Victoria! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gold

Discovered in Victoria in 1869, the Welcome Stranger gold nugget was the largest discovered alluvial gold nugget in the world. After gold was discovered in New South Wales in 1851, prospectors from many countries headed to Australia and then made their way to Victoria when word of extensive gold deposits there spread.

Answer: Organ Pipes National Park

The Organ Pipes National Park is just a few minutes' drive from the Tullamarine airport in Melbourne. Jacksons Creek, which is 71 km (44 mi) in length, has worn away the lava flows to form a deep valley, up to 417m (1,368 ft) deep. Apart from the spectacular arrangement of the basalt columns that gives the park its name, the region also has other geological features including the Rosette Rock and Tessellated Pavement.

There are numerous picnic spots near the river, and it is home to many native animals including kangaroos, echidna and snakes.

Answer: Helmeted honeyeater

In 1971, the helmeted honeyeater was proclaimed the state of Victoria's official bird emblem. Critically endangered with fewer than 150 birds in the wild, Zoos Victoria have a breeding program which includes providing suitable trees and flowers for the birds to feed on, and for shelter. The 'honey' they eat is sap from a particular gum tree.

The birds are about 20 cm (8 inches) long, with a yellow patch on the heads while their bodies are black to olive green. They share their love of honey with bears!

Answer: Churchill Island

Lt. James Grant arrived in 1801 on a small island in Western Port Bay aboard the HMS Lady Nelson (used to transport convicts and former convicts between Australian ports). Grant had been given some seeds before he left England; he named the island after the man who had given him the seeds. Churchill Island was the site of the first European garden in Victoria, including the first site where wheat was grown in the state.

When wheat was first grown in Australia in the late 1780s, the crops were not very successful, due to black stem rust and other diseases. Agronomist William Farrer experimented in cross-breeding wheat and produced a hybrid grain that he called 'Federation' wheat, the first specifically Australian variety that was both rust- and drought-resistant.

Answer: Vegemite

Cyril Callister, the 'The Man Who Invented Vegemite' (and a book of that name tells his story), was the grandson of a gold miner from Ballarat. As Marmite, a UK yeast product popular at the time in Australia, was unavailable due to the First World War, he was employed by Fred Walker, an entrepreneurial food manufacturer, to create a spread similar to Marmite using the yeast left over at a Carlton (Vic) brewery. The resulting product, named Vegemite, went on the market in 1923.

Vegemite has great cultural significance in Australia; it has a street named after it in Fisherman's Bend; it was sent to the troops in their ration packs; and it boasted in the 1950s that the Vitamin B it contains put a rose in the cheeks of its eaters. The 1980s band, Men at Work, included those words in their song 'Down Under'.

Answer: Puddles

Alan Marshall was born in 1902 in Noorat, Victoria where he lived for most of his childhood. He contracted poliomyelitis at a young age and was crippled for his whole life. He wrote the first of three autobiographical books, "I Can Jump Puddles" in 1955, followed by "This is the Grass" in 1962 and "In Mine Own Heart" in 1963.

These books detail his joyous approach to life, the characters he met and his pleasure in the Australian regional countryside.

Answer: The Ashes

After a loss to Australia at the Oval in Surrey (UK), the Sporting Times reported dramatically on the death of English cricket, and carried a mock obituary, stating; "The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia" (this referred to a forthcoming tour of Australia by the English side). Apart from a series of formal games, the teams also played a few social matches, one of which was at the Rupertswood estate in Sunbury.

Sir William and Lady Janet Clarke hosted the English team and it was Lady Janet who, with the family governess, burned a small urn and presented it to the English team with great glee. The family governess, Florence Morphy, later married Ivo Bligh, the then English captain.

The America's Cup, a boating event, dates back to 1851.

Answer: Neighbours

'Neighbours' came to the television screens of Australia and the world in 1985, though its success was not immediate. Failing on the Seven network, it was taken up by the Ten network. At that time, their national headquarters was only a few suburbs away from Erinsborough, the fictitious suburb where the 'Neighbours' action took place.

It lasted for a record thirty-nine seasons and introduced many actors who later went on to international fame. These included Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan. Local and international stars also made cameo appearances; Red Symons from the band Skyhooks, footballer Warwick Capper, music legend Molly Meldrum and journalist Clive James were locals who joined the show at various stages. International names include Little Britain stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams, the Spice Girls' Emma Bunton, The Veronicas, and wrestler Dave Bautista.

After winning numerous awards, the program was terminated in 28 July 2022, though speculation about resurrecting the show has continued.

Answer: Melbourne

Melbourne is located at the head of Port Phillip Bay, on the Southeast coast of Australia. It was developed on a grid system with a boundary running approximately southeast along the Yarra River. The streets running in a Nor'-nor'-east direction are named 'King', 'William', Queen', and 'Elizabeth', referencing English monarchs. Most of the remainder of the streets in the city centre are named for Australian explorers or statesmen.

Its famous trams are a regular means to get to work, but a free City Circle tram takes visitors and locals alike for a tour of the city's environs. Located to the southeast of the city is the Sports precinct, where the Australian Open tennis takes place each January, and where the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with its 100,024 seat capacity, hosts cricket in summer and Australian Rules football in the winter.

It is a truly lovely city with its plane trees and large gardens. But it's Melbourne. It has capricious weather, so bring a brolly and a jumper. Let me know when you come to visit and I'll show you round. It's my hometown.

Answer: Birdman Rally

With the competitors in a tussle for a cash contribution to their favourite charity, the 'birdmen' bring their home-made gliders, hang gliders and human-powered aircraft and try to be the one that 'flies' the greatest distance.

Contestants take off from a 5 metre (just over 16 ft) high platform and have to fly for at least 50 metres (160 ft). First held in 1976, the Moomba Birdman Rally always attracts a crowd. Not only do the competitors test their ingenuity with their flying machines, they also dress for the occasion, donning amazing costumes.

Answer: Picnic at Hanging Rock

The 1975 movie, from the novel of the same name by Joan Lindsay, set in 1900 regional Victoria, was directed by Peter Weir. It tells the fictitious story of a group of boarding school girls who celebrate St Valentine's Day by going on a school picnic. The girls are permitted to explore around the base of the rock and some decide to climb a bit further up to see the view. Twilight falls but the girls have not returned from exploring. A search is instigated but the girls are never found.

Hanging Rock is a series of volcanic eruptions, the highest of which is 718m (2356ft) above sea level. The area is home to indigenous wildlife and local flora. Amenities include delightful picnic grounds, a dam, and a moderate 3.2km (2mi) walkway to the top. Each New Year's Day a country horse racing carnival takes place.

The picture is of clothes hanging....hope you got the hint!

Answer: Dame Nellie Melba

Nellie Porter Mitchell was born in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond in 1861. As a child she played the piano and sang to entertain Melbourne crowds. Attending Presbyterian Ladies College in Melbourne's East, she was tutored by Italian tenor Pietro Cecchi and dreamed of a career singing opera around the world.

Her professional career started at a concert in the Melbourne Town Hall in 1884, and from there she toured Australia and the world to great acclaim, taking on the name Nellie Melba as a tribute to her home town. Her farewell performance was at Melbourne's Her Majesty's Theatre in 1928; sadly, she died just three years later in St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, of septicaemia, aged 69.

The picture is of gargoyles on Notre 'Dame' Cathedral.

Answer: Steve Irwin

Steve Irwin was known universally as the crocodile hunter, and gave the world an enthusiastic education about the wonders of Australian wildlife. He was sometimes reckless but always fearless in his encounters with wildlife. This trait may have contributed to his death from a bull stingray attack, while filming a documentary called "Ocean's Deadliest" near Australia's Great Barrier Reef in 2006.

Answer: The Great Scenic Railway

Opening in December 1912, the iconic Great Scenic Railway is a heritage-listed wooden roller coaster, making it the world's second-oldest operating ride of this type. It has 967 metres (1057 yards) of track, has 322 track posts and stands 16 metres (17.5 yards) tall. Luna Park is an historic amusement park, famous for its 'Rotor' ride, Ghost Train, and Giggle Palace, apart from the Scenic Railway.

Answer: Captain Cook

Captain Cook's Cottage is located in Melbourne's Fitzroy Gardens, but was constructed originally in North Yorkshire, England in 1755, by James Cook's parents. It was dismantled brick by brick and brought to Melbourne for reassembly in 1934 by Australian chemist and philanthropist Sir Russell Grimwade. Even the ivy which adorns the cottage was grown from a cutting from the original garden. Though the furniture in the cottage is not from Cook's family, it is representative of the era.