Special Sub-Topic: People of the 20th Century (Australia) Click Here To Play: People of the 20th Century (Australia)

Which aviator/aviatrix made the first flight across the Pacific in 1935?

Charles Kingsford Smith. Charles Kingsford Smith, or Smithy, as he was affectionately known to Australians, flew from Sydney to San Francisco in a single engine plane with a navigator and became the first man to cross the Pacific by plane.

In 1946 a 12-year-old Timorese boy stowed away in the wheel housing of a plane bound for Australia. Who was he?

Bas Wie. He was discovered when the plane landed in Darwin. He was shockingly injured. Public sympathy helped sway the decision of the authorities and he was allowed to stay. He was placed in a foster home and lived in Darwin from that time on and became a respected and honoured member of the community.

Dr Gilbert Bogle and a female companion were found dead on the banks of the Lane Cove River in Sydney on the morning of lst January 1963. The case has never been officially solved. Who was the woman with him?

Margaret Chandler. Margaret Chandler was known to Bogle and they had been at the same party the previous evening. Several theories have been put forward but the case remains officially unsolved.

Who was the Australian Olympic champion who was suspended for many years owing to behaviour deemed not to be acceptable at the 1964 Olympic Games?

Dawn Fraser. Dawn Fraser was considered to be Australia's greatest female sprint swimmer with 8 Olympic medals to her credit - 4 gold and 4 silver, won at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Games.

Which of these Australian Prime Ministers died while in office?

Harold Holt. Holt disappeared on the l7th December 1967 while attempting to swim in rough seas at Cheviot Beach, Victoria. His body was never recovered.

Which Australian Prime Minister was removed while still in office in 1975?

Gough Whitlam. Gough Whitlam was sacked by the Governor General of the time, Sir John Kerr, and the control of the Government was handed over to Malcolm Fraser, the then Leader of the Opposition. It was the subject of a film called "The Dismissal" (183).

Who was the first female recipient of a heart transplant in Australia in April 1984?

Fiona Coote. Fiona underwent the history making operation in St Vincent's Hospital. The surgeon who performed the operation was Dr Victor Chang. At the time she was the youngest recipient at the age of 14.

Which Austalian was the first woman to sail solo round the world, non-stop, in 1988?

Kay Cottee. Kay took six months to complete the journey in her yacht, "First Lady".

How did the surgeon, Dr Victor Chang, who was a leading heart surgeon in Australia, die?

Gunshot wound. Dr Chang was found murdered in a Sydney street in July 1991. His body was found next to his car with two bullet wounds to the head. Dr. Victor Chang was the surgeon who operated on Fiona Coote.

Who was the perpetrator of Australia's worst mass murder?

Martin Bryant. On the 28th April 1996, Bryant went on a shooting rampage at Port Arthur in Tasmania, killing 35 people and wounding another 22. This was Australia's worst mass murder. He was sentenced to 35 life sentences cumulatively in Tasmania's Risdon Prison.