reply "Don't you worry about that", a phrase which in Queensland, has become metaphoric for saying "I don't intend to tell you, lest you find out!" Sir Joh was once quoted as saying "The greatest thing that could happen to the state and the nation is when we get rid of all the media. Then we could live in peace and tranquillity, and no one would know anything." Much as this author has issues with the conduct of the media, I have much greater issues with politicians who want them to know nothing! Sir Joh died in April 2005, aged 94. Of the other choices, Jorn Utzon was the Danish architect who designed the Sydney Opera House. Michael Laudrup is a Danish footballer who has played for Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid. He represented Denmark at two World Cup finals and three European Championship finals (winning in 1992). Anton Sorensen was my Danish-born grandfather on my mother's side. He died in 1974.

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