History of Sydney Trivia Quiz

Answer: Penrith

Penrith in Western Sydney is home to the oldest known archeological finds in the area. With artifacts dating back possibly 50,000 years, Penrith is believed to be the oldest known Aboriginal settlement in the area. When the British arrived, what is now Penrith was home to several thousand Mulgoa people, almost all of whom died from smallpox within a year. Unlike in other areas of Australia, there is no written documentation of any tension between the British and the Mulgoa.

Answer: Sting Ray Harbour

James Cook and his crew aboard the HMS Endeavour first landed in Sydney on April 29, 1770. Cook originally called the area Sting Ray Harbour because there was an abundance of stingrays there. The name was quickly changed to Botany Bay because botanist Joseph Banks, who was with Cook, was amazed at the unusual and (at the time) unknown species of plants that littered the area. Cook declared possession of the area for the British Crown.

The British control over Sydney was solidified by the arrival of the First Fleet in January 1788 and the issuing of a charter to Captain Phillip to colonize the area.

Answer: Weather calamities

The main reason why Sydney got off to a rough start was the poor soil quality. The main areas of the settlement were relocated many times in the search for better soil. The British colonists also had poor equipment and the lack of ships arriving into the harbor to bring new equipment severely hampered their ability to grow food in soils they were unfamiliar with. This caused colonists to increase their usage of fish, which quickly depleted that resource for the Aboriginal people with whom Captain Arthur Phillip had hoped to be friendly with. Instead, the Aboriginal people grew weary of the colonists. This was exacerbated when Aboriginal people started quickly succumbing to a smallpox epidemic which was blamed on the British. Any hope the colonists had of working mutually with the natives disappeared.

Most of the first colonists to Sydney were convicts as Australia was a penal colony. Many of the convicts were unskilled and were more or less unhelpful in establishing a colony. Many of the convicts were also sick, often fatally, from their long voyage to Australia and could not work.

Answer: Pemulwuy

Pemulwuy was an Eora person who was one of the first Aboriginal leaders to fight back against the British colonizers. Pemulwuy led a group of warriors in what is now the Sydney area in attacks on British settlements. Pemulwuy was notorious for burning crops and livestock, rendering whole villages useless from a lack of supplies.

He was killed by convicted murderer Henry Hacking after a bounty was placed on his head and surviving several previous attempts on his life.

Answer: Melbourne

In 1851, gold was discovered in Bathurst, New South Wales. Although Bathurst was a distance away from Sydney, prospectors had to sail to Australia and land in Sydney. Thus, the Sydney economy began to boom and the city grew quickly. Prospectors set their families up in Sydney which also necessitated the growth of transportation infrastructure.

However, gold was soon discovered in the state of Victoria and a similar growth and boom happened in Melbourne. Sydney and Melbourne became rivals and each city tried to outdo the other. This rivalry got the most heated when the newly independent Australia had to select a national capital. Both cities wanted the honor and compromise was reached to name Canberra the new capital, roughly half way between Melbourne and Sydney.

Answer: Went swimming during the daytime

William Gocher went swimming at Manly Beach during the daytime to protest the strict rules against doing so in Australia at the time. In 1902, Australia was newly independent but maintained some of the strict Victorian customs of Britain. One of these was a ban on daytime swimming at Australia's many, now popular, beaches. Gocher dressed in a neck to knee swimsuit and waded into the water.

He was removed by the police but the incident led to reform and Australia's beaches became open for recreation during the day so as long as proper attire was worn.

This ultimately led to the swift development of many beach sports for which Australia is now famous for.

Answer: Francis de Groot

The Great Depression ravaged the Sydney economy but the construction of the Sydney Harbor Bridge provided good paying jobs to many people and was seen as not only a symbol of revitalization but also hope for the future. The opening of the bridge occurred on 19th March 1932. Premier Jack Lang was supposed to ceremoniously open the bridge by cutting the ribbon.

However, this was interrupted by de Groot who rode in on horseback and defiantly slashed the ribbon himself. De Groot was a member of the New Guard, a fascist paramilitary organization who opposed the left-leaning Lang and others. De Groot was arrested but some of the charges against him were dropped.

Answer: Kuttabul

The threat of a Japanese invasion of Australia was high during World War II, especially after the Japanese seized control of Hong Kong and began bombing Darwin. Tensions were high in Sydney, although the main Japanese strategy appeared to be to create unease in Australia rather than conduct a full on invasion of the island continent. Sydney Harbour was a docking stations for Allied ships and experienced a few torpedo attacks by the Japanese.

It is unclear exactly what happened to the HMAS Kuttabul but it is widely regarded that the Japanese torpedoes intended to sink the USS Chicago that was in the harbour and accidentally struck the Kuttabul.

Answer: The architect who completed the Sydney Opera House

The construction of the Sydney Opera House was steeped in controversy. Danish architect Jorn Utzon was the original designer of the building. However, the project was growing increasingly expensive and drew the ire of Davis Hughes. Hughes was the Minister of Public Works and was in charge of overseeing the construction of the opera house.

He butted heads with Utzon who "resigned" from the project in 1966. Peter Hall took over and was primarily responsible for designing the interior of the building. Hall's design was controversial as he scrapped Utzon's initial plan. Hall called Utzon's plan unsafe but this was later criticized, as Hall simply wanting to erase Utzon from the remainder of the building.

Answer: Cathy Freeman

Cathy Freeman won a gold medal in the 400m sprint at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. This made her the first cauldron lighter to win a gold medal in the same Olympics.

The 2000 Summer Olympics were the second hosted by Australia and the first by Sydney (Melbourne were hosts in 1956). The Games were a huge success for Sydney economically and culturally. The cultural significance stems from the fact that the opening ceremony was treated as a reconciliation for Australia's past treatment of Aboriginal people. Cathy Freeman, an Aborigine herself, was selected to light the cauldron and Aboriginal people were heavily represented in the performances.