Australian Mystery Sort #1 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Prime Ministers

Julia Eileen Gillard was Australia's first female Prime Minister, from December 2007 to June 2010. Born in Wales in 1961, she was the country's 27th PM. Celebrated for her stinging rebuke to the (then) Opposition leader, Tony Abbott, when he accused her of sexism:
"I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man; I will not... If he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia, he doesn't need a motion in the House of Representatives, he needs a mirror. That's what he needs."

Answer: Prime Ministers

Paul John Keating was Australia's 24th Prime Minister, from December 1991 to March 1996. Born in Sydney, New South Wales in 1944, he was known for his quick wit and acid tongue on the floor of Parliament. He was the manager of a rock band in his earlier days (the Ramrods) and had a penchant for collecting antique French clocks.

Answer: Prime Ministers

Edward Gough Whitlam was Australia's 21st Prime Minister, from December 1972 to November 1975. Born in Melbourne, Victoria in 1916, he was a man possessed of a sharp mind. Controversially dismissed from office in 1975 by the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr. Whitlam died in 2014 at the age of 98, making him the country's longest-lived PM.

Answer: Prime Ministers

Sir Robert Gordon Menzies was Australia's 12th Prime Minister, from April 1939 to August 1941, and then again from December 1949 to January 1966. Born in Victoria in 1894, he is the country's longest serving PM (18 years, 163 days). Menzies was an extreme monarchist. He was the first Australian PM ever to fly overseas (1941). He was knighted in 1963 and died in 1978.

Answer: Prime Ministers

Harold Edward Holt was Australia's 17th Prime Minister, from January 1966 to December 1967. Born in Sydney, New South Wales in 1908, Holt rose to the top when Sir Robert Menzies retired. He was the PM when the country converted to decimal currency in February 1966. He was criticised in Australia for stating that he was "all the way with LBJ" during a visit to the White House during the Vietnam War.

Holt died in 1967 after disappearing in rough seas whilst swimming alone (whoever and wherever you are now reading this, can you imagine your country's leader going for a swim alone? In rough weather?) It was a different time then... Rumours circulated that he was picked up by a midget Chinese submarine (for what purpose, of course, is never stated). Given the nature of his demise, in true Australian fashion, a newly-opened swimming pool in Glen Iris was named in his honour.

Answer: Singers

Graeme Ronald "Shirley" Strachan was the lead singer of 70s Australian band, Skyhooks. Born in Victoria in 1952, and nicknamed "Shirl" because of his curly, sunbleached hair, Strachan went onto have a successful media career in both radio and television, until his unfortunate death in a self-piloted helicopter accident in 2001.

Answer: Singers

Daryl Braithwaite was the lead singer of the 70s Australian band Sherbet. Following that, he has had a successful solo career. Born in Melbourne in 1949, Braithwaite was named Australia's King of Pop in three consecutive years, 1975-76-77.

Answer: Singers

James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes was the lead singer of the 80s Australian band, Cold Chisel. He subsequently developed a highly successful solo career, which was curtailed in 2023 due to health concerns. Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1956, Barnes had 15 solo number one albums in Australia, more than any other artist. He is a practising Buddhist.

Answer: Singers

Christine Joy "Chrissy" Amphlett was the lead singer of the 80s Australian band the Divinyls. She cultivated a deliberately sexual persona both on and off stage, and the band's song lyrics often reflected this (example: "I Touch Myself" released in 1990).

Born in Geelong in 1959, Amphlett died in 2013 in New York City following a long battle with breast cancer. In an effort to bring breast cancer and self-examination into the spotlight, the "I Touch Myself" awareness project was launched in 2014.

Answer: Singers

Colleen Hewett was born in Victoria in 1950. An actor and singer, she is best known for her 1971 hit "Day By Day". Colleen was voted Queen of Pop in 1972 and 1973. Her acting credits include a short-lived character (1984-85) on the TV series "Prisoner", which ran from 1979 to 1986.

Answer: Sailors

Kay Cottee was born in Sydney, New South Wales in 1954. At age 34, she became the first woman to sail around the world non-stop and alone. She departed Sydney Harbour in November 1987 and returned 189 days later. In 1988 she was named Australian of the Year, and in 1989 she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia.

Answer: Sailors

John Edwin Bertrand was born in Melbourne, Victoria in 1946. He is venerated in Australia for being the skipper of "Australia II", the victorious boat in the 1983 America's Cup series, which ended the USA's 132-year stranglehold on the trophy. He had earlier won a gold medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics in the Finn class sailing event.

In 1984 he was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia "in recognition of service to yachting, particularly as skipper of Australia II in the America's Cup challenge 1983."

Answer: Sailors

Benjamin "Ben" Lexcen was born in 1936 in Sydney, New South Wales, as Robert Clyde Miller. He changed his name to avoid any confusion with a former boatbuilding company he had owned. Reportedly, he had a friend's computer generate a random six-letter surname (Author's note: gee, you would want the right of refusal...).

Famous in Australia for being the designer of the 'winged keel', the secret weapon that enabled Australia to wrest control of the America's Cup from the Americans for the first time in 132 years (its complete history) in 1983. Lexcen was awarded Member of the Order of Australia in 1984, "for service to yachting, particularly as designer of Australia II in the successful America's Cup challenge 1983."

Answer: Actors

Isla Lang Fisher was born in 1976 in Muscat, Oman. She became well known in Australia for being a leading actor in the long-running TV soap "Home and Away". Went to Hollywood and got roles in movies such as "Wedding Crashers", "Confessions of a Shopaholic" and "Now You See Me". Was married to Sacha Baron Cohen for 15 years.

Answer: Actors

Portia Lee James DeGeneres (professionally known as Portia de Rossi) was born as Amanda Lee Rogers in 1973 in Victoria. She changed her name to Portia at age 15 to pursue and acting and modelling career. She has appeared in such well-known shows as "Ally McBeal", "Arrested Development" and "Scandal".

She married Ellen in 2008 (did the surname give the game away?) and is active in philanthropy and her support of LGBTQ+ and mental health issues. She is also a published author.

Answer: Actors

Geoffrey Roy Rush was born in 1951 in Queensland. He has a low profile in Australia (this author would not be surprised if a majority of Australians did not know that he's 'one of us'). One of the few actors who has the 'Triple Crown of Acting' - winning an Oscar (1997 Best Actor), Emmy (2005), and a Tony Award (2009).

His notable films include "Shakespeare in Love" (1998), "Quills" (2000), "The King's Speech" (2010), and the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies. He was named Australian of the Year in 2012.

Answer: Billionaires

Georgina "Gina" Hope Rinehart was born in 1954 in Perth, Western Australia. Her wealth is based on iron ore exports. Originally having inherited the beginnings of that wealth from Lang Hancock, her father, she expanded the operations to become Australia's wealthiest person. An outspoken voice in certain matters of national policy, she supports a number of causes such as medical research and sport.

She also owns a number of cattle stations, mainly in northern Australia, their total size being around 88000 square kilometres. By way of comparison: about the same size as the Czech Republic or Austria, or about the same size as Nebraska or South Dakota.

Answer: Billionaires

John Andrew Henry Forrest, nicknamed Twiggy, was born in 1961 in Perth, Western Australia. His fortune was made through Fortescue Metals, a major iron ore exporter. He is also into clean renewable energy, particularly large green hydrogen and de-carbonisation projects, and makes large (in the billions) commitments towards same. Minderoo, a philanthropic organisation that he runs, provides funding towards ocean conservation, Indigenous employment and the battle against modern slavery.

Answer: Billionaires

Sir Frank Lowy was born in 1930 in Fi'akovo, Czechoslovakia. A holocaust survivor, he is best known to most Australians as having been the head honcho of the Westfield Shopping Centre chain. He was the chairman of the Football Federation Australia from 2003 to 2015 and re-shaped and modernised the game, being instrumental in the creation of the A-League in 2005.

He is the head of the Lowy Institute, an organisation that runs think tanks on international policy. His Knighthood was bestowed by the UK government in 2017 for his contribution to the business and philanthropy (Westfield was big there as well).

Answer: Billionaires

Clive Frederick Palmer was born in 1954 in Melbourne, Victoria. He accumulated his wealth via mining and property. Frequently in court, either suing or being sued, Palmer used much of his wealth running for public office whilst in charge of the Palmer United Party, then the United Australia Party.

A larger than life character, figurately, vocally and literally, he likes to keep himself in the news with schemes such as building a replica of the "Titanic".