Celebrate Good Times Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1901

The idea of Australia's six states merging to form the Australian Federation was first broached by then New South Wales Premier Sir Henry Parkes. New Zealand and Fiji were also considering joining, but later declined. The draft Constitution was passed through British Parliament, and the way was paved for the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia on January 1, 1901.

Answer: Captain Arthur Phillip

The First Fleet, led by Captain (later, Admiral) Arthur Phillip originally landed, on January 18, in Botany Bay, as recommended by James Cook. However the bay was not protected, had no fresh water, and the land was heavily treed. These trees also were very strong and the axes soon broke, necessitating the use of gunpowder to clear the area. Five days later, Phillip led a small party (including Captain John Hunter) to find a better site. They found Port Jackson, just to the north, which had everything they could want, including fertile soil. The First Fleet left Botany Bay and landed in Port Jackson on 26 January.

Celebrations of Australia Day have been held unofficially since 1808, but the first official celebration wasn't held until 1818. A public holiday for the occasion was first granted in New South Wales in 1836, followed by Victoria in 1931. All other States and Territories adopted the holiday by 1946.

Since 1960, the Australian Of the Year has been announced on Australia's National Day.

Answer: St Patrick's Day

Observed on March 17 each year, St Patrick's Day is seen as a time to flaunt your Irish heritage, whether you have any or not. Or it could just be an excuse to drink too much and act the fool. While not an official public holiday, the event is so popular that many pubs (Irish or not) serve Irish food, play Irish music and, of course, serve Guinness and green beer. Schools as well see the tuckshops selling green pikelets (small pancakes) and jelly (Jell-o to any Americans playing this) as a treat. Parades are usually held in Sydney and Brisbane on a weekend close to March 17.

Answer: April 25

While ANZAC Day originally only celebrated the efforts of the ANZACS at Gallipoli, now it pays homage to any citizen who serves their Country in war. The ANZACS landed at Gallipoli on April 25 and immediately encountered fierce resistance by Ottoman Turkish defenders. By the end of 1915, over 8,000 Australian soldiers had been killed, and the following year saw April 25 named as the first ANZAC Day.

Commemoration services featuring Dawn services and marches by Veterans are held at war memorials throughout the country. The fallen are honoured during these services, and their sacrifices are reflected upon during the playing of The Last Post", and the fourth stanza of Paul Binyon's poem "For the Fallen" is often recited as well.

Answer: Labour Day

On April 21st, 1856, building workers on Melbourne construction sites downed tools and marched to Parliament House to lobby for the shorter working day. The eight-hour day was to allow for eight hours recreation and eight hours sleep. A slight problem in that it doesn't allow for travel time to and from work, that gets taken out of your recreation or sleep allowance. I knew there had to be a catch somewhere.

Although the day is a National holiday, it is not celebrated concurrently.

Answer: Western Australia

Western Australia celebrates its Foundation Day on the first Monday in June, and perish the thought that the Sand-gropers should have two long weekends in a row. So they changed the date to either the last Monday of September or the first Monday in October.

Answer: Ekka

The ten-day Brisbane Agricultural Show was originally called The Brisbane Exhibition (called the Ekka) but the name has since changed to the Royal Queensland Show. Many people now just call the event "The Show". While there are many country themed attractions such as the wood chop, blacksmithing, horse and cattle judging and sheepdog trials, youngsters are drawn to the animal nursery, side-show alley (fairground rides, the faster the better) and the show bags (bags full of lollies and junk they're not normally allowed to eat in such vast quantities).

The public holiday is held on the Wednesday of the show and is known as People's Day, with the grand parade of livestock held in the main arena.

Answer: Archer

Archer, trained by Etienne de Mestre and ridden by John Cutts won the first race in 1861, and backed up the following year to cement their place in Australian history. Originally the race was held over a distance of 2 miles (3218m) but when Australia adopted the metric system in the '70s, the distance became 3200 meters.

Melbournians are given a public holiday for the honour of hosting the Cup, but for the rest of Australia, it's business as usual. Almost. The poor unfortunates who work usually indulge in special lunches, hat parades and office sweeps. But almost everyone who can, downs tools for a few minutes in the afternoon to watch the race on television screens around the rest of the country. This is why the Cup has been called "The race that stops a nation".

Answer: Cyclone Tracy

Tracy roared into Darwin just after midnight on Christmas Day in 1974. The cyclone killed 71 people, caused $837 million in damage (1974 AUD) and destroyed more than 70 percent of Darwin's buildings, including 80 percent of houses. Over 30,000 of Darwin's 47.000 inhabitants were evacuated, and many never returned to the city after it was rebuilt.

Answer: Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, hosted by the Cruising yacht Club of Australia, Starts in Sydney on Boxing Day, and finishes in Hobart, some 1170 kilometres away. The race began as a cruise for interested yachties, until Captain John Illingworth, a visiting British Royal Naval Officer, suggested it could be made into a race.

The inaugural race was held in 1945, and the event has grown to become one of the top three offshore races in the world. "Rani", who took six days, 114 hours and 22 minutes to complete the journey, won this first race. However, modern yachts are able to arrive in Hobart within two days of leaving Sydney.