Kiwis! Kiwis! Kiwis! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Opera singing

Operatic soprano Kiri Te Kanawa was born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron in 1944, but was adopted as a baby by Thomas and Nell Te Kanawa. After coming to England in 1966, she played small roles at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, before attracting international acclaim in 1971 for performances as the Countess in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" at Santa Fe, Covent Garden and elsewhere.

In 1981 she sang at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, which brought her to wider notice, and the following year she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Answer: False

Ernest Rutherford was born in Nelson, New Zealand, in 1871, and went on to play an enormously important role in the development of nuclear physics. In 1908, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on radioactivity, and went on to do equally important work in Manchester and then as Director of the world-famous Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University.

He was knighted in 1914 and in 1931 became Baron Rutherford of Nelson. He died aged 66, in 1937.

Answer: Comedian

Born in 1948, Billy T. James's real name was William James Te Wehi Taitoko. After starting his career as a member of the cabaret band "Maori Volcanics Showband", he came to national notice in the 1980s with his comedy sketch show "The Billy T. James Show" on TV New Zealand.

His most famous character was the presenter of "Te News", usually seen wearing a black singlet and yellow towel over his shoulders. Sadly, he died of heart failure in 1991 at the age of 43.

Answer: Jonah Lomu

During his career with the All Blacks, Jonah Lomu became internationally famous to an extent unmatched by any New Zealand player before him. He played his first match as an All Black in 1994, against France, and scored his first try for them two matches later, against Ireland in 1995, when he scored twice.

His last two tries came in 2002, when he scored twice against England at Twickenham (although on that occasion the All Blacks lost).

Answer: Kate Sheppard

The impetus towards female suffrage began within the New Zealand Women's Christian Temperance Union, of which Kate Sheppard (1847-1934) was a founding member. She soon became prominent in its activities, including the various petitions to parliament which resulted in the successful Electoral Bill in 1893.

In 1990, her portrait was included in the design of the New Zealand ten-dollar note, and retained when it was re-designed in 1999.

Answer: Disposable hypodermic syringe

Colin Murdoch was born in Christchurch in 1929. After initially working as a pharmacist, he trained as a veterinarian. As such, he was aware of the problems arising from reusable glass syringes, which needed to be sterilized after each use. He devised a simple, cheap plastic alternative, which could be thrown away after one use.

Although the initial response was sceptical, it eventually became the model for most syringes used today around the world. Murdoch also registered many other medical patents, and is also credited with inventing the tranquiliser gun for animals, and a form of child-proof medicine container.

He died in 2008.

Answer: Bungy jumping

The "sport" of bungy (or bungee) jumping involves jumping off a bridge (or other high place) with a strong elasticated rope (or bungy) attached to your ankle, the result being that you bounce up and down on the end of it without (hopefully) making contact with the ground or water below.

Alan John (known as "AJ") Hackett wasn't the first person to jump off a bridge on the end of a piece of elastic, but in the 1980s he developed a special elasticated "bungy" rope, designed to be strong and safe. In 1986 and 1987 he made a number of jumps from New Zealand bridges, leading to a widely-publicised leap from the Eiffel Tower in 1987. He then set up his own company to provide the first public bungy jumping experiences.

Answer: Lorde

Lorde was only 16 when in 2013 she released her debut single, "Royals", which became a number one hit around the world. Among its many notable successes, it made her the first New Zealand solo act to have a United States Billboard "Hot 100" number one hit. Her first album, "Pure Heroine", was released later in the same year.

Answer: Flight of the Conchords

"Flight of the Conchords" first came to notice outside New Zealand when they appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2002 and 2003. This led to a six-episode radio series for BBC Radio 2 in 2004, which in turn became the basis of a two-season TV series for the American HBO network. McKenzie and Clement went on to play individual roles in such diverse projects as "Men in Black 3" and "The Muppets".

I wish I could reveal that the other options are the "top three" New Zealand folk comedy duos, but I'm afraid I made them all up.

Answer: Peter Jackson

Peter Jackson's first full-length film, "Bad Taste", began as an amateur project filmed at weekends with a cast largely consisting of his friends. The New Zealand Film Commission gave enough money to enable him to complete it, and in 1987 it was successfully shown at the Cannes Film Festival. Two more "cheap and cheerful" films followed, before he made the artistically more acceptable "Heavenly Creatures" in 1994, which was also Kate Winslet's film debut.

His enormously successful trilogy based on Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" (2001-2003) cemented his position as a major director.