An Old Postcard Album Trivia Quiz

Answer: Indonesia

Batavia was the capital of the Dutch East Indies, until the name was changed to Jakarta after World War II. The earlier name was still in use until full independence for Indonesia was achieved in 1949.
Situated on the island of Java, the city was established in 1619 by the Dutch, and soon became an important trading hub for the Dutch East India Company's spice trade.

The card described is real, found online, and the rest of the description is in Dutch.

Answer: Belize

Located in the northeastern coastal portion of Central America, British Honduras was first settled by loggers in the 1630s, and was a British foothold in the largely Spanish occupied region. It became a British Crown Colony in 1862, attained self-government 102 years later, took the name Belize in 1973 and became fully independent in 1981. The largest city is Belize City, at the mouth of a tributary of the Belize River, but it lost its status as capital to Belmopan in the late 1960s. The country is bordered by Mexico to the north, Guatemala to the west and south, and the Caribbean Sea to the east.

The card described is one of a series published by the Boy Scouts of America in 1968.

Answer: Sri Lanka

The city of Kandy retained its name when Ceylon became Sri Lanka in 1972. The stretch of water on the card is most likely Kandy (Bogambara) Lake, a feature of the city which sits on a plateau in the central mountains of the island nation, surrounded by tea plantations and rainforest. Sri Lanka itself is situated in the Indian Ocean, to the south east of the southern tip of India.

The card described was found online, and was postmarked in 1902.

Answer: Norway

Oslo, Norway's capital, was known as Christiania, in honour of King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway, between 1634 and 1925 when its original name (Oslo) was restored. The spelling changed to Kristiania in 1877, but as evidenced by the postcard, both spellings remained in use. Skillebaek, now Skillebekk, is a neighbourhood of Oslo's western section, and derives its name from a brook called Skillebekken.

The card described was postmarked 1915.

Answer: Poland

The German-language caption reflects Danzig's past, as the port on the Baltic Sea was often under either Prussian or German rule. Between the two world wars of the twentieth century it was The Free City of Danzig, but that semi-independence ended with the outbreak of the Second World War. After that war, during which the city suffered much destruction, it was annexed by Poland, and became known as Gdansk.

The card, found online, is undated.

Answer: Mozambique

Lourenco Marques became the capital of what was then Portuguese East Africa in 1898. After independence in 1975 it retained its status as capital, becoming known as Maputo in 1976. The original name honoured a Portuguese explorer who gave his name to the area on Maputo Bay when he landed there in the 1540s. Sometimes called "The Pearl of the Indian Ocean", the city is a major port handling diverse exports, as well as being a manufacturing centre.

The card described is given a tentative date of 1905 by the online source.

Answer: Australia

Opened to the public in 1935, Paronella Park is a tourist attraction in North Queensland, between Cairns and Townsville. Besides the very photogenic steps, the State and National Heritage Site boasts a castle, Mena Creek waterfall and a large expanse of land covered in tropical plants. It is named for its creator, Jose Paronella.

The postcard described is undated, but the clothing suggests late 1940s or early 1950s.

Answer: Ireland

Queenstown, now Cobh ("cove"), in County Cork may be best known for being the last port of call of the ill-fated Titanic in 1912. Known as Queenstown between 1849 and 1920, the city was once a main embarkation port for Irish people emigrating to the New World, though in recent years tourism has become a major industry.

The card described is undated, but is probably from the late nineteenth century or very early twentieth.

Answer: Canada

The name Rat Portage was derived from its Ojibwa name, which meant "portage to muskrat country", which was shortened by the Hudson's Bay Company employees working at Rat Portage Post, in what is now Northern Ontario. The name was changed, amidst some controversy, to Kenora in 1905. Situated towards the northern end of Lake of the Woods, the city is not far from the Manitoba border.

Though the card described is undated, passenger steamers began operation on the Lake of the Woods in the late nineteenth century.

Answer: USA

Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, changed its name in honour of Native American athlete Jim Thorpe, after his death in 1953. The original name derived from the Delaware people's name for the place, which meant "Bear Place". The town was originally a transportation hub for the shipment of coal mined in the surrounding mountains, and is located on a tributary of the Lehigh River, with Mount Pisgah on one side and Bear Mountain in the other direction. It has become a tourist destination in more recent years.

The postcard described is dated 1909 by the online source.