Q 01/05

What is the capital city of Tasmania?

A) Hobart

B) Launceston

C) Devonport

D) Burnie

Answer · why

A) Hobart

Hobart began in 1804, when the first camp at Risdon Cove was judged a bad site and the settlement shifted across the river to a better harbour at Sull...

Q 02/05

Which body of water separates Tasmania from mainland Australia?

A) Torres Strait

B) The Tasman Sea

C) The Great Australian Bight

D) Bass Strait

Answer · why

D) Bass Strait

Bass Strait is shallow, so wind and tide throw up short, steep seas, and its reefs have wrecked hundreds of ships.

Q 03/05

Tasmania is named after an explorer of which nationality?

A) British

B) Dutch

C) French

D) Portuguese

Answer · why

B) Dutch

Dutch navigator Abel Tasman claimed it in December 1642; the surf was too rough for the boats, so his ship's carpenter swam ashore to plant the flag.

Q 04/05

What was Tasmania called before it was officially renamed on 1 January 1856?

A) New Holland

B) Terra Australis

C) Van Diemen's Land

D) Trouwunna

Answer · why

C) Van Diemen's Land

Van Diemen's Land had become a byword for convict misery, so the colony's own Legislative Council petitioned the Queen for a new name to close the doo...

Q 05/05

Which swashbuckling star of Hollywood's golden age was born in Tasmania?

A) Douglas Fairbanks

B) Errol Flynn

C) Tyrone Power

D) Stewart Granger

Answer · why

B) Errol Flynn

Errol Flynn was born there in 1909, the son of a biology professor, and was expelled from school before he shot to stardom as the pirate hero of Capta...