Australian Waterways With British Names Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. William Shakespeare's home was Stratford-upon-Avon. Australia has four Avon Rivers. In which state of Australia would you find two Avon Rivers?

Answer: New South Wales

There are two Avon Rivers in NSW and one each in Victoria and Western Australia. One Avon River indeed flows through the town of Stratford before reaching Gloucester (NSW). The other Avon River in NSW is located near Wollongong. In Victoria, the Avon River is located in Gippsland and flows into Lake Wellington.

The Western Australian Avon River is a tributary of the Swan River which flows through Perth on the way to the Indian Ocean.

2. This river in Australia enters the Pacific Ocean at Batemans Bay in New South Wales. In the UK, its namesake is the third longest river in Scotland and the ninth longest river in the UK. Which river is it?

Answer: Clyde River

The Clyde River in Australia was named after the River Clyde (Scotland) by Lieutenant Robert Johnson in 1821. The River Clyde in Scotland flows through Glasgow and is an important part of the city's ship building and trade history.

3. There are two waterways named the River Dee in The UK, one in Scotland and one in Wales. There are two Dee Rivers in Australia. In which states would you find them?

Answer: Queensland and Tasmania

The Dee River in Queensland is a small tributary of the Fitzroy River which reaches the Pacific Ocean near Rockhampton. The Dee River in Tasmania is a tributary of the Derwent River which flows into Hobart. In Scotland, the River Dee flows from the Cairngorms and to the North Sea at Aberdeen.

The other River Dee starts flowing in Wales, flows through England and then becomes part of the England/Wales border. It eventually empties into the Irish Sea.

4. There is more than one river named Derwent in the UK. There is a Derwent River in Australia flowing through a state capital. Through which capital does it flow?

Answer: Hobart, Tasmania

Tasmania's Derwent River was named after the River Derwent in Cumbria, England. Several dams are located on Tasmania's Derwent River to provide hydro-electricity. It's probably most famous as being the finishing point for the annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

There is another Derwent River in Australia. It's in South Australia on the Birdsville Track. It has been dammed to form the Mungerannie Waterhole.

5. There are four River Esks in England and Scotland. There is an Esk River in New South Wales, too. It's a tributary of the river flowing through Grafton, New South Wales. What river is that?

Answer: Clarence River

The British River Esks are located in Cumbria, North Yorkshire, Aberdeenshire and Angus, and Dumfries and Galloway. The Aussie Esk River contributes flow to the Clarence River. The Clarence has one of the largest watershed areas in Australia so when torrential rains occur the flow increase immensely. The area has still has some temperate and semi-tropical rainforest. The Clarence River flows into the Pacific Ocean, the estuary having the towns of Iluka on one side and Yamba on the other.

The other rivers (Hastings, Hunter and Tweed) are all in New South Wales also.

6. Gerry and The Pacemakers sang about catching a ferry to cross a river in England. The city of Devonport, Tasmania lies on a river with the same name as in the song. What is the name?

Answer: Mersey River

The English River Mersey is about 113km long. It stretches from near Manchester and empties into the Irish Sea at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. The Mersey River in Tasmania empties into Bass Strait on the northwest coast of Tasmania. Ferries arrive from and depart back to Melbourne from Devonport. It's about a 10 hour trip from Devonport to Melbourne across the sometimes wild Bass Strait.

Gerry and The Pacemakers had their hit "Ferry, Cross The Mersey" in 1964.

7. A river in New South Wales and another in Queensland share their name with the longest river in Great Britain. The name?

Answer: Severn River

The Severn River in New South Wales is about 60km from the Severn River in Queensland. Both of them flow into the MacIntyre River which forms part of the border between the two states.

The River Severn in England is the longest in Great Britain and has the greatest flow. The Severn's estuary has the second largest tidal range in the world with a range of about 15m. Only the Bay of Fundy's tides are larger.

8. Which body of water in London's Hyde Park has the same name as a river in the southwest of Western Australia?

Answer: The Serpentine

The Serpentine in Hyde Park is an 11 hectare artificial lake. It was created in 1730s by damming the River Westbourne. The wife of George II, Queen Caroline, order the lake's creation as part of the redevelopment of Hyde Park. The Serpentine River in Western Australia is 111 kms long (69 miles) and ends in The Peel Inlet south of Mandurah, Western Australia.

9. Launceston in England is about two miles from this river marking the border between Devon and Cornwall. Launceston in Tasmania lies at the meeting of the North and South Esk Rivers. They merge to become a river with the same name as the river near Launceston, England. What is this river?

Answer: Tamar River

Tasmania's Launceston was indeed named for the Cornish city of Launceston. The Tamar in Tasmania isn't a true river. It's an estuary, saline and tidal along its entire 70 km length. Launceston is situated in the Tamar Valley.

10. The River Tweed in The UK forms part of the border between Scotland and England. In Australia, the Tweed River forms part of the border between which two eastern states?

Answer: Queensland and New South Wales

Other than the name, there isn't much to link the two rivers. The River Tweed (UK) runs through a valley formed by glaciation, the valley floor being a drumlin field. It's a premier salmon fishing stream and is the only river (including its tributaries) in England for which a fishing license is not needed.

The Tweed River (Australia) flows through land formed by volcanic activity. The land was covered in rainforest originally. Crops growing in the area now include sugar cane. There is another River Tweed in England, found in Leicestershire.

Source: Author Tizzabelle

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ozzz2002 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Lake Cadibarrawirracanna is an Aussie place name. Other places aren't so unique. The names of these waterways can also be found in The UK. Please note: In The UK they say the River X, in Australia, it's usually the X River. I'm not trying to confuse you!

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