The Low-Down on Down Under Trivia Quiz

Answer: Eureka stockade

The Eureka Stockade (Rebellion) in 1854 was a bloody battle that changed the course of Australian history and is widely termed 'the birth of democracy in Australia'. Others call it a political stunt.

During the Victoria gold rush, gold miners were forced to buy an expensive licence, pay ever increasing taxes and were persecuted by police and the military alike - and the miners objected over this treatment. After a period of civil disobedience the miners finally had enough and revolted against the authority set down by the UK. The rebellion was a hard fought siege where 27 people died, the majority of them rebels. Other rebels were jailed but the people of Melbourne rebelled in support of the rebels. This led to the Electoral Act 1856 which granted suffrage to male colonists. Five years later, women land owners were also granted suffrage.

Answer: Melbourne Cup

Tagged 'the race that stops a nation' because for the two or three minutes of the race itself, the majority of Australians literally do stop everything just to watch or listen. The Cup (because Australians have a habit of shortening things) is a race for three year old thoroughbreds run over 3,200 meters and is the richest 'two-mile' handicap in the world. The race was originally run over two miles (3,219m) but was shortened when Australia became metric in 1972.

The inaugural race was held on Thursday 7th November 1861 with 17 starters vying for the prize of a watch and 710 gold sovereigns. The race turned into a bit of a debacle with one horse bolting early, three horses falling over (two of which died later) and the favourite being beaten by an outsider. That first winner was 'Archer' who backed up the following year to win again.

1985 was the first year the prize money topped $1 million and was won by 'What a Nuisance'. The trophy itself has taken many forms since the race began, but since 1919 it has been a three-handled 'loving cup' and is now hand crafted each year from 24 carat gold.

Answer: Ned Kelly

Ned Kelly was Australia's most famous bushranger, known for wearing armour made from stolen plough mouldboards. Kelly was a hero at age 11 for saving the life of a boy who was drowning in a creek.

There are two schools of thought regarding Ned Kelly. One is that he was a ruthless murderer and the other that he and his family were persecuted by the Victorian police. He and his gang: Brother Dan, Joseph Byrne and Steve Hart were cornered in a siege in Glenrowan where Kelly was shot at least six times. Although the armour he wore prevented him being killed, he was weakened by blood loss which enabled his capture. He was tried and sentenced to hang, which was carried out in the Melbourne jail on 11th November 1880.

The legend of Kelly has transformed him from an outlaw into a national hero and further afield.

Answer: Bondi Beach

As beach swimming became more popular around the start of the 20th century, many people were having trouble with the strong currents and rips that develop. Many of Sydney's beaches were forming life saving clubs at the time, but in February the Bondi Club became the first official Surf Life Saving Club. By October nine clubs joined forces to form the Surf Bathers' Association of New South Wales, which later became Surf Life Saving Australia.

The life savers at Bondi introduced the life-saving reel, a large drum with a heavy rope and harness, as a way for the life saver to swim out and rescue any swimmer in difficulties. The reels were used for many years but now are usually only seen at lifesaving competitions.

Volunteer life savers in their distinctive yellow and red uniforms are still on patrol in summer but Bondi is patrolled year round by professional life guards who wear blue. They have been seen on the TV series 'Bondi Rescue'. Tamarama and Bronte also have professional life guards but they do not patrol in winter.

The first person to be rescued at Bondi using the reel was a boy called Chas. Anecdotally it was thought but never proven, that the grown-up Chas was actually Sir Charles Kingsford Smith.

Answer: QANTAS

In November 1920 Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services began in Winton, Queensland and the following year moved to Longreach. QANTAS began flying internationally in 1935 after it had joined forces with Imperial Airlines the previous year.

When WWII broke out, QANTAS lost half of its fleet when the government took the planes for war use. Nicknamed 'The Flying Kangaroo', QANTAS first flew with the kangaroo logo in 1944 on an aptly named 'kangaroo hop' flight from Sydney to Karachi. After flights from Australia's east coast to the UK began, stopping at Singapore, Bahrain and then London QANTAS took over the kangaroo hop moniker.

Answer: Vegemite

Vegemite (aka 'axle grease') is an iconic black spread made from yeast that is strong in taste and flavour. Following the end of WWI, a brewing company wanted a way of using the leftover yeast form beer production. This job fell to Cyril Callister in 1922 who created the sticky spread by breaking down the yeast and adding salt and vegetable extracts. Vegemite went on the market in 1923 but initial sales were poor. By 1939 it was hailed as healthy (despite the high salt content) as it contained a lot of B group vitamins. During WWII it was rationed in Australia as most of the product was included into Australian Army ration packs.

In 1984 a jar of Vegemite was the first product to be electronically scanned at a checkout. A successful marketing jingle in 1954 is still known today and the phrase 'we're happy little vegemites' has become part of the Australian vernacular.

Answer: RFDS

The Rev John Flynn began an experiment in Cloncurry in 1928 that he called the AIM Aerial Medical Service. That experiment has grown to be one of the largest aero-medical services in the world. But the Royal Flying Doctor Service(RFDS), more familiarly the Flying Doctor, almost never happened. Rev Flynn knew the people in remote areas had no access to medical care, and because of the vast distances, it would take days for them to reach the nearest help. It took WWI pilot (John) Clifford Peel to find the answer. After seeing a missionary doctor in France fly out to see patients, he sent a letter to Rev Flynn who took the idea and ran with it. Sadly, Peel died in 1918, ten years before the Flying Doctor took to the skies.

But the service isn't restricted to use as a flying ambulance for emergencies. The service introduced radios to the isolated towns and stations so patients wouldn't have to rely on Morse code from the nearest post office. They also introduced Medical chests to the stations. These include a body chart with numbers so that doctors on the radio will know exactly where the pain or injury is. The chest includes emergency drugs, also numbered, so that treatment can begin before the RFDS arrives.

The RFDS conducts GP clinics in remote areas, where they fly a doctor in for regular sessions. Now though, the clinics include nurses, maternity and child health, indigenous health, dental and allied health services.

Answer: Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sydney needed a way to cross its harbour since the earliest days of penal settlement. In 1815, convict Frances Greenaway, an architect before transportation, proposed the bridge to then Governor Lachlan Macquarie. In 1903 a plan was accepted but the estimated cost of £2,000,000 was prohibitive and so the plan was put on hold. It wasn't until 1923 that tenders were called for the construction of a bridge. Building finally began in July 1923 and up to 1600 workers constructed the cantilever bridge. Work Place Health and Safety wasn't hear of back then and the conditions were so dangerous that 16 men died.

After completion and load testing 9 years later, the bridge was opened in 1932.

Nicknamed 'the coat hanger' after its shape, which was inspired by New York's Hell Gate Bridge, the Sydney bridge is crossed by some 150,000 vehicles every day. It also hosts trains, bicycles and pedestrian traffic. On certain anniversaries the bridge is closed to vehicular traffic and open to pedestrians. The bridge is also central to New Year celebrations with the bridge an integral part of the fireworks displays.

In June 1999 the bridge was listed on the New South Wales Heritage Register.

Answer: Gough Whitlam

Australia's greatest Constitutional Crisis occurred on 11th November 1975 when Sir John Kerr, the Governor-General dismissed then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and appointed Opposition leader, Malcolm Fraser as caretaker Prime Minister. The background for this had been brewing for years, as the sitting Labor Party controlled the House of Representatives but the Liberal Party had control of the Senate. As such, the appropriation bills needed to finance government operations, that were passed by the House of Reps, were then blocked by the Senate. The stalemate escalated with the Opposition refusing to back down and calling for Whitlam's dismissal. It was within Kerr's power to do this if the government could not secure supply, which they couldn't. On the morning of 11th November, Kerr dismissed Whitlam and his Labor government, then installing Fraser and the Liberals as caretakers. He then signed the double dissolution papers sending the country to a December election.

Whitlam later gave his famous speech on the steps of Parliament house, labelling Fraser as 'Kerr's cur', and uttering the most remembered line: 'well may we say God save the Queen, because nothing will save the Governor-General'.

Answer: Same-sex marriage

In a voluntary postal vote held between September and November 2017, almost 80% of the population of Australia had their say. Of these 12.6 million voters, more than 61% voted 'yes' to legalising same-sex marriage. After this overwhelming response, the legislation was passed on 7th December, 2017 and approved by the Governor-General the next day.

The law came into effect on the 9th December. The Act also recognises same-sex marriages performed overseas and gives de facto same-sex couples the same rights as de facto heterosexual couples.

The first same-sex marriage performed under the new law took place on 15th December 2017.