Australian Mixed Bag Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Avon Descent

The Avon Descent is a rare event, in that both motor-boats and paddle-boats such as kayaks compete. It was first held in 1973. It is usually run on the first weekend in August every year. It starts in Northam, WA and finishes in Perth, WA. The safety standards for the Avon Descent are very strict. Sadly there was one fatality in a year where the river was unusually high.

Answer: Albany

Albany was founded in 1826. It was the site of a whaling station until 1979. Albany's old whaling station is now a whaling museum. Tourism is a big industry in Albany, as it is ideally located around some wineries. In season, whale watching tours are very popular tourist attractions. Albany has a wind farm on the outskirts, which is where you can find one end of the Bibulmun Track, a walking track which goes approximately 960 kilometres from Kalamunda (hills suburb of Perth) to Albany.

Perth was founded in 1829, as was Fremantle, and York was founded in 1831.

Answer: A cyclone came and damaged the city

Cyclone Tracey hit Darwin early Christmas morning 1974. It killed over 70 people and caused around $800m in damage. Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory.

Answer: Macadamia

Macadamia nuts are small round nuts (when peeled about 1 - 2 cm diameter). Macadamias come from the botanic Proteacae family. They are an evergreen tree growing up to approximately 12m tall. They are native to Queensland. Macadamias are really delicious chopped up in a white chocolate and macadamia biscuit. Crops have been grown in Hawaii from around the 1920s.

Answer: Perth - Darwin - Alice Springs - Adelaide - Perth

This is a fantastic train journey which sees some really beautiful parts of Australia. A lot of tour buses which do capital city tours, include Alice Springs (not a capital) as the main cities are all coastal.


Darwin is the capital city in the Northern Territory. It was bombed in World War II in Japanese air raids. In 1974 Darwin was devastated when Cyclone Tracy crossed the cost on Christmas Day. Darwin has since been re-built. The main economies in Darwin come from the mining industry and tourism.

Alice Springs is in the region of Australia known as the Red Centre. The Henley on Todd is held here (A regatta celebrating the dry river). Tourism is a big industry in Alice Springs as it is relatively close to attractions such as Uluru. We enjoyed visiting the art gallery, Panarama Guth, in Alice Springs.

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia. It was named after the consort of King William IV in 1836. Adelaide's economy is largely based around manufacturing - several car manufacturers have (or had) bases in Adelaide. Another industry in South Australia is the wineries, such as those in the Barossa Valley. Adelaide is nick-named the 'City of Churches' due to the large number of churches.

Perth is the capital city of Western Australia. It is dubbed the most isolated capital city in the world due to its distance from other capitals. It's nearest Australian capital city is Adelaide (over 2100 kilometres away). Major industries in Perth include mining and tourism. Several mining companies have their head offices in Perth. Perth hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1962.

Answer: Jackie French

'Diary of a Wombat' was released in 2002. It's a really funny children's book about an wombat which adopts a human family and pesters them for food. Jackie French has also written quite a few other books for children and young adults. She has a series "The (animal) who ..." about events in history told through the eyes of an animal. Her book, "The Camel Who Crossed Australia" has one of the best opening lines to a book I have seen.

John Marsden writes mostly for young adults, including the "Tomorrow" Series.
Tim Winton has written quite a lot of adult fiction, such as "Breath" and "Dirt Music". Gretel Killeen was the host of "Big Brother" in Australia and has written several children's books such as the "Very Naughty Mother" and "My Sister" Series.

Answer: Harold Holt

He disappeared (presumed drowned) 17th December 1967 near Portsea, Victoria. Conspiracy theories abound to this day including abduction by a Russian Submarine, or maybe that he had faked his own death. As Harold Holt had only been sworn is as prime minister on Australia Day the previous year, he had a relatively short period in the leadership role. During Holt's term as prime minister, he oversaw a referendum in 1967 which resulted in Aboriginal Australians being included in the census for the first time.

He was also affiliated with President Lyndon Johnson and oversaw the increase of Australian troops in the Viet Nam War. To date no trace of him has been found.

Answer: Surrounded

This word is from the Australian national anthem - "Advance Australia Fair", written in the late 19th century by by Peter Dodds McCormick. The line which uses this word is: "Our home is girt by sea". A national referendum was held in 1977 to choose a national anthem for Australia.

It was re-worded around 1983-1984 to be more inclusive. The initial first lines were 'Australian sons let us rejoice' and the reworded lines are 'Australian's all let us rejoice'. The national anthem actually has five verses.

However, only one or two are usually sung. Prior to "Advance Australia Fair" our national anthem was "God Save the Queen".

Answer: Seven Little Australians

The second-eldest daughter (Helen, but known as Judy) was sent away to boarding school after one prank went too far for her military father's patience. She ran away from school and after battling TB died tragically after saving her baby brother from a falling tree. "Seven Little Australians" was first published in 1894. It has been made into a movie in the 1930s and a TV Series in 1973.

"The Family at Misrule" was a lesser-known story by Ethel Turner picking up what happened five years or so after Judy died. "Judy and Punch" was about what happened to Judy at the school. "My Brilliant Career" was Miles Franklin's debut novel.

Answer: Picnic at Hanging Rock

The picnic is supposed to have occurred Valentine's Day 1900. It tells the story of a school-group which goes on an excursion to a bush location, but not all of the party return. Three girls and one teacher disappear while climbing up the rock. Only one of the party was found (after some time), however she had no recollection of what had happened.

Not based on an actual event, it was published in 1967. It has also been produced on stage.