Aussie Firsts Trivia Quiz

Answer: Flack

Edwin Flack was born in England in 1873, but he moved with his family to Australia when he was just five years old. He competed in the first modern Olympics that took place in Athens in 1896. At those Olympics he won gold medals in the track and field races over the distances of 800 meters and 1500 meters. Flack also competed in tennis at the Olympics.

This question was tracked into the quiz by Phoenix Rising teammate and Red Crew member Triviaballer as part of the team's 2022 World Tour.

Answer: Archer

The Melbourne Cup is one of the most famous horse races in the world and attracts entrants from all over the world. It was first run in 1861 where Archer, the second favourite, won by a comfortable six lengths. Just to show that is was not a fluke, he returned the following year and won again! In the first 150 years of the race, only four other horses managed to win more than one Cup.

The race is run on the first Tuesday in November, and the day is declared a public holiday in Victoria.
Kiwi won the 1983 Cup with an amazing run, coming from near-last at the 500m to win. The Depression-era champion Phar Lap won in 1930. Hyperno claimed the trophy in 1979. All three of these horses were foaled in New Zealand and found success in Australia.

This question submitted by ozzz2002, who has had very limited success picking the winner of the Cup.

Answer: Chapman

Philip Kenyon Chapman, was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1935. He studied physics and mathematics at the University of Sydney and attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he studied aeronautics and astronautics. Throughout his life he had a marvelously-varied career. He studied emperor penguins in Antarctica, trained as an astronaut and jet pilot, taking part in the Apollo 14 mission. He served on the L5 Society successfully stopping the US Senate from ratifying the Moon Treaty. He advised US presidents, including Ronald Reagan, on space policy, and was involved in the project dubbed 'Star Wars' or the Strategic Defence Initiative. He was also involved in the development of a reusable vehicle called 'Roton', a crewed spaceship designed to support the International Space Station. Chapman died in 2021, aged 86.

Phoenix Rising's smpdit is amazed by the career of this man.

Answer: 10 dollars

The polymer banknote was developed in Australia by the Reserve Bank of Australia in collaboration with the CSIRO and the University of Melbourne. The first note was the ten-dollar, released into circulation in Australia's bicentennial year of 1988 and featured an image of HMS Supply, from the First Fleet. Australian banknotes have different colours for different denominations, and the ten-dollar note is shaded blue, hence the nickname 'Blue Heeler' after the cattle dog. There are five denominations of banknotes, and true to Aussie form, they all have nicknames.

Phoenix Rising's red crew member deposited this question into the quiz, and laments the fact that she never gets many jolly green giants.

Answer: Supply

The First Fleet, headed by Captain Arthur Phillip, and consisting of 11 ships, set sail in September 1786, transporting convicts and soldiers to Botany Bay. When they arrived, however, they found that Botany Bay was unsuitable for their requirements, so scouting parties were sent out to find a better site. On January 26th 1788, the fleet weighed anchor at Port Jackson, renamed Sydney Cove. The British flag was planted by Captain Phillip and officers from the HMS Supply.

Red Crew's smpdit can't imagine spending a year and half on a boat. Leith90's opinion may vary.

Answer: Bannerman

Charles Bannerman was born in Woolwich, England in 1851 before his family emigrated to New South Wales. He became a professional cricket player in 1871. He is the subject of a number of 'firsts'. In 1877, he was the first batsman of the first ball bowled in a 'test' match, though this was designated as such only after the event. The matches were not considered to be test matches until after three of them had been played. He went on to score 126 on the first day, thus being the first to score a century in a test match held at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). He was presented with £83 7s 6d, collected by spectators for his debut score, as none of the other Australian batsman exceed a score of 20 at the match. He was also the first test batsman to score 150 runs and 200 runs. He also became part of the first international batting partnership with Nat Thomson.

Red Team's smpdit would have been friends with ducks, maidens and silly mid ons.

Answer: Gillard

The 27th Prime Minister of Australia and the first female to be elected to the position, Julia Gillard took office in June 2010. She represented the Labor Party. Julie Bishop, Jenny Macklin and Sussan Ley have each been elected as a leader of the opposition.

Phoenix Rising's jaknginger is opposed to discussing politics.

Answer: Braveheart

Davey and Gibson have worked together on many projects - they founded Icon Productions in 1989, which has allowed Gibson to retain creative control over projects produced by that firm. Mr. Davey was born in Sydney, Australia. Other notable films produced by Davey include "Hacksaw Ridge" and "The Passion of the Christ." He appeared as an actor in "Immortal Beloved." Davey and Gibson shared the Best Picture Oscar bestowed upon "Braveheart" with Alan Ladd, Jr.

This question was produced by player pusdoc, who has actually never seen "Braveheart" but does think Gibson looks good in blue.

Answer: Bonner

Neville Thomas Bonner served in the parliament from 1971-1983. He was initially appointed to represent Queensland in the Senate to fill a vacancy, but later became the first indigenous Australian elected via popular vote, winning in 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1980. His appointment came a mere 9 years after indigenous Australians were granted voting privileges. He had been active in indigenous rights prior to his service in parliament. His political career suffered because he did not hew entirely to the Liberal Party line. His great niece, Senator Joanna Lindgren, continued the family tradition of firsts - she is the first female Aboriginal senator for Queensland.

Player pusdoc voted this question into the quiz for Red Team's participation in the Phoenix Rising Global Tour 2022.

Answer: Bragg

William Bragg was born Adelaide, SA, in 1890, and in 1915 received, along with his father, the Nobel Prize for Physics at the age of 25. The prize was for their developments in the analysis of crystalline structures using X-rays. Bragg's Law was named for him.

PR's Red Team member mike32768 once flirted with a pretty radiology technician, but she saw right through him.