Ten Dates in 20th Century Australian History Quiz

Answer: 1988

This date represented the 200th anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet of convict ships from Britain, commanded by Capt. Arthur Phillip. The Bicentennary was marked by both celebration and more sober reflection on the impact of the last 200 years on the people of Australia. The official theme was "Living Together", emphasizing the multicultural nature of Australian society.

Answer: 1942

During the Second World War, Australua fought on the side of the Allied. On February 19, 1942, Darwin was attacked by Japan in an air raid--the first attack on mainland Australia by enemy forces in history. Hundreds were killed in what would become the first of over 100 Japanese air raids during the Second World War.

Answer: 1901

John Hope, the Earl of Hopetoun, had previously served as the Governor-General of Victoria. As the first Governor-General of Australua, he officially proclaimed the Commonwealth's existence on January 1, 1901. In March of that year, Edmund Barton was chosen the first Prime Minister of Australia.

Answer: 1973

The Sydney Opera House was designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon. The distinctive design of the building is meant to suggest the billowing sails of ships. The complex sits on Bennelong Point. The televised opening was presided over by Queen Elizabeth II and included fireworks and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Answer: 1915

Over 400,000 Australians volunteered to fight in the First World War. The Gallipoli Campaign (an attempt by the Allied Powers to take control of the Dardanelles from the Ottoman Empire). Hundreds of thousands died in the attempt that ultimately proved unsuccessful. ANZAC Day (April 25) originally commemorated the armed forces who fought at Gallipoli.

Answer: 1967

Harold Holt was Prime Minister of Australia from 1966 to 1967. In December, 1967, he went swimming with a group of friends. He was last seen drifting away from the others. Although his body was never recovered, the most likely scenario is that he was caught by a strong tide and drowned. Others have speculated that his death was due to an assassination or suicide.

Answer: 1992

The court decided that legally speaking that the claim of Australia's first inhabitants (The Australian Aborigines) was not automatically extinguished by the arrival of British settlement. Previously land rights had been based on the concept of "terra nullius" which had claimed that Aboriginal land claims had been completely extinguished. Over the long term, native claims to land would impact development.

Answer: 1932

Phar Lap was born in New Zealand but trained in Australia by Harry Telford. The horse won a series of races in the late 1920s and early 1930s, highlighted by the 1930 Melbourne Cup. Phar Lap died suddenly in 1932, in California. Phat All's heart is said to be held by the National Museum of Australia.

Answer: 1956

While there were previous test broadcasts of television in Australia, Bruce Gyngall's address on September 16, 1956 when he said "Good evening and welcome to television" is thought to be the first mass television broadcast in Australia. By the early 1960s, half of Australia's families owned a television set. Permanent color television broadcasts began in Australia in 1975.

Answer: 1927

In the early 20th century, Sydney (New South Wales) and Melbourne (Victoria) were the two largest cities in Australia and both wished to be the capital of the nation. A compromise led to setting aside an area surrounded by New South Wales (the area is now called the Australian Capital Territory) that was at least 100 miles from Sydney.

In 1927, Australia's Parliament relocated from Melbourne to the new capital city of Canberra.