OUR curious quizmaster GEOFF POULTER sets the questions for footy recruits and would-be citizens:
SOME coaches, down through the ages, have been anxious to learn more about their troops. To try to find out exactly what makes them tick.
They have set them academic tasks away from the sport e.g. IQ, general knowledge, mind tests. Recruiters put prospective draftees through the hoops – spell Warrnambool, avocado and/or Gatorade backwards. One kid joked he struggled to spell them forwards!
At the same time, the Federal Government recently has been keen to beef up its citizens’ test, stressing core Aussie and cultural values. Questions such as Don Bradman’s batting average, Ned Kelly’s birthplace, Nellie Melba’s real name, the significance of Ayers Rock have been common.
So, I’ve arranged a series of questions, with perhaps not-so-obvious answers, to fully test the draftees and new arrivals on our core values:
First category is sport:
- Why can’t you swim between the flags at St Kilda?
- Where do the English Test cricketers stay when visiting South Africa?
- Where was the Lithgow Flash, Marjorie Jackson, born?
- How do you find water in a desert?
- Define an Essendon supporter?
- What is the composition of an Olympic gold medal?
- Don Bradman, the boy from Bowral, was born where?
- Who was born in a stable and had millions of followers?
- What entertainment is featured at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York?
- What did Richard III and Manchester United have in common?
General knowledge:
- Where was Indian ink invented?
- Where did Chinese Checkers originate?
- Where were Panama hats first made?
- Where would you find the Swiss Guard?
- Where are the Spanish steps?
- What colour is the black box recorder in an aeroplane?
- The Canary Islands are named after what creature?
- What was the name of Hamlet’s father?
- Name the jester in Rigoletto?
- Why do elephants drink heavily?
- In what country did the 2017 Tour de France begin?
- How far can a deer run into a forest?
- What do you call a Tasmanian who practises birth control?
- From where does Kiwi fruit originate?
- What colour are black cabs and silver top taxis in Melbourne?
- Where is the Spanish Riding School?
- When do the Russians celebrate their October Revolution?
- Where and when was the Magna Carta signed?
- How long was the 100 Years War?
- What does Wonthaggi mean in Aboriginal?
So, there you have it. See how you go. Are you a true-blue Aussie with real core and cultural values?
GEOFF POULTER, 69, has spent 51 years in sports media. He was the last Melbourne Herald chief football writer. CV: Sports oracle, author, historian, impersonator, raconteur, poet, quiz whiz, philosopher, song-writer, intellectual scholar – and still employable!
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