Outstanding in their Field Trivia Quiz

Answer: Swimming

Born in 1887, Annette Kellermann was a professional swimmer who popularised water ballet (synchronised or artistic swimming as it is now known) on stage and film. Her life was dramatised in the 1952 movie musical "Million Dollar Mermaid" with Esther Williams in the title role.

Answer: Outlaw

A notorious bushranger, Ned Kelly is probably most famous for the distinctive armour he and his gang wore during their final confrontation with police. Hammered out from stolen plough parts, each suit of armour weighed about 44kg (97lb) and consisted of a breastplate, shoulder plates, front apron and separate helmet. The legs were not protected and it was here he was shot at Glenrowan. Ned survived that shootout but was arrested, tried and hung for murder.
"Such is life"

Answer: Conservation

A passionate conservationist, Steve 'The Crocodile Hunter' Irwin is probably known internationally for his wildlife documentary series and for his foundation, Wildlife Warriors. In 2006 he was filming for a documentary on marine life when he was speared through the heart with a stingray barb in a freak accident. He was 44 years old.

Answer: Cricket

"The Don", as he was affectionately known, was an international cricketer and administrator of the game. With a Test batting average of 99.94, he is arguably the greatest batsman of all time.
[the next best Test batting averages are in the low 60s)

Answer: Opera

An Australian operatic soprano, Nellie Melba was the first Australian to achieve international success in that field. Born Helen Porter Mitchell, she took the name "Melba" to honour her home town of Melbourne.

Answer: Children's Literature

Although most known for her children's book, "Snugglepot and Cuddlepie", May Gibbs was also a successful artist and cartoonist. She illustrated articles and drew political cartoons for several Australian and English publications, including those dealing with women's suffrage.

Answer: Aviation

"Smithy" was an early Australian aviator who, in 1928, became the first to fly across the Pacific Ocean from the USA to Australia. He achieved several other notable firsts. But he was not untouched by scandal; two men died after crash landing their plane in April 1929 while searching for Kingsford Smith and his crew who had made their own emergency landing in northern Western Australia.

Although fully exonerated by the inquiry, some people believed that Kingford Smith''s crash and rescue was a publicity stunt and that he was responsible for the deaths.

Answer: Art

Albert Namatjira (1902-1959) was an aboriginal artist from the Alice Springs region of Australia. Although his most well known works are landscapes painted in the western style, they still incorporate a lot of traditional culture and motifs.

Answer: Country music

Slim Dusty (1927-2003) was a singer and musician whose career spanned over 7 decades. 'The Lights on the Hill', written by his wife Joy, won him the Best Single at the inaugural Country Music Awards of Australia, but he is probably best known for 'The Pub with No Beer'.

Answer: Pharmacology

Although Alexander Fleming is given most credit for the discovery of penicillin, it was Howard Florey and Ernst Chain who investigated its antibacterial properties, conducted clinical trials and developed the drug into an effective treatment. The three men shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.