Cities and Towns in Australia Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bundaberg

Bundaberg is a city nearly 400 kms north of the state capital, Brisbane. In the 1880s, the sugar mills were having a problem with what to do with the waste product molasses, after the sugar had been extracted from the sugar cane. The idea came up to use the molasses in distilling, so in 1888 the Bundaberg Distilling Company was formed and from that came the product Bundaberg Rum. Bundaberg rum is usually dark and is often called "Bundy".

Answer: Broome

Broome (Western Australia) is a coastal town 2,200 km north of Perth. Broome was attacked a number of times by Japanese aircraft during WWII. The most fatal raid occurred on March 3, 1942 when 86 civilians were killed and 22 Japanese aircraft were destroyed. At low tide, some of the remains of the aircraft can still be seen.

Answer: Cowra

On August 5, 1944 over 1,100 Japanese prisoners attempted a break out from a POW camp outside Cowra, a farming district just 314 km west of Sydney. It was one of the bloodiest breakout attempts in WWII with four Australia soldiers and 231 Japanese prisoners being killed.

The remainder of prisoners were captured and imprisoned. There were a number of POW camps in Australia and by August 1944 there were over 18,00 Japanese, Italian and German POWs in camps in Australia.

Answer: Canberra

Canberra became a city in 1913 and the Commonwealth Parliament was moved there in 1927. In 1963 the Molongo River that ran through the city was dammed. Thus forming an artificial lake. The dammed water was named Lake Burley Griffin after Walter Burley Griffin (1876-1937), the American who had won the competition to design the city in 1912.

Answer: Hobart

Errol Flynn (1909-1959) was born in Battery Point, a suburb of Hobart. After spending time in New Guinea and then London he eventually gained fame in Hollywood in the mid 1930s in action-adventure movies. He appeared in swashbuckling roles in "Captain Blood", "The Adventures of Robin Hood" and "Sea Hawk".

He also appeared in "The Charge of the Light Brigade", "The Dawn Patrol", "Dodge City" and many more adventure films.

Answer: Woomera

The "township" of Woomera is part of the Australian Defense Force base (RAAF). The area became closed from 1947-1983. Only Government personnel and contractors of the Commonwealth are able to live there. The Woomera Range covers an area the size of England and is 466 kms north of Adelaide. The area was set up in 1947 as a Department of Defense rocket testing range.

Answer: Bathurst

Bathurst was established in 1814 and is the oldest inland settlement in Australia. Motorcycle racing began there from 1911, however, it was not until 1963 when the Australian Racing Drivers Club started the first race called the Bathurst 500 for touring cars.

It is now known as the Bathurst 1000 and is held annually in early October. The three day event attracts crowds in excess of 185,000. Bathurst is situated 200 kms north-west of Sydney.

Answer: Darwin

Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day in 1974. The cyclone claimed the lives of 71 people and destroyed 70% of the buildings, including 80% of housing. Of the 47,000 inhabitants at the time in Darwin, 41,000 were left homeless.

Answer: Kalgoorlie

Kalgoorlie is situated 600 kms east-northeast of Perth. It was by accident in 1893 that three prospectors noticed signs of gold. Since that time it is prospered into a huge gold mining area along with other metals such as nickel.
The Fimiston Open Pit, known as the Super Pit and it is the largest open-cut gold mine in Australia. It is 3.5 km long and 1.5 km in width and 570 metres in depth. The mine produces 28 tonnes of gold per year.

Answer: Melbourne

The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) known as "The G" is the 10th largest stadium in the world. Started in 1853 but with continual up-grading it hosted the 1956 Olympic Games and had 121,696 attendees for an Aussie Rules Grand Final in 1970. It is now a full seated stadium which holds 100,000. It is also the home of Australia's National Sports Museum.