Our Beautiful Brown Land, Australia Quiz

Answer: Australia

Australia is located in the southern hemisphere and comprises a continent and a number of small islands. Our neighbours are Indonesia, East Timor and Papua and New Guinea to the north; Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north east; and New Zealand to the south east.

The Antarctic is way to the south, and if you keep going west far enough, you'll eventually bump into the coast of Africa.

Answer: 1770

Good old Captain Cook sailed up the east coast in that year and after a ship wreck or two, officially claimed the country for the British crown before he high tailed it out of there back to England. Australia was officially settled as the Penal Colony of New South Wales on 26th January 1788.

Answer: Torrens

Adelaide was named after the wife of the British King William IV. The city was founded in 1836 as a planned capital and the only freely settled province in Australia at the time. The rest were repositories for British convicts - the nerve of 'em littering the countryside like that. Adelaide is set out in a grid, with beautiful boulevards and welcoming public squares and is encompassed on all sides by lovely parkland.

Answer: Indian

Australian is surrounded on all sides by ocean. Tasmania, the smallest state, which is separated from the mainland of Australia, is also surrounded by ocean. Although it is the sixth largest country in the world in area, Australia is the smallest continent - but because it has been classed as the largest island in the world as well, we're known as both an island as well as a continent. Very confusing indeed - we never know if we're supposed to be coming or going.

Answer: Over 2,000

The Great Barrier Reef, which is a World Heritage Site, is the world's largest coral reef system, and is comprised of almost 3,000 smaller reefs and 900 islands. This beautiful area of the world is located in the Coral Sea off the eastern coast of the Australian state of Queensland.

Answer: Desert or semi-arid

This part of Australia is commonly referred to as the Outback - the further out back the better in my opinion. Australia also has the oldest and least fertile soils and is the driest and flattest continent in the world. How inviting. Spare a thought for those early convicts. Population density is only 2.8 per square kilometre and most of the Australian population lives along the more hospitable and habitable eastern coast.

Answer: Platypus and Echidna

Monotremes are mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young like marsupials and mammals do. They are a warm-blooded species, grow hair on their bodies and produce milk to nourish their young. The little platypus, such a fascinating creature, is extremely difficult to locate in the wild in Australia.

Answer: Kevin Rudd

Aimed at combating world wide climate change, the Kyoto Protocol was signed by Kevin Rudd, who was sworn in as Prime Minister in December 2007, as his first official act on his first day in office. Attaboy. The Rudd ministry has initiated several other emission reduction activities, yet alas, our carbon dioxide emissions per capital still continue to be one of the highest in the world. We're getting there, however.

Answer: Queensland

Located in north west Queensland, Mt Isa has one of the most productive mines in the world, which includes lead, silver, copper and zinc. The Isa, as it is referred to by the locals, is the administrative, commercial and industrial centre for Queensland's vast north west, and, such is its importance to the nation, a large artificial lake has been constructed in this arid area for both drinking water and recreation purposes for the district's population of 31,000.

Answer: Rockhampton

Rockhampton is just to the north of the Tropic of Capricorn which lies at 23° 26' 22". In this area there is a bio-geographical overlap of the tropical and temperate zones measuring 500 kilometres wide. Rockhampton is roughly at its centre, and the coastal area to its east is known as the Capricorn Coast.