New Zealanders: Famous & Historical Trivia

1. JRR Tolkien's shire in middle earth is home to the hobbits and, for the movie trilogy, Peter Jackson had Hobbiton built. Where in New Zealand would you find Hobbiton?

From Quiz A Number Eight Wire

Answer: A family farm in Waikato

With the hobbits building their homes in holes in the side of hills, Jackson needed a special place for the set of Hobbiton. He found it on the Alexander family sheep and cattle farm on rolling grassland near Hinuera. The hobbit house facades were created in several sizes and constructed of plywood, so they could be dismantled after filming. Also built were the mill and the double arch bridge. in 2010, the facades were rebuilt permanently and the area is now a tourist attraction with guided tours. There is also a Shire's Rest Cafe and a replica of the Green Dragon inn. Phoenix Rising's Red Crew members jaknginger and leith90 explored Hobbiton for this question, and while jaknginger found the little shire fascinating, leith90 preferred the Green Dragon inn.

From Quiz Famous New Zealanders

Answer: Complete a university degree

Ngata actually gained two degrees, and he was the first New Zealander to do that--Maori or Pakeha. He was also a member of Parliament for a number of years. He was the third Maori to be knighted.

From Quiz Kiwis! Kiwis! Kiwis!

Answer: Opera singing

Operatic soprano Kiri Te Kanawa was born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron in 1944, but was adopted as a baby by Thomas and Nell Te Kanawa. After coming to England in 1966, she played small roles at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, before attracting international acclaim in 1971 for performances as the Countess in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" at Santa Fe, Covent Garden and elsewhere. In 1981 she sang at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, which brought her to wider notice, and the following year she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

From Quiz When the Kiwis Storm Your Doorstep

Answer: Peter Jackson

Sir Peter Jackson (designated a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2002) is probably best known for his films based on the work of Tolkien, starting with the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy. The films involved extensive filming on location in New Zealand, and visits to the film locations are a popular offering for tourists. Like Alfred Hitchcock, Jackson has made a cameo appearance in every film he has directed (through 2012): in 'The Fellowship of the Ring', he was a citizen of Bree; in 'The Two Towers' he was one of the defenders of Helm's Deep; in 'The Return of the King' he is one of the crew members in the fleet that Aragorn leads to join the final battle. Jane Campion was the first female director to receive a Palm d'Or at Cannes, for her 1993 film 'The Piano'. Andrew Adamson may be best known to international audiences as the director of 'Shrek', 'Shrek 2' and 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'. Lee Tamahori is renowned in the antipodes for directing the powerful film 'Once Were Warriors', but residents of the northern hemisphere may more readily recognize his work in the 2003 James Bond movie 'Die Another Day'.

From Quiz Famous New Zealanders (2)

Answer: Minister of Native Affairs

A key, and sometimes controversial, campaigner and worker for land reforms, Ngata was the first Maori to complete a university degree. He first entered parliament in 1905 where he remained until 1943.

From Quiz Famous New Zealanders

Answer: Sir Edmund Hillary

On May 29, 1953, he and the Nepalese Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay, were the first people to set foot on the summit of Everest, the highest point on earth.

From Quiz Famous New Zealanders (1)

Answer: Securing the vote for women.

New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote at national level - in 1893. Sheppard appears on the NZ $10 note.

From Quiz A Few Talented Kiwis

Answer: Melanie Lynskey

Melanie played the role of Pauline Parker, and was the first person to ever kiss Kate Winslet in a film.

From Quiz Notable New Zealanders

Answer: Richard Pearse

Richard Pearse worked alone on his South Island farm. He designed, financed and built his aircraft unaided. He taught himself by reading magazines and his innate understanding of engineering enabled him to design features that were introduced into aircraft decades later.

From Quiz Cashed Up Kiwis

Answer: Queen Elizabeth II's coronation

Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne on 6 February 1952, after the death of her father King George VI. Her coronation took place on 2 June 1953, which was the day a London newspaper had a scoop when it broke the news of the conquest of Everest by Hillary and Tenzing. The press called the achievement a coronation gift. Hillary had only reached Kathmandu on his return journey when he heard he had been made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and Tenzing received a George Cross from the UK (he could not be knighted because he was not a British subject). However, he also received the Star of Nepal from King Tribhuvan. This question was submitted by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1, who was in peak form writing it.

From Quiz A Number Eight Wire

Answer: Spiral Hairpin

Godward led an interesting life, running away to sea at a young age. He eventually settled down in New Zealand and started several firms. His inventions included a new type of eggbeater and a hedge trimmer. In 1902 he invented a spiral hair pin which became very popular and he then sold the rights to an American company. Godward was best known for improving carburettors for combustion engines, a device he called the Eclipse Petrol Economiser. This question was invented by player pusdoc for Red Crew's participation in the Phoenix Rising Global Tour 2022.

From Quiz Famous New Zealanders

Answer: Marc Ellis

In the 1995 match against Japan, Ellis scored six tries. The final result of the game was 145 - 17 to the All Blacks.

From Quiz All About Kiwis

Answer: At 17 years and 9 months old, she became the youngest ever professional golfer of either gender to be ranked No. 1 in the world

Lydia Coe was only 5 years old when she began playing golf - and was just 14 when she won her first open tour event in Australia as an amateur. She turned professional in late 2013, and became No.1 Professional Woman Player within 18 months.

From Quiz Famous New Zealanders (2)

Answer: Michael King

Writer of the best-seller, "The Penguin History of New Zealand", King was tragically killed in a car crash in Maramarua, one of New Zealand's most fatal road spots.

From Quiz Famous New Zealanders

Answer: Katherine Mansfield

'I was jealous of her writing. The only writing I have ever been jealous of.' - Virginia Woolf. Some of Mansfield's well known stories include "The Garden Party" and "The Doll's House".

From Quiz Famous New Zealanders (1)

Answer: Chemistry.

One of NZ's most famous sons, it is Rutherford who is credited for splitting the atom. Although he spent most of his life in Canada and the UK he was always quick to point out that he was a proud New Zealander.

From Quiz A Few Talented Kiwis

Answer: Bob Charles

It was The Houston Classic at Memorial Park. Later that year he won the British Open.

From Quiz Notable New Zealanders

Answer: Sir Edmund Hillary

Sir Edmund Hillary went on many subsequent adventures, as well as returning to Nepal to work on many projects for the Sherpa people. Maurice Shadbolt was a Kiwi author and Peter Hillary is Sir Edmund's son. Sir Walter Nash was a Prime Minister.

From Quiz A Number Eight Wire

Answer: Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge, Queenstown, NZ

The origins of the modern bungee jumping arise from the cultural rite of passage of land diving on Pentecost Island, Vanuatu. From there is spread to England and America and across the globe. Mr Hackett took his first plunge in Auckland, NZ at the Upper Harbour Bridge and this gave him the idea and motivation to create the A J Hackett Bungy company in Queenstown, NZ. His first commercial platform site was in Queenstown, NZ at the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge. He has commercial bungy jump sites worldwide and has been recognized for bring adventure tourism to New Zealand. Bungy is also spelled and recognized as bungee. Jaknginger remembers when Mr Hackett was arrested for illegally jumping from the Eiffel Tower in 1987.

From Quiz Famous New Zealanders

Answer: Sir Edmund Hillary

New Zealand mountaineer Hillary's expedition was the first to reach the summit of Everest. There had been several attempts, but no team had ever managed to reach the top. Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were the first climbers to get to the top of Everest.

From Quiz All About Kiwis

Answer: 37 years and 3 months

Jacinda is New Zealand's third elected female Prime Minister following Jenny Shipley in 1997, and Helen Clark in 1999. She is New Zealand's youngest Prime Minister in 150 years.

From Quiz Kiwis! Kiwis! Kiwis!

Answer: Comedian

Born in 1948, Billy T. James's real name was William James Te Wehi Taitoko. After starting his career as a member of the cabaret band "Maori Volcanics Showband", he came to national notice in the 1980s with his comedy sketch show "The Billy T. James Show" on TV New Zealand. His most famous character was the presenter of "Te News", usually seen wearing a black singlet and yellow towel over his shoulders. Sadly, he died of heart failure in 1991 at the age of 43.

From Quiz When the Kiwis Storm Your Doorstep

Answer: Henry Sewell

Henry Sewell is usually considered to be New Zealand's first Prime Minister, despite the fact that he only held office from 7 May 1856 until 20 May of the same year, and his office at the time was designated Colonial Secretary. The title for the head of government in New Zealand has been, at various times, Colonial Secretary, First Minister, Premier, and Prime Minister. Before the establishment of self-government, the position of Colonial Secretary was an assistant to the Governor-General; Sewell was the first to be considered as serving as Secretary to the First Minister, who was himself. Reading through the lists of early First Ministers shows that they tended to enjoy very brief tenures, and to return multiple times. William Fox, the second Premier, served on four different occasions between 1856 and 1873. Richard Seddon, who was Prime Minister between 1893 and 1906, was the longest-serving Prime Minister through the twentieth century. Jenny Shipley was the first female Prime Minister of New Zealand, holding the office from 1997 until 1999.

From Quiz Famous New Zealanders (1)

Answer: Great Britain.

NZ was one of the first allies to declare war on Germany. Savage is generally considered NZ's greatest prime minister. He formed the first Labour government in 1935 and he died in office in 1940.

From Quiz A Few Talented Kiwis

Answer: Richard Pearse

Pearse had rigorous standards and personally did not believe he had flown.

From Quiz Notable New Zealanders

Answer: Ernest Rutherford

Lord Rutherford made many important discoveries in the field of nuclear physics. From his work it was possible to calculate the age of the earth. The modern smoke detector can be traced back to his discoveries in the late 19th century.

From Quiz Cashed Up Kiwis

Answer: Temperance

In 1885, Kate Sheppard attended (or read about) a talk by Mary Leavitt, the first round-the-world missionary for the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), who was touring New Zealand at the time, and spent two weeks in Christchurch. Leavitt's forceful speech was a life-changing experience for Sheppard, who soon afterwards established a Christchurch branch of the WCTU. Through her petitions to Parliament to prevent women's employment as barmaids and outlaw the sale of alcohol to children, Sheppard became increasingly involved in politics, realizing that women needed to be able to vote in order to have their voice heard by Parliament. An important milestone was the foundation of the New Zealand branch of WCTU (February 1886): for the organization, women's suffrage was essential to advance their fight against the sale and consumption of alcohol and promote the general welfare of children and families. Sheppard's interest in women's suffrage, however, went beyond its practical use to the cause of temperance, and became instead closely connected to her belief in the intrinsic unfairness of any kind of discrimination. Kate's tireless efforts were eventually rewarded by the 1893 Electoral Bill, which granted full voting rights to women over the age of 21. She died in 1934, at the age of 86, after a lifetime of commitment to the cause of women's rights. On the front of the $10 Series 7 bill, a portrait of Kate Sheppard is featured alongside a white camellia - a reminder of the white camellias that were given to members of the NZ Parliament who, in 1893, supported the Electoral Bill. The white camellia has since then become a symbol of the fight for women's suffrage. LadyNym was proud to write a question about such an influential figure, to whom all women (not just those in New Zealand) should be grateful.

From Quiz A Number Eight Wire

Answer: Plastic surgery

Gillies was born and raised in Dunedin, New Zealand. While serving in World War I in the Army Medical Corps, he noted the need for extensive repair of facial wounds. After the war he travelled to England where he was one of the first to use transferred flaps of tissue to repair injuries; this is a mainstay of reconstructive surgery in the modern era. In his later years he pioneered work on sex reassignment surgeries. In 1960 at the age of 78, Gilles died after suffering a stroke while operating. This question was transferred into the quiz by player pusdoc of the Phoenix Rising Red Crew.

From Quiz Famous New Zealanders

Answer: David Lange

In 1987, the Labour-led government passed the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone Disarmament and Arms Control Act. The United States retaliated and downgraded New Zealand's status from Ally to Friend. Lange said, "It is the price we are prepared to pay". By 1989, 52% of New Zealanders indicated they would rather break defense alliances than allow nuclear armed ships. By 1990, even the National Party agreed.

From Quiz All About Kiwis

Answer: Christopher (Chris) Liddell

Chris Liddell served as the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Co-ordination. Prior to his appointment to this position, he filled senior roles in several large corporations, including : Microsoft, General Motors and William Morris Ltd. Richie McCaw is a famous NZ rugby player. Bill English was Prime Minister of New Zealand, and Helen Clark also served in that role.

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