Australians and their Achievements: Part 3 Quiz

Answer: Edwin Flack

Edwin Flack (1873-1935) was born in Islington, London and was five when his parents immigrated to Berwick, Victoria, Australia. He studied at what is now Melbourne Grammar School and later joined his father in his accounting firm Davey, Flack & Co. He took to athletics and won a number of Victorian state middle and long distance races.

He was sent to London to receive further training in accountancy and worked for Price, Waterhouse & Co. while in London he decided to compete in the 1896 Olympics in Greece.

After a lengthy 6 day rail and boat trip he finally arrived in Athens. He won gold in the 800m and 1,500m and then decided too enter the marathon but he had never run over 10 miles before in any race. He was leading the field with three kilometres to go when he suddenly collapsed and was pulled out of the race.

He also competed in the tennis singles and doubles. He place third in the doubles but in those days there was no recognition for coming third. Because Australia was not yet a nation with a national anthem or colours, he competed in his Melbourne Grammar School colours.

His memorabilia from 1896 are on display at the Australia Sports Museum at the MCG, Melbourne.

Answer: Patrick White

Patrick White (1912-1990) was born in Knightsbridge, London to Australian parents. The family moved to Sydney when Patrick was six months old. From 1932-35 he studied at Cambridge University, England and when war broke out he joined the RAF as an intelligence officer being posted to the Middle East.

After the war he returned to Australian and continued writing. He won the Miles Franklin Literary Award in 1957 and 1961 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1973. He was also elected "Australian of the Year" in 1973. With all of his awards, including the Nobel Prize, he was a reluctant recipient as he thought them a waste of time.

In fact he instructed his friend, the Australian artist Sidney Nolan, to travel to Stockholm to collect his Nobel Prize.

Answer: Billy Hughes

Billy Hughes (1862-1952) was born in London to Welsh parents. He immigrated to Australia when he was 22 years and soon became involved in Labour politics in NSW. He became leader of the ALP in 1915 and was elected as Australia's 7th Prime Minister from 1915-1923.

He was one of the leaders at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference and secured Australian control over the former German New Guinea. He was the Attorney-General of Australia from 1939-1941. During his career he declined offers of knighthood, but his second wife Mary Hughes was appointed a Dame in 1922 for her "charitable and war effort work".

Answer: Peter Finch

Peter Finch (1916-1977) was born in London and due to parental separation he spent time in France and India until in 1926 he was sent to live with a great-uncle in Sydney, Australia. After he finished his schooling he worked in the newspaper industry and gradually became involved in acting and the theatre.

In 1941 he joined the Australian Army and saw service in the Middle East and was an anti-aircraft gunner during the bombing of Darwin. After the war he appeared in a number of plays and movies and in 1948 moved to England to further his acting career. During the 1950s-1970s he spent time acting in England, Australia and the USA.

In 1977 the day after he appeared on the Johnny Carson "The Tonight Show" he suffered a heartache and passed away aged 60 years.

He was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1977 for his role as Howard Beale in the 1976 movie "Network". He was the first actor to receive the award posthumously. Ironically, the second actor to receive a posthumous acting Academy Award was also an Australian in Heath Ledger for Best Supporting Actor in 2008.

Answer: Murray Rose

Murray Rose (1939-2012) was born in Birmingham, England and his parents immigrated to Australia in 1940 due to WWII raging in Europe. At the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne as a 17 year old swimming sensation, Murray won gold in the 400m, 1500m and 4 x 200m relay freestyle events.

At the 1960 Olympics in Rome he again won gold in the 400m, silver in the 1500m and bronze in the 4 x 200m relay freestyle events. During his swimming days he was a vegetarian and became known as "The Seaweed Streak". He later added meat to his diet.

He spent many years in the USA studying and acting on television and movies. In fact his role in the 1968 movie "Ice Station Zebra" opposite Rick Hudson and Ernest Borgnine, was that of a sailor that could not swim and therefore drowned.

He returned to Australia in his latter years with his family.

Answer: Olivia Newton-John

Olivia Newton-John (b. 1948) was born in Cambridge, England. Her family immigrated to Australia in 1954 where her father took up a teaching position at the University of Melbourne. She attended University High School and appeared on television as a teenager singer.

She won a television talent contest in Melbourne in the mid 1960s with the prize being a trip to the UK. There she appeared on a number of television variety programs and made a number of recordings. She represent the UK in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest in which she finished fourth behind ABBA's "Waterloo". Encouraged by Australian singer, Helen Reddy, she moved to the USA in the later 1970s and then started recording some hit singles. Over the next decade or so she was a four time Grammy Award winning with five number one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart.

She certainly enhanced her international career when she appeared as Sandy Olson in the 1978 movie classic "Grease" opposite John Travolta. Olivia has faced her struggles with cancer head-on and has sponsored a cancer clinic and wing at the Heidelberg Hospital in Melbourne.

Answer: Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman was born in Honululu, Hawaii on June 20, 1967 to Australian parents who were temporarily in the USA. The family returned to Australia when Nicole was 4 years of age. She made her film debut in Australia as a 16 year old in 1983. At the end of the decade she moved to the USA where she met and co-starred with her future husband, Tom Cruise.

They divorced in 2001 and in 2006 she married New Zealand singer and songwriter, Keith Urban. She has received a number of Academy Award nominations and was successful to take home the Best Actress Oscar for her role as Virginia Woolf in the 2002 drama "The Hours".

Answer: George Peponis

George Peponis was born in Tripoli, Greece in 1953 and his family immigrated to Australia when George was 18 months old. He played hooker for Canterbury- Bankstown from 1974-1982. He captained Canterbury to their 1980 Premiership win over Eastern Suburbs.

He also captained Australia for five test matches in 1979-80 against Great Britain and New Zealand. All five tests resulted in victories. George completed his medical studies while playing football and is now a medical practitioner.

Answer: Richard Pratt

Richard Pratt (1934-2009) was born Ryszard Przecicki in Danzig, Poland. To escape Nazism the family immigrated to Shepparton, Victoria, Australia in 1938 and changed their name to Pratt. In 1948 his father, Leon Pratt and two friends started Visy Industries.

The name came about by a ŁA1,000 loan to start the company by a relative known as aunt, Ida Visbord. The company specialised in paper, packaging and recycling of waste products. In 1969 Richard took control of the company and through expansion it now has over 9000 employees in Australia and the USA and has 180 facilities worldwide.

At the time of his death in 2009, Richard had a personal net worth of over $A 5.0 billion and was one of the richest men in Australia. He was President of the Carlton Football Club in 2007-8. Over the years the Pratt family has donated over $A 200 million to worthy causes such as arts, medical research and higher education

Answer: Kostya Tszyu

Kostya Tszyu was born on September 19, 1969 in Serov, Soviet Union, which is in the foothills of the Ural Mountains. He represented the Soviet Union in World and European Boxing Championships winning three gold medals. At the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 he immigrated to Australian and became an Australian citizen in 1993.

It was in Australia that he started his professional boxing career. Over the period 1995-2005 he won the IBF, WBC and WBA world light-welterweight titles. He finished his professional career with 31 wins out of 34 contests.