1. When is Boxing Day?
a. 26 December
2. At the end of World War II, there was an oversupply of labour in Australia: true or false?
a. False
3. In 1967 which country took over from Britain as Australia's leading trading partner?
a. Japan
4. Why did the Australian government move in the 1980s and 1990s to remove protections on the country's economy?
c. It was believed the economy would grow more strongly
5. Where is the Kokoda Track?
c. Papua New Guinea
6. Religious laws have no legal status within Australia: true or false?
b. True
7. Why is Governor Lachlan Macquarie remembered with great affection?
b. Because he treated reformed convicts as if they had never offended
8. Why has Australia become a sport-crazy nation?
c. People have more leisure time, the climate is good and there is plenty of open space
9. Which take prevalence: state laws or Commonwealth laws?
b. Commonwealth laws prevail over state laws
10. An individual's vote in an election is secret: true or false?
b. True
11. What is the capital of Australia?
c. Canberra
12. The name Australia derives from the Latin word Australis. What does Australis mean?
a. Of the south
13. Which controversial government policy began to be dismantled in 1967?
a. The White Australia Policy
14. When was the Aboriginal flag first displayed?
b. 12 July 1971
15. In which two years has Australia hosted the Olympic Games?
c. 1956 and 2000
16. In Australia, everyone must practise the official state religion: true or false?
b. False
17. When is New Year's Day celebrated in Australia?
d. 1 January
18. Which state is also known as the 'Festival State'?
b. South Australia
19. With which sport are the names Sedgman, McGregor, Hoad and Rosewall associated?
a. Tennis
20. What happened at the Ballarat goldfield in 1854?
c. Gold diggers staged a large protest
21. What is the national gemstone of Australia?
a. Opal
22. It is compulsory in Australia to join a trade union: true or false?
a. False
23. Which of these statements is correct about political parties in Australia?
c. The Labor Party believes in using government to help workers
24. What is Australia's national anthem?
a. Advance Australia Fair
25. Why is Nancy Bird Walton remembered by Australians?
c. She was the first women to gain a pilot's licence and to employed in the aviation industry
26. The separation of powers in the Australian Constitution establishes three arms of national government. What are they?
a. The legislative arm, the executive arm, the judicial arm
27. What are the colours of the Torres Strait Islander flag?
d. Blue, green, black and white
28. What does Christmas Day celebrate?
d. The birth of Jesus Christ
29. Who was commander of the Australian forces during World War I?
c. John Monash
30. Who appoints the Governor-General?
b. The Queen
31. Which two states are Rugby Union and Rugby League popular in?
a. Queensland and New South Wales
32. Who is the head of the Australian Government
b. The Prime Minister
33. Who was the first Prime Minister of Australia?
a. Edmund Barton
34. Equality under the law means what for Australians?
c. Nobody should be discriminated against because of their race or ethnicity
35. What were the nationalities of the explorers who discovered Australia in the 17th century?
b. Portuguese and Dutch
36. Which political party was once known as the Country Party?
a. The National Party
37. How many convicts came to Australia from Britain during the 19th century?
c. More than 160,000
38. What was the motivation for many of the people coming to Australia since 1945?
c. They had family commitments or a desire to escape poverty, war or persecution
39. What has the Eureka rebellion of 1854 become a symbol for?
c. Protest and popular rights
40. Australian national government draws on the democratic traditions of which other country, other than Britain?
a. United States of America
41. How long have Indigenous Australians been living in Australia?
c. Between 40,000 and 60,000 years
42. Who is the native Australian plant, the banksia, named after?
b. Joseph Banks
43. All Australians are required to follow Judeo-Christian ethics: true or false?
a. False
44. What percentage of Australia's population were born overseas?
c. 22%
45. What is Australia's national anthem
a. Advance Australia Fair
46. What name are Australian soldiers often known by?
b. Diggers
47. What happened in the 1850s that triggered a new wave of migration to Australia?
c. Gold was discovered
48. What did Aboriginal people do, in protest at their treatment, on the 150th anniversary of European settlement in 1938?
a. Staged a day of mourning in Sydney
49. 3 What is the name of the passage of water between Australia and Tasmania?
c. Bass Strait
50. Which of these statements is correct about the Queen's role in Australia?
b. The Queen does not play a day-to-day role in Australia's government
51. How does the standard of living in Australia compare to that in other countries?
b. It is among the top 10 in the world
52. What is generally agreed to be the greatest killer of Aboriginal people since European settlement?
a. Disease
53. What special day is held on 11 November each year?
c. Remembrance Day
54. What colours are the Aboriginal flag?
b. Red, black and yellow
55. When did convicts stop coming to mainland Australia?
c. 1840
56. How wide is Australia from east to west?
c. 4,000 kilometres
57. What was discovered in Kalgoorlie in Western Australia in the 1890s?
b. Gold
58. What made Australia's first European settlers unique?
a. They were convicts
59. All Australians are free to say or write what they think about any subject, issue or person, so long as they do not endanger people, defame anyone or obstruct the free speech of others: true or false
b. True
60. Which military campaign in 1915 resulted in 25,000 Australian casualties?
a. Gallipoli
61. When was the Australian Capital Territory established?
a. 1911
62. After World War II Australia operated a large scale programme to bring migrants from countries of which continent?
c. Europe
63. What is Australia's national language?
d. English
64. What percentage of Australians describe themselves as Christian?
d. Two-thirds
65. When will you say these words? 'I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people whose democratic beliefs I share'.
b. When you say the Australian Citizenship Pledge
66. Which authority agreed in 1824 that the name 'Australia' be used officially?
c. The British Admiralty
67. In what year did the European settlement of Australia start?
c. 1788
68. What is an example of a matter that state and territory governments are responsible for?
b. Police
69. The Commonwealth Parliament has two houses. What are they called?
a. The House of Representatives and the Senate
70. In what year did Australia come together in a federation?
c. 1901
71. What is the capital of Queensland?
a. Brisbane
72. Who was Australia's first international opera prima donna?
c. Dame Nellie Melba
73. What was the name of the first women elected to the Commonwealth Parliament?
a. Dame Enid Lyons
74. What did Edith Cowan achieve for the first time in 1923?
c. She was the first woman elected to a parliament in Australia
75. What was the outcome of an attempt to make Australia a republic in 1999?
b. It was defeated
76. When was the Australian flag first flown?
c. 3 September 1901
77. What was the name of James Cook's ship?
a. The Endeavour
78. How many states are there in Australia?
d. Six
79. An individual's vote in an election is a publicly viewable document: true or false
a. False
80. How tall is Australia from north to south?
d. 3,700 kilometres
81. Australian soldiers entered World War I in 1915 with an attack on which country?
b. Turkey
82. In which House of Parliament do all states, regardless of population, have the same number of representatives?
a. The Senate
83. When is Anzac Day celebrated in Australia?
b. 25 April
84. What are Australia's national colours?
b. Green and gold
85. The Aboriginal flag is not an official flag of Australia: true or false?
a. False
86. Which of the following statements is correct?
a. There were hundreds of indigenous communities living in Australia before settlement
87. What is the largest state in Australia?
d. Western Australia
88. Which state governor took an interest in Aboriginal people, running a school for their children and offering them land for farming?
a. Governor Maccquarie
89. All Australians are entitled to protest against the government: true or false?
b. True
90. Who appoints Ministers?
c. The Governor-General
91. Thousands of Australian and British prisoners-of-war died in the construction of what railway?
a. Thai-Burma railway
92. What name did German and Italian soldiers give to Australian soldiers in North Africa during World War II?
c. Rats of Tobruk
93. Which of the following sports was invented in Australia?
c. Australian Rules Football
94. Which court decision, in 1992, restored land to Aboriginal people, if they had retained their traditional ties to it?
a. The Mabo decision
95. Who usually performs the role of Prime Minister?
a. The leader of the party with a majority in the House of Representatives
96. Even though Aboriginal people had the protection of British law, it was rare for what to occur?
a. For white settlers to be punished for killing Aboriginals
97. What is the first line of Australia's national anthem?
b. Australians all let us rejoice
98. Which verse, written by Banjo Paterson, has become an unofficial national anthem?
b. Waltzing Matilda
99. Which Australian tennis player became the first player to win the 'Grand Slam' twice?
b. Rod Laver
100. Where did Britain decide to send convicts in 1786?
a. New South Wales
101. Only men are allowed to hold positions in government: true or false?
a. False
102. When is Wattle Day?
a. 1 September
103. In 1642 who discovered what is now known as Tasmania?
c. Abel Tasman
104. What name is often used to refer to the remote inland areas of Australia?
c. The outback
105. Which of the following statements is correct about Britain's influence in Australia?
b. Australia's formal ties with Britain have diminished over time
106. What is the capital of the Northern Territory?
c. Darwin
107. How long have Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people been living in Australia?
a. 40,000 - 60,000 years
108. Which two states or territories have the most members within the House of Representatives?
a. New South Wales and Victoria
109. Australian laws do not apply to politicians or police: true or false?
a. False
110. When did Australia introduce decimal currency?
c. 1966
111. What is the population of Australia?
c. 21 million
112. What is the voting age in Australia?
c. 18 years old
113. What term describes the system of national government in Australia?
a. Australia is a parliamentary democracy
114. Which political party has also been known as the Nationalist Party and the United Australia Party?
c. Liberal Party
115. Why did Australia fight with Britain in both World Wars?
c. To keep the British Empire strong and so protect itself
116. What does the Snowy Mountains Scheme provide?
c. Electricity
117. What is the name given to the judgement that set the national minimum wage?
a. The Harvester judgement
118. Voting is voluntary in Australian federal, state and territory elections: true or false?
a. False
119. How many parts of Australia are there on the World Heritage List?
a. 17 parts
120. Who became an international aviation figure when they flew from the United States to Australia?
c. Charles Kingsford-Smith
121. Government ministers, the Australian Public Service and other Australian government agencies are encompassed by what term?
a. Executive Government
122. The principal decision making body of the Australian Government, a group of ministers, is called what?
b. The Cabinet
123. Who are Australia's top four overseas trading partners
c. Japan, China, USA and South Korea
124. What were formed after drought and depression arrived in Australia in order to protect workers' wages and conditions?
c. Trade unions
125. What was the name of the scheme carried out after World War II that the Australian government hoped would revitalise Australia?
c. The Snowy Mountains Scheme
126. Soldiers from which country were stopped by Australian troops at the Kokoda Track?
a. Japan
127. Which military tradition was forged on 25 April 1915 at a battle in Turkey?
a. ANZAC
128. When is Australia Day celebrated?
d. 26 January
129. Why was the name Canberra, chosen for the nation's capital?
c. It comes from the local Aboriginal word meaning 'meeting place'
130. How many Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders are there in Australia today?
a. 483,000
131. What happened in Sydney's Centennial Park on 1 January 1901, the first day of the new century?
a. The first Australian Government was sworn in
132. An individual's vote in an election is a publicly viewable document: true or false?
a. False
133. How long have humans inhabited Australia?
b. At least 40,000 to 60,000 years
134. What did Burke and Wills attempt to do in 1860?
c. To cross the Australian continent from south to north
135. Who was Australia's first governor?
a. Arthur Phillip
136. What is the function of the Australian constitution?
a. It sets out the basic rules for the government of Australia
