Australia: All about Victoria Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bass Strait

The Bass Strait is around 310 miles (500 km) long and is an infamously tempestuous body of water, considered around twice as rough as the English Channel. The narrow channel where Port Phillip Bay and the Bass Strait meet creates harsh tidal surges, many of which have sunk ships. The Bass Strait has one of the most densely populated maritime graveyards worldwide. It is estimated to have absorbed over 1,000 ships.

There are over 50 islands on the strait. The strait is named after George Bass (1771-1803), an English maritime surgeon and explorer.

Answer: Hawthorn Bridge

Constructed in 1861, the Hawthorn Bridge is one of the oldest metal bridges in all of Australia. The bridge's construction was severely delayed because the ship transporting the pieces of the bridge to be built caught fire and sank in Hobson's Bay in 1859. It was the first metal bridge to be constructed over the Yarra River.

The Hawthorn Bridge was designed by Francis Bell, and mimics London's Blackfriars Bridge. Construction cost £10,500 which was the equivalent of multi-millions of dollars at the time.

Answer: Shepparton

Located in the Goulburn Valley, Shepparton is around 110 miles (180 km) northeast of Melbourne.

Entitled "Moooving Art," the fiberglass cows that have become a fixture of Shepparton were never meant to be there permanently. They were originally part of a Christmas campaign in Shepparton in 1999, but proved so popular with both locals and tourists that they remained. Since the growing popularity of the exhibit Australian artists such as Tammy Lee Atkinson, Tank and Ivan Durrant have designed some of the cows.

The exhibit of cows is routinely shuffled around Shepparton. They can be found outside local businesses, in parks, high up on rooftops, poles or hills and other varying places across the city. Because they are moved unpredictably, tourist companies in Shepparton include a moving cow map to assist tourists in tracking them down.

The cows are realistic enough to cause confusion amongst dogs. There are regular reports of dogs stopping dead in their tracks whilst on a walk with their owners to bark at the cows.

Answer: Mount Bogong

Standing at around 6,516 (1,985 km) feet tall and situated in the Alpine National Park, Mount Bogong gets its name from the local Aboriginal dialect, translating to "Big Fella." There is no road access to the mountain. The mountain is home to the mountain pygmy possum, which is critically endangered due its reliance on Bogong moths for food after hibernation.

The Cleve Cole Memorial Hut sits at around 5,775 feet (1,760 m) high on Mount Bogong and was constructed in 1937. It is a sanctuary for skiers and climbers and is named after Australian skiing pioneer, Cleve Cole (1897-1936). Cleve Cole was the first recorded to ascend Mount Bogong in winter, achieving this ascent in 1932. He died in 1936 on Mount Bogong of severe hypothermia and frostbite. After a severe blizzard hit the mountain, he and his two friends, Mick Hull and Howard Michell, spent three days huddled in a snow cave they had dug as visibility was too poor to find shelter. Hull and Mitchell survived, but Cleve Cole tragically died hours after being rescued.

Answer: Bendigo

Bendigo is located around 90 miles (150 km) northwest of Melbourne.

Constructed in 1854 during the height of Victoria's gold rush, the Hotel Shamrock, also known as the Shamrock Hotel, was originally a tavern. The original building burned down on Christmas Day in 1857. The hotel has been rebuilt twice, with the most recent structure standing since 1897.

The hotel came close to being demolished to make way for an office block, however the government bought the building for $240,000 in 1975. $2.5 million was later spent of restoring the parlours, the grand staircase and verandas.

The top floor was sealed off in the 1980s to combat water damage and pigeon infestations. The floor was left and is now subject to tours for ghost hunters as aesthetically it remains frozen in time.

Answer: Lake Tyrrell

Located around 195 miles (315 km) northwest of Melbourne, Lake Tyrrell covers an area of 20,860-hectares, and gets its name from the Wergaia Aboriginal language with "Tyrile" translating to "Sky." The Boorong people on the lake are regarded to be amongst the first astronomers. They used the lake's perfect refection at night to study the constellations.

Lake Tyrrell is a remnant of Lake Bungunnia, a large lake from the Pleistocene period which once covered approximately 26,250 square miles (68,000 square km) across what is now Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales.

Although it is an inland salt basin with arid conditions, Lake Tyrrell remains one of Victoria's biggest breeding grounds for gulls. Thousands of the birds breed on the lake annually and the islands on the lake function as homes for the gulls to raise their chicks.

Due to the presence of microalgae called Dunaliella salina, Lake Tyrrell sometimes becomes bubble-gum pink in colour. The algae thrives in the hypersaline conditions and when water evaporates during dry periods, the salt concentration considerably spikes. The algae reacts by protecting its chlorophyll from the potent salinity and intense sunlight by secreting high amounts of beta-carotene.

Answer: Warrnambool

Situated on the eastern outskirts of Warrnambool city centre, Logans Beach Whale Watching Platform is one of the most highly regarded land-based whale watching spots in the world. The long, wooden platform is installed in the sand dunes overlooking the water.

Every year, typically between June and September (but sometimes until October) pregnant female Southern Right Whales migrate from Antarctica to the coast of Warrnambool in search of a warm coastline. The shallow waters create a barrier to prevent any new-born calves from being hunted by killer whales. The mother whales reside here with their offspring for 8-12 weeks, where the calves are taught to swim, dive and build up blubber.

Answer: Heavenly Queen Temple

Located along the Maribyrnong River in the suburb of Footscray, the Heavenly Queen Temple is a 40,000 square metre complex. The temple complex is dedicated to the Taoist Goddess of the Sea, Mazu; however, other shrines exist in the complex, such as dedications to Guan Yin, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy. A stainless steel statue of Mazu has stood outside the complex guarding the river since 2008. It is just over 50 feet (16 m) high. The statue was made in Nanjing, China, and was transported to Melbourne in 2008.

The temple is open all year and completely free of charge. The structural artwork and red and gold colour scheme is inspired by Beijing's Forbidden City.

Answer: Geelong

A Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) facility is the highest level of containment laboratory that deals with the world's most dangerous microbes, diseases and infectious agents.

The Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) was constructed in Geelong in 1985. Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser (1930-2015) signed the contract to have the building built as he was concerned by the biosecurity threats in Australia in the 1960s. The building cost $185 million to erect and took 13 years to construct.

The building is designed with overlapping physical barriers, meaning that containment of any infectious agents in the facility is not reliant on one single system - a "box within a box." The main building has five levels, four of which are contained within an airtight, concrete wall that is 30 cm thick. Air pressure is managed by having the air flowing inward in the direction of the highest containment zones, meaning that airborne disease and infectious agents remain contained.

In 2012, the ACDP successfully developed a vaccine for horses to protect them from the Hendra virus, a rare but deadly zoonotic virus (that is, it can be transmitted from animals to humans). Vaccinating horses against the Hendra virus breaks the transmission chain, meaning that it will not be passed from horses to humans.

Answer: Eureka Tower

Standing at around 975 feet (295 m), Eureka Tower was surpassed in height in 2019 by the Australia 108 tower in Melbourne. The top ten floors of the tower have windows that are coated with 24-carat gold-plated glass. This is not for the sake of extravagance, but the gold acts as a good thermal insulator. This saves the residents around 40% for their heating and cooling costs.

Eurkea Tower is known for its high-speed elevators which are capable of travelling at 9 metres per second. This facilitates the passengers to travel from the ground floor up to the 88th floor in 40 seconds.

Answer: Byaduk Caves

Located in the Mount Napier State Park in western Victoria, the Byaduk Caves are different from limestone caves - they were formed via flowing lava rather than water, around 30,000 years ago. This lava came from an eruption of Mount Napier.

Surrounding the caves are tumuli (that is, lava blisters) mounds, which were formed when flowing lava underground pushed the hardened crush skyward. Bats and other wildlife reside in the caves, which are a particularly important home for the endangered southern bent-wing bat.

Answer: Ballarat Synagogue

Completed and consecrated by 1861, Ballarat Synagogue was designed by English architect, T.B Cameron. After gold was discovered in Ballarat in 1851, with thousands of people arriving in the area to search for potential wealth, the Jewish miners and merchants raised enough founds to build a place of worship here, all with the backing of Charles Dyte, a key figure in the 1854 Eureka Stockade rebellion.

The original building was a small wooden synagogue constructed in 1855. In 1859 the land was requisitioned for the purpose of constructing Ballarat East Town Hall. In compensation the government allocated land for the current building which still stands today.

Answer: Derrinallum

Derrinallum is a rural town in western Victoria that gets its name from the Djargurd Wurrung and Girai wurrung languages, translating to "home of the sea swallows." It features dramatic volcanic landscape.

Climbing to the peak of Mount Elephant provides incredible views of the Victorian Volcanic Plains, with around 400 volcanoes visible from this height. Mount Elephant is around 1,250 feet (380 m) high.

Answer: Carisbrook stone arrangement

The Carisbrook stone arrangement stands on the traditional lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung, around 3 miles (5 km) southeast of the town of Carisbrook. It was likely once a sacred ceremonial site to conduct tribal initiation rites. However, due to its geometric precision, some scholars have asserted that the site once worked as a map of the night sky.

Because of the disruption caused by gold-seekers and preachers in the area in the 1850s, the exact function, meaning and customs of the site have been lost to history. As no direct oral traditions have survived, modern historians and archaeologists work with Dja Dja Wurrung elders in order to attempt to better understand the monument.

Answer: Wangaratta Water Tower

Constructed in 1924, Wangaratta Water Tower was intended to improve Wangaratta's water supply. It was just over 100 feet (30 m) high and had a capacity of carrying 1.09 million litres of water. Reports of concerns regarding weaknesses in the structure and leaks surfaced after the tower collapsed.

The tower collapsed on Sunday 5 April 1925. One part of the collapsing tower landed on the home of a family. The collapse brought down telegraph and electricity lines. This resulted in worshippers gathering at the Holy Trinity Cathedral suddenly being plunged into darkness due to the subsequent power cut. The sound of the crash was heard by so many that around 1,500 people gathered at the site to see what had happened. Fortunately, the collapsing tower caused no deaths.

In 1925, Construction and Local Government Journal (a weekly supplement) wrote a scathing review of the tower's design. Describing the structure as a "Brobdignagian stove-pipe," the publication suggested that the residents of Wangaratta should be glad that the tower collapsed because it was an eyesore on the town's skyline.

Answer: It is mainland Australia's southernmost point

South Point (Wilsons Promontory) stretches far south into the Bass Strait, resulting in strong winds engulfing the area. In past ice ages South Point was not the end of mainland Australia, but rather a land bridge connecting mainland Australia to Tasmania.

Humpback and Southern right whales regularly use the waters surrounding South Point as a rest stop during their yearly migrations. South Point is inaccessible by car and those who wish to visit it must do so on foot.

Answer: Mildura

Sitting on the border of Victoria and New South Wales, Mildura is surrounded by the Sunraysia region which grows approximately 90% of Australia's table grape exports, and about 80% of Victoria's total grape production. The area has a hot, dry climate and an abundance of water from the Murray River, making it an ideal area for viticulture.

The first 150 acres of wine grapes were planted in the area in 1888 by the Chaffey brothers.

Answer: Ovens and Kiewa

Mount Feathertop has the Ovens River running to its west and the Kiewa River to its east. These rivers relentlessly carved out the steep valleys around the mountain over millions of years, creating Mount Feathertop's notably dramatic ridge line, in contrast to the more typically flat plateaus of Victoria. Mount Feathertop is around 6,300 feet (1,920 m) high.

The mountain gets its name from the feather-like snow that gathers in winter around the mountain's summit.

Answer: Ballarat

Ballarat is located around 70 miles (115 km) west-northwest of Melbourne. The city is known for the Eureka Stockade in 1854, where gold miners orchestrated a rebellion against the British.

Opened in 1884, the Art Gallery of Ballarat is home to over 11,500 pieces of Australian artwork. The gallery features an extensive collections at works by the Lindsay family, who were raised in the nearby town of Creswick, and are notable for their contributions to Australian art and literature.

Answer: Goulburn River

At around 405 miles (655 km) long, the Goulburn River's flow is strongly regulated by Lake Eildon, a large reservoir capable of carrying six times the water capacity of Sydney Harbour. Goulburn River possesses the highest yearly flow and discharge of Victoria's rivers. It is named after colonial secretary, Major Frederick Goulburn.

The Goulburn River was designated a Protected Heritage River in 1992.