Amazing Australians Trivia Quiz

Answer: Winston

John Winston Howard was the 25th and second longest serving Australian prime minister. He served in Parliament for 22 years before becoming PM on 11th March 1996. His government lost office on 3rd December 2007; and he lost his own parliamentary seat of Bennelong, to become the second prime minister to lose his seat in parliament (the first was Stanley Bruce, on 12th October 1929).

Answer: Patrick Rafter

Pat Rafter won the US Open singles in 1997 and 1998 and was runner up Wimbledon singles in 2000 and 2001. It was somewhat contoversial that he was named Australian of the Year in 2002 as he had lived in Bermuda during most of his tennis playing career. He retired in 2001 .

Answer: Fiona Wood

Dr Fiona Melanie Wood emigrated from the UK to Western Australia in 1987. She is the Director of the Royal Perth Hospital Burns Unit and a highly skilled plastic surgeon. She came to prominence in the general community in 2002 when 28 victims of the Bali terrorist bombings were flown to Royal Perth for specialist burns treatment. Dr Wood has developed a spray on skin which is proving invaluable in the treatment of burns.

Answer: Donald Bradman

The Don, The Boy from Bowral, had a batting average of 99.94 in test matches (and 110.19 in Sheffield Shield matches). England cricketers came up with an aggressive bowling technique called Bodyline purely to negate his prolific scoring.The Prime Minister of Australia in 2001, John Howard (a cricket fanatic) called him the greatest living Australian in 2001.

He died on 25th February 2001 aged 92.

Answer: Peter Garrett

Peter Robert Garrett was a rock singer with the band Midnight Oil from 1973 to 2002. He was known for his stiff and sudden dance movements as well as his environmenal and political concerns. He was elected to parliament in October 2004 and was made Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Arts in 2007.

Answer: Ian Thorpe

At age 14 at the World Championship event held in Perth, Western Australia, Ian James Thorpe won the 400 metres freestyle event making him the youngest ever winner of a world swimming title. Also known as Thorpey or the Thorpedo he won 5 Olympic Gold medals, the most ever won by an Australian.

Answer: Nellie Melba

Dame Nellie Melba was born as Helen Porter Mitchell, Her career spanned from 1887 to her final farewell performance in November 1928. Her first farewell was at Covent Garden in 1926 and this has spawned a popular Aussie saying of "More farewells than Melba" to describe someone reluctant to fade from the limelight.
Acclaimed French chef Auguste Escoffier created a delicious dessert in her honour called Peach Melba (peaches poached in rasperry sauce). The city from which she took her name is, of course, Melbourne.

Answer: Bart Cummings

James Bartholomew Cummings has trained the winner of the prestigious Group One race The Melbourne Cup a record 12 times between 1965 and 2008. The Melbourne Cup is held on the first Tuesday in November and is known as the race that "stops the nation". Interestingly he is allergic to hay !

Answer: Roy Cazaly

Roy Cazaly inspired the song "Up There Cazaly" by Mike Brady and Peter Sullivan (The Two Man Band). The title is a reference to his high leaps when taking marks over the heads of opponents and was originally written to be a TV sports program anthem in 1979. 250,000 copies were subsequently sold, an Australian record at the time. Roy Cazaly is also credited with giving the Hawthorn Football Club the new nickname of the Hawks which was more appropriate. in his opinion, than the Mayblooms !

Answer: Skippy

Of course, it's Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, star of a long running TV series in Australia in the 1960s and exported around the world. I remember desperately trying to get a sound out of a sycamore leaf in England to resemble the call sound Sonny and Co made from a gum leaf to summon Skip to help them out. Now I live in Australia and am still very fond of kangaroos!