Aussie A-Z Trivia Quiz

Answer: ANZAC Day

ANZAC stands for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought in the disastrous Gallipoli campaign in 1915 during WWI. As well as the ANZAC casualties, soldiers from Britain, France, Canada and Turkey were also killed and wounded. The Turkish Government renamed the cove ANZAC Cove in tribute in 1985.

Australia Day falls on January 26, while Waitangi Day is observed in New Zealand on February 6.

Answer: Bunyip

The Bunyip is a water spirit who is said to lurk in waterholes waiting to catch unwary animals or people. The descriptions of the bunyip vary widely between different regions of Australia.
\
The brolga and bilby both exist. The brolga is a large bird which inhabits northern parts of Australia, while the bilby is a small marsupial. The boomerang is a famous hunting stick used by many Australian Indigenous people.

Answer: Cockatoos

Cockatoo is the name given to the parrots which make up the family Cacatuidae. They are normally large with showy plumage. They include the yellow and white sulphur crested cockatoos, the pink and grey galahs, and the pink and white Major Mitchell's cockatoo. Cockatoo is derived from the Indonesian name for these birds kaka(k)tua.

Answer: Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin visited Australia during his five year voyage on HMS Beagle, leaving ship in both Perth and Sydney. He was particularly fascinated by Australian marsupials including the platypus, which helped to illustrate some of his theories. In 1839, HMS Beagle sailed into the harbour that would be named in Darwin's honour by his former shipmates (Darwin had left HMS Beagle in 1836).

Answer: Emu

The emu is the second largest bird in the world after the ostrich, reaching up to 1.9m in height. They are fast runners, able to reach speeds of 50 kph. Despite being on the Coat of Arms the emu is not designated as an official animal of Australia.

The wedge tailed eagle is another famous Australian bird with a huge wing span. It lives primarily in the desert regions. The Emperor Penguin is found in the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Answer: Fraser Island

K'gari (Fraser Island) is the largest sand island in the world and is designated as a World Heritage site. It is located to the north of Brisbane and is 120 km long. It is home to a large colony of dingoes, believed to be one of the purest strains still in existence. It was named K'gari by the local Butchalla people, and given its European name after Eliza Fraser was stranded there after a shipwreck in 1836.

Federation Island is an artificial island in Russia, while Flinders Island is located in the Bass Strait and French Island is off the coast of Victoria.

Answer: Glenrowan

Glenrowan is a small town north of Melbourne, Victoria. Ned Kelly was the leader of the Kelly Gang, a group of bushrangers (or highwaymen) involved in a series of kilings and armed robberies. They gained support from many after the release of their manifesto letter denouncing the police and the British Empire. Ned and his followers were deemed outlaws after killing three police officers. He and his followers were cornered in Glenrowan while wearing home made suits of metal armour. Ned, despite being shot, was the only survivor. He was tried for his crimes and sentenced to death by hanging.

Geelong is another town in rural Victoria, Goulburn is located near the capital of Australia, Canberra, and Geraldton is a town in rural Western Australia.

Answer: Broken Hill

Broken Hill is home to the world's largest painting (100m x 12 m). A number of well known artists have worked here including Eric Minchin, Jack Absalom and Pro Hart. BHP Billiton is partly named after Broken Hill, which is a mining town (minerals mined here include, silver, zinc and lead).

Lightning Ridge is an opal mining town in northern New South Wales and is an important paelological site with mineralised fossils.

Dubbo is in eastern NSW, and also houses an RFDS base and School of the Air site.

Alice Springs is a famous town in the Northern Territory. Uluru is a 4.5 hour drive from here (much further than many tourists realise).

Answer: The Indian Pacific

The Indian Pacific journey covers 4352 km, with a 478 km straight stretch across the Nullabor Plain. It is estimated to be the 9th longest train journey (between two cities) in the world. A trip between Perth to Sydney takes 65 hours. Its name is derived from the Indian Ocean to the west of Perth and the Pacific Ocean to the east of Sydney.

The Ghan runs from Adelaide to Darwin via Alice Springs.

The Overland runs from Adelaide to Melbourne, while the former 'Alice' train used to run from Sydney to Alice Springs.

Answer: Hugh Jackman

Hugh Jackman portrayed a prison inmate in the TV series 'Corelli'. He was 'Wolverine' in the X-Men series, and won several awards for his portrayal of Peter Allen in the musical 'A boy from Oz', the story of Peter Allen.

Mel Gibson was born in the USA, while Russell Crowe is from New Zealand. Peter Andre is an Australian entertainer who now lives in the United Kingdom.

Answer: Kangaroo

The kangaroo is also featured on Australian currency, the national airline QANTAS and the Royal Australian Air Force tail fins. It is a marsupial (a class of mammals who carry their young in pouches). Most marsupial species are found in Australia.

The koala is also a marsupial, a nocturnal animal which live in eucalyptus trees.

Kookaburras are a colourful bird which belong to the kingfisher family. Their laugh is very distinctive!

Kakadu is the name of a national park in the Northern Territory.

Answer: Lamington

The Lamington was named after Lord Lamington the Governor of Queensland between 1896-1901. There are several variations, including a layer of cream and/or jam in the middle of two sponge pieces.

The Pavlova is a dessert made from a meringue shell filled with cream and fruit. It was named after Anna Pavlova a Russian ballerina who toured Australia and New Zealand in the 1920's. There is some dissension about whether it was first made in Australia or New Zealand but it's a popular dish in both countries.

ANZAC biscuits are made of flour, rolled oats and golden syrup and were sent to Australian and New Zealand troops in WWI.

Tim Tams are chocolate biscuits which come with a variety of coatings and fillings.

Answer: Mary MacKillop

Mary MacKillop founded her religious order in 1866. Affectionately known as the 'Brown Joeys' after the colour of their habits, they worked in poor communities focusing on education and health. Mother MacKillop is now known as St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.

Sister Kenny was an Australian nurse who successfully developed a number of treatments to assist those who had injuries and disability from the polio epidemic of the 1950's.

Eileen Rosaline O'Connor was an Australian nun who founded the Society of Our Lady's Nurses for the Poor.

Janet Mead is an Australian nun who has recorded a rock version of the Lord's Prayer.

Answer: Newcastle

Located 150km north of Sydney, Newcastle (named after the city in northern England) was established as a penal colony in 1804 (after two earlier settlements failed). The Awabakal and Worimi peoples were the first inhabitants of the region and many local landmarks and buildings are named for them.

For many years Newcastle had an industrial reputation with ship building and iron smelting being the main industries. During WWII it was fired upon by a Japanes mini-submarine due to the ship building trade that was based here. After BHP closed their smelting plant in 1999, the city has become popular as a tourist destination leading it to be ranked no.9 in the Lonely Planet's list of the top 10 cities for 2011.

Narrabri is an inland country town in New South Wales while Nambucca Heads is located on the coast. Naracoorte in South Australia has a famous cave complex, rich in fossils, leading it to be designated as a World Heritage site.e

Answer: Opal

Coober Pedy in South Australia is where a large proportion of Australian opals are found. The outskirts of the town have been described as looking like a moonscape due to the piles of dirt from mining. Having seen it, I would agree that it is most eerie! The world's largest opal, 'Olympic Australis' was found here in 1956. Black opal is mined both here and in Lightning Ridge, New South Wales. Coober Pedy is also famous for its underground homes - most people choose to live underground to escape the heat.

Onyx is a mineral which had black varieties while obsidian is a volcanic glass often black or dark in colour. Orangite is a variety of thorite which is often orange in colour (as its name suggests!)

Answer: Platypus

The platypus is semi-aquatic. It has a distinctive 'duck bill' and a furry body somewhat like a beaver. It and the echidna are the only known egg laying mammals. It is carnivorous and a bottom feeder. 'Syd' one of the 2000 Olympic Games mascots was a platypus.

Possums are a common nocturnal mammal, similar to a squirrel in appearance.

Potoroos are small kangaroo like mammals.

Koalas are another popular mammal often associated with Australia.

Answer: Queensland

Queensland is the second largest state in Australia after Western Australia. Queen Victoria signed the papers separating Queensland from New South Wales on June 6, 1859.

Queensland is known as 'the Sunshine State' and is popular with overseas and Australian tourists. The famous 'Great Barrier Reef' is located along most of its coastline. The Reef is one of six World Heritage sites located in Queensland. The others are Fraser Island, Lamington National Park, fossilised mammal sites near Riversleigh, Gondwana Rainforest, and the 'Wet Tropics'.

Answer: Redback

'The Redback on the Toilet Seat' was released by Slim Newton in 1972. Redback spiders prefer warm sheltered locations as the song title suggests. It is the female spider that has the distinctive red mark on her back. A member of the same family as the black widow spider, she normally eats the male during mating. Her bite is neurotoxic to humans, however, since the development of an anti-venom in 1956, no deaths have been recorded.

The funnel-web spider is named after its distinctive nest. Like the redback, its bite can be deadly but in a successful anti-venom was developed in 1981. It takes around 300 spiders 'milked' 10 times each to produce the required amount of venom to develop the anti-venom treatment each year.

The huntsman and white-tailed spiders are common in Australia. While their bites can be painful, they are not as dangerous as those from red backs and funnel-web spiders.

Answer: Sydney

Sydney was named after Lord Sydney, the Home Secretary at the time that the British government decided to found a colony in New South Wales. The original settlement site was 'Botany Bay'. The traditional owners of this land are the Gadigal of the Eora people. The Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera Hoiuse are two of Sydney's famous landmarks. It is often thought to be the capital city of Australia, however, this honour belongs to Canberra.

Sutherland is a suburb of Sydney, while Shepparton and Stawell are in Victoria. Stawell has an amateur foot race held at Easter each year.

Answer: Yes

Tasmania lies 240 km south of the mainland. The first European name was 'Van Diemen's Land', a name given it by Abel Tasman, the first recorded European to sight and land upon it, after the Dutch Colonial Governor. Due to its isolation from the mainland, it is home to many unique animals including the Tasmanian devil.

The Tasmanian Tiger became extinct in 1936. Tasmania is a popular bush walking destination due to its diverse vegetation. Nearly 45% of the state is a reserve, national park or World Heritage site.

Answer: Sydney Opera House

Jorn Utzon (1918-2008) won an international competition to design the Opera House in 1957. Sadly due to a series of political disputes Utzon resigned from the project in 1966 and never returned to Australia. The Opera House was eventually opened in 1973 by Queen Elizabeth II. Utzon's name was not mentioned in any of the speeches. However in 2004 a room was named after him marking his significant connection with the site.

In 2007, the Sydney Opera House was designated as a World Heritage site, making Utzon only the second person to receive this honour in his lifetime.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge was designed by the English firm Dorman Long and Co and opened in 1932.

Canberra was designed by American architect, Walter Burley-Griffin.

The ANZAC bridge in Sydney was opened in 1995, and given its current name in 1998.

Answer: Vegemite

Vegemite is a thick, sticky paste with a savoury taste. It was developed in 1923 by Cyrill P. Callister who was given the task of developing a spread from left over brewers yeast. It contains a number of B vitamins and has a relatively high salt content. The name Vegemite was drawn from a hat after a national competition.

The other names listed are also yeast based spreads, with perhaps the best known alternative being Marmite.

Answer: Waltzing

'Waltzing Matilda' was written by the bush poet A.B. 'Banjo' Paterson in 1895 in Winton, Queensland. The town now hosts a museum dedicated to the song. The 'Waltzing' in the song refers to walking while 'Matilda' is a nickname referring to the swag that the character is carrying.

The song itself is macabre - the story is of an itinerant traveller (the swagman) who camps by a waterhole. He steals a sheep for his dinner (the jumbuck in his tucker bag). The squatter (a farmer who raised animals or crops on land he didn't own) catches him with three policemen. Rather than be arrested the swagman jumps into the billabong (waterhole) and drowns. He haunts the waterhole ('And his ghost may be heard when you pass by that billabong ...')

There are a number of theories about the origins of the song including that it was based on a real life incident that occurred in Dagworth in 1894 involving a swagman named Samuel Hoffmeister and the Combo Waterhole.

Answer: A freshwater crayfish

A yabbie or yabby is a freshwater crustacean and is a popular delicacy. It comes in a variety of colours.

A yowie is a mythical creature, described as a tall and hairy apeman over 2m in height. Its description is similar to that of the yeti.

Yakka is a slang word meaning work, and it is often used in conjunction with hard. 'Hard yakka' means strenuous physical work.

A yak, means a chat or conversation.

Answer: Zoo

Opened in 1977, this zoo is an open range zoo. This means that there is plenty of room for the animals to roam, with moats taking the place of large fences. Many of the animals here are large such as elephants, giraffes and rhinos. It is used as a breeding zoo.

It is possible to stay in accommodation at the zoo site overnight. Bikes are available for hire and many visitors cycle around the facility.