Sights of Sydney Trivia Quiz

Answer: Port Jackson

Port Jackson, an inlet of the Tasman Sea, was the site of the first British settlement on the Australian mainland, established in 1788. The group of settlers, usually referred to as the First Fleet, originally landed in Botany Bay, a few kilometres south of Port Jackson, but decided to make their settlement on the shores of Sydney Cove, a part of the larger area of Port Jackson. Port Jackson is a large and complex area, incorporating Sydney Harbour (the bit shown in the picture), Middle Harbour, North Harbour, the Lane Cove Rive and the Parramatta River. If you only know Sydney from watching the fireworks on New Year's Eve, or watching the start of the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race on Boxing Day, then Port Jackson will be a familiar sight.

Answer: Monorail

The other three operated well before the monorail was built, and continued after its closure. The monorail ran in a single direction around a 3.6 km loop that had eight stations: Harbourside, Convention, Paddy's Markets (formerly Haymarket and Powerhouse), Chinatown, World Square, Galeries Victoria (formerly Park Plaza), City Centre and Darling Park. An entire circuit took 12 minutes, as long as everything was working properly.

The monorail was always controversial, with supporters of a light rail system arguing that it would be significantly cheaper to build, and could handle more passengers for a much less expensive ticket price.

The monorail was plagued with breakdown problems, and poorly patronised by Sydneysiders because it never integrated properly with the other forms of public transport, so was closed and dismantled in 2013.

While it ran, it was convenient for tourists, since it stopped at many of the most popular spots for sightseeing.

Answer: 4D cinema

While all of these can be found on the observation deck level of the Sydney Tower, only the 4D cinema is ground-breaking. This term refers to a cinema which provides a 3D film image, accompanied by special effects experienced by viewers - does anyone remember the Sensurround feature in specially-equipped cinemas for the screening of 'Earthquake', which meant your seat vibrated? The Sydney Tower displays 3D footage of various parts of the city (the documentary emphasizing points of historical interest), and patrons feel the wind in their hair, and spray from the water as they cross the Harbour.

Answer: Martin Place

The other pedestrian malls can be found in Melbourne (Bourke Street), Adelaide (Rundle Mall) and Brisbane (Queen Street). Martin Place started life in 1892 as a street running between George Street and Pitt Street, named after a former Premier of New South Wales and Chief Justice of the NSW Supreme Court.

It was subsequently extended, and in 1935 reached its current extent, running from George Street to Macquarie Street. In 1971, it started to be closed to traffic, and by 1979 was a completely pedestrian area.

It is surrounded by many of the major corporate buildings of the city (Reserve Bank of Australia, Commonwealth Bank, Macquarie Bank, Westpac, Sydney General Post Office, Channel Seven's Sydney centre, and more). As well as admiring the historic architecture, you can see the World War I ANZAC Cenotaph (next to the GPO), and occasionally observe performances in the amphitheatre outside the Commonwealth Bank.

Answer: University of Sydney

These are only four of the universities you will find in Sydney, the oldest of which is the University of Sydney, established in 1850. It regularly ranks in the top 50 in international rankings of universities, and in the top 20 for having beautiful grounds. Sydney is the alma mater of seven Prime Ministers of Australia, two Governors-General, and four Chief Justices of the High Court of Australia.

Not to mention over 100 Rhodes Scholars, and a handful of Nobel laureates, including Sir John Warcup Cornforth Jr., AC, CBE, FRS, FAA, whose 1975 shared Nobel prize in Chemistry made him the first person born in New South Wales to receive a Nobel Prize of any sort. (We won't talk about the fact that he had to move to the UK in 1941 in order to complete a PhD in Chemistry, a degree not then available in Australia, and he continued to work and live there until his death in 2013.)

Answer: No

The first observatory was established in 1788 on Dawes Point, at the base of what is now called Observatory Hill. It was only a temporary setup, designed to observe a predicted comet that was not detected. The second observatory was built in Parramatta (west of Sydney) in 1821.

The decision to build a full observatory next to the signal station on Windmill Hill made this the third one to be constructed in the colony. Its first main function was providing accurate time - the time ball on its tower dropped at precisely 1:00pm each day, easily seen from a large part of the city due to the elevation of the observatory. Among its astronomical functions, the observatory provided daily reports regarding the times for the rising and setting of the sun and the moon until it was closed and turned into a museum in 1982.

Answer: Old Sydney Burial Ground

The site had been used as Sydney's first European cemetery between 1782 and 1820, with an estimated 2000 people buried there. The foundation stone for the Town Hall was laid by HRH Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, during a visit in 1968, even though the site was still officially a cemetery. This spurred officials on to pass legislation closing the cemetery, and the bodies were disinterred to allow for construction of the Town Hall.

Before the Opera House was opened, the Town Hall was the major performance venue in Sydney for classical music. Its Centennial Hall contains one of the world's largest pipe organs using tubular pneumatic action (a technique of organ construction developed in the 19th century that allowed the performance console to be placed further away from the organ pipes than had previously been possible, as well as making it less strenuous to play). Sydney City Council offices are located in the building, which also has rooms that can be rented for functions. It is a common place to arrange a rendez-vous due to its central location: 'On the steps of Town Hall' is Sydney's equivalent to Melbourne's 'Under the clocks at Flinders Street'.

Answer: Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach is not generally acclaimed as one of Australia's most beautiful beaches (the other options are all stronger contenders for that title), but its proximity to Sydney (7 km east of the CBD) makes it one of the best known, especially with the European tourists who spend their Christmas-New Year holiday avoiding the northern hemisphere winter.

It has a lovely expanse of beach, but is often so crowded that it is difficult to find a spot to lay your towel. The northern end of the beach is usually excellent for safe swimming, but the southern end, unfortunately also the end nearest the bus stop which tourists use to reach the beach, is deceptive. What looks like a nice smooth surface is actually a fairly strong rip! Swimmers should always only swim between the red and yellow flags that the Surf Lifesaving volunteers put in place after evaluating the water each day, even if this means walking most of the kilometre over which the beach extends in order to reach the swimming zone.

Answer: Taronga Zoo Sydney

The first zoo in Sydney was in Moore Park, in an area now used as two high schools. It moved in 1916 to its present site, so that a more open-plan zoo, with fewer cages and more natural environments, could be developed. The word 'taronga' apparently means 'beautiful view' in the language of the local indigenous people, and you certain get a beautiful view! Many people arrive at the zoo via ferry across the harbour, and then either take a bus up the hill to the top or (since the 1980s) take a gondola ride that provides a fantastic harbour view. You can then walk downhill, weaving around to see the various exhibits as you go, and catch the ferry back to the city. (If you drive, the carpark is at the top, so that ride back up looks awfully tempting after you have spent the day on your feet.)

Answer: Luna Park Milsons Point

Built almost at the foot of the northern end of the Harbour Bridge, in an area that had held equipment for its construction, Luna Park opened in 1935, using rides that had been transferred from the proprietors' previous amusement park in Glenelg, South Australia.

Initially it only opened for seven months each year, with the winter being used to refurbish rides (and construct new ones). In 1972 it started operating year-round, and some feel that this lack of breaks to make careful repairs was one of the factors contributing to a number of accidents that happened after that, including a fire in the Ghost Train that killed seven people, mostly children.

This led to an almost complete reconstruction of the park, but there continued to be safety and noise issues identified, so that it has opened and closed several times since then.

The entrance has almost always been through The Face, shown in the image, which has had several different versions over the years.