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The White Hat Melbourne Quiz

How well do you know Melbourne?

Each week in our free newsletter we place some quiz questions about Melbourne. Below are some recent examples.

What is the prize? None – except the opportunity to walk about the workplace or the supermarket or the nursing home or the schoolyard or the prison yard knowing that for a short time you are a superior human being to those mere mortals around you.

Is it trivia? No - life is too short and important for trivia. Don't expect questions like "How many clocks at Flinders Street Station?" or "How many steps at Parliament House?" which add absolutely nothing to people's knowledge or understanding of Melbourne. Although some questions may seem trivial, the information gleaned from this quiz will help build up into a greater understanding of Melbourne.

How do I find the answers? Subscribers to our newsletters find the answer in the following week's newsletter. You can try searching the web - but you may not have much immediate success - any good teacher or educator knows that creating a question that can be answered by simply typing it into a search engine is not teaching or educating but merely babysitting - search is not the same as research. The answers may not always be readily available but you would be surprised what useful things you may learn while using your basic research and problem solving skills to find an answer  If all else fails then ask a competent professional tour guide. At White Hat Tours we only use the sort of guides who can answer such questions.

Question 1

(from our newsletter of 20 May 2005)

Around many of the back lanes of central Melbourne you will find metals plates on the street labelled “Hydraulic Service Power Department”. What was this hydraulic service and what was it used for?

Question2

(from our newsletter of 27 May 2005)

The quirky genius Percy Grainger is one of Melbourne’s greatest sons, so three quick questions about Percy.

1. On the footpath in a  suburban Melbourne street is a plaque celebrating Percy. Where is that plaque and why is there?
2. Percy’s dad helped design and build a Melbourne landmark. Which one?
3. Percy wrote a piece of music to celebrate the bright and breezy nature of Victorians. Either tell us the name of the piece or whistle a few bars.

Question 3

(from our newsletter of 3 June 2005)

Many people in the last week have pronounced themselves to be experts on the Australian legal system and declared it to be superior to other systems. On the corner of William and Lonsdale Streets you will see a number of court buildings, plus one block further away on the corner of Williams and Latrobe is another large court. We have seen tour guides who can talk endlessly about the architecture of each court but do goldfish impressions when asked by overseas visitors what happens in each of the courts.

So here is this week’s quiz:

1. What are the the courts mentioned above?
2. In no more than two sentences each, what sort of cases go to which court?
3. In any of these courts will you find cases with judges but no jury?

Question 4

(from our newsletter of 10 June 2005)

Knowing Melbourne is not just about knowing where – it is about knowing when.

1. In nineteenth century Melbourne, when was the best time to ‘do the block’?
2. In the first half of the 20th century, where would you go if you desperately needed an alcoholic drink first thing in the morning? How do you know this?
3. November 11 is known to many as Armistice Day. However it is also the anniversary of two major events in Melbourne history What are they?
4. What is the best time to go ‘the warmies’ and why?

Peripatetic monuments

A number of Melbourne’s well known monuments and sculptures have changed position over time. Finding landmarks in the wrong position at a given time is a sure fire giveaway of a badly researched book or film.

1. A sculpture called Vault once stood in the city square. What unkind nickname was it given and in what two major positions has it stood since being removed from the City Square?
2. The Eight Hours Monument stands diagonally opposite Trades Hall. What was its original position and why was it shifted?
3. The Burke and Wills Statue in recent years has occupied several positions in or near the City Square. What was its original position (hint – try page 1 of the great murder mystery yarn Mystery of a Hansom Cab) and why was it shifted? What was its second position (hint you will find it there in a Tom Roberts painting) and why was it shifted?

(You can find more information about little-known monuments in Melbourne at 7 Monuments of Melbourne.)

Colloquial speech

Complete the following:

1. As game as …
2. Up there …
3. He’s got more front than … (the store named after the man)
4. She’s had more farewells than …
5. It’s a joke …
6. What figure of speech involves a (now dead) escaped convict and a (now defunct) Melbourne department store and how did this come about?
7. Finally, an unfounded rumour is often referred to by the name of a blacksmith from Shepparton. Why?

Question 7

(from our newsletter of 15 July 2005)

Where in Melbourne would you find:

1. A loo with a view
2. Barocca style furniture
3. Gog and Magog
4. A bust of Nellie Melba (Hint – it’s where she gave her final, final, final farewell concert)
5. The words “do no spit” painted on the walls and why
    

Question 8

(from our newsletter of 22 July 2005)

Distance measurements play an important part in the character of Melbourne so here are some questions related to measurement.

1. Mr Hoddle’s surveyor’s chain is on display in the excellent exhibition in the dome gallery at the State Library. How is this tool related to the width of Melbourne streets and also to the archaic sport currently being played between Australia and England?
2. Another measurement in Melbourne that can still be seen is the building height limit that was observed until the middle of last century. It is132 feet (one wide street plus one small street) high and can be observed particularly along Swanston Street. Buildings such as the Nicholas Building, Capitol Building, Century Building, Manchester Unity and T&G buildings all observe this height even if they have decorative towers protruding above it. Obviously this height limit produces some aesthetic unity with Mr Hoddle’s grid, but the approximate height was chosen for another reason. What was that reason?
3. At a certain radius (I think 25 miles) around Melbourne you would find a large number of pubs until thirty odd years ago. Why were they at that distance?

Question 9

(from our newsletter of 29 July 2005)

We have looked at what some Melbourne streets and suburbs are named after. Let us ask you about things that are named after some Melbourne streets and suburbs.

1. Melbourne is named after Lord Melbourne. At least one person and one overseas city is named after the city of Melbourne. Who and where?
2. Gurners Lane in the city is named after Henry Gurner, Crown Solicitor in the nineteenth century. Who was named after Gurners Lane and why and when was his birthday?
3. What bicycle was named after a Melbourne suburb?
4. Certain major crimes are named after the streets in Melbourne where they took place. Name three.

Question 10

(from our newsletter of 12 August 2005)

How things in Melbourne work.

1. At certain intersections the tramline points seem to change as if by magic to the route that tram is taking. How do these points ‘know’ when to change?
2. The acoustics in the Melbourne Concert Hall (sorry Dick – Hamer Hall) can be varied from dry to lively. How?
3. How does one become a member of the Melbourne Cricket Club?
4. How do you know if State Parliament is sitting and whether the Governor is in residence?
5. How do the umpires know that the ad break is finished and it is time to bounce the ball?
6. Fed Square will gradually change colour over the next few years. Why?

Question 11

(from our newsletter of 19 August 2005)

Melbourne has numbers of institutions hidden off the main streets and tucked up back alleys. Where would you find:

1. A bar that is an old science lab?
2. A club for Scots and Engineers?
3. A bar named after an hirsute songbird?
4. A long-established jazz club?
5. The Buffalo’s Lodge?
6. A Korean restaurant?

Question 12

(from our newsletter of 26 August 2005)

In keeping with the food festival, here are some culinary questions.

1. Name two dishes named after a Melbourne opera singer.
2. What is a dog’s eye with dead horse?
3. Where would you go this weekend to have a vanilla slice (have you been paying attention)?
4. Where in Melbourne would you go for Malaysian food and jazz?
5. What is a pie floater and which city invented this culinary delicacy?

Question 13

(from our newsletter of 2 September 2005)

Melbourne has inspired numbers of writers, books and poems.

1. Who was the Melbourne librarian who wrote a story about convict life at Port Arthur?
2. What is the title of the novel about bushrangers written by a member of the Melbourne Club?
3. A murder mystery yarn about Melbourne in the 1880’s out-sold Arthur Conan Doyle in the 19th century. What is the name of the book?
4. The Sentimental Bloke has a poem about going to see Romeo & Juliet. What are the last lines of that poem?
5. What book is a thinly veiled description of real life characters in the suburb of Carringbush?
6. Who is the only Australian writer to have a bust in Westminster Abbey?
7. In what document does the description – “parcel of big, ugly, fat-necked, wombat-headed, big-bellied, magpie-legged, narrow-hipped, splay-footed sons of Irish bailiffs” - occur, and to whom is it referring?

Question 14

(from our newsletter of 23 September 2005)

Much of Melbourne as we know it has been shaped by business and commerce:

1. Name three major inventions associated with Melbourne
2. Name three international companies that have their headquarters in Melbourne
3. Carlton, North Melbourne, the Vic Market and parts of the city gain much of their character from ‘corporation verandas’. What was the Corporation of Melbourne? When were many of these verandas knocked down in the city and why?
4. What suburb of Melbourne was named after a commercial product?
5. Where in Melbourne was the site of the first commercial refrigeration plant in the world?

Question 15

(From our newsletter no.144 of 30 September 2005)

Some poetry questions connected with in Melbourne.

1. Where in Melbourne would you find the statues of two poets within a block of each other?
2. Where in Melbourne would you find a tree associated with a famous Australian poet?
3. What gardens in the Dandenongs were the solace of a well-known Melbourne poet?
4. CWC are the initials of what well-respected Melbourne poet?
5. Quote a phrase or two from your favourite piece of poetry about Melbourne.

Question 16

(From our newsletter no.148 of 28 October 2005)

Melbourne and horses.

1. A prominent statue in Melbourne depicts a man in riding boots with a saddle underneath the chair on which he is seated. Who is that man?
2. In the inner suburbs is the remains of a veterinary hospital with the symbol of a horse’s head on the façade. Where is this?
3. Various statues in The Domain and connected gardens show people on horseback. How can you tell the status of a person from a 19th century equestrian statue?
4. There is a memorial to war horses in Melbourne. Where and what is it?
5. A bar in Melbourne has a large wooden honour board showing every winner of the Melbourne Cup since Archer? Which bar?
6. What was remarkable about Archer’s journey to the Melbourne Cup?
7. When watching the television, how can you tell if the race you are watching is in Melbourne or Sydney?

Question 17

(From our newsletter no149 of 4 November 2005)

Melbourne and the mail

1. Around Melbourne there are familiar red boxes where you post your mail. Occasionally you will see green ones with no slot. What are they for?
2. In Victoria, distances from Melbourne are measured from which building?
3. In the earlier part of the 20th century, a letter posted in the city in the morning to a city address would be delivered that afternoon. The building height limit was 132 feet (and you know why this height from a previous newsletter). In some buildings you could go to the glass mail chute on, say, the eighth floor, post your letter which would fall down the glass chute to the outgoing mail box on the ground floor. Name a city building (or two) where this system is clearly visible.
4. The carriage of mail to and from Sydney, like much of Melbourne’s 19th century infrastructure and services, was supplied by the private sector. Our first mailman (a stockman) carried the mail between Melbourne and Howlong. Why Howlong?
5. The grid of Melbourne as laid out by Mr Hoddle is one mile in the east-west direction (from Spring to Spencer Streets) and half a mile in the north-south direction (from Flinders to Latrobe Streets). There are 5 major streets which run east-west and 9 major streets which run north-south. Thus the centre of the Melbourne grid is the intersection of Elizabeth and Bourke Streets (named by the governor after himself and his wife). Using the most efficient route to cover all the main streets in the Melbourne grid and starting and finishing at the post office, how far will a postman (or woman) travel on the daily round?

Question 18

(from our newsletter no.151 of 18 November 2005)

Melbourne's Missing Heritage

In the past decade, Melbourne has seen some major revitalisation of its built heritage – thanks Steve, thanks Jeff. However, not all Melbourne projects were ever finished and others have been removed, so here are a few questions about Melbourne’s missing heritage.

1. In the 1950s school children were encouraged to form a mile of pennies (copper coins) which were contributed for a landmark building. What was that Building?
2. By about 1913 (I’m sure someone will give me the correct date) all private tram systems were taken over by the state government. Since that time many tram lines were torn up. Name a street (or two) where trams no longer run.
3. What part of Melbourne’s Parliament House was never built?
4. Melbourne has several corridors once used for public transport but now gradually being redeveloped. What were these corridors called?

Questions 19

(from our newsletter no.152 of 25 November 2005)

Some simple (or are they?) questions about Melbourne and colour.

1. What colour is our state flower?
2. What colour is ‘The Tan’?
3. At major events we often see crowds waving green and gold flags representing Australia. When the troops returned from the first and second world wars Melbournians waved Australian flags in the street and draped them from their windows. What was the predominant colour of those flags?
4. Vienna has the beautiful Blue Danube? What does Melbourne have?

Question 20

(from our newsletter no.153 of 2 December 2005)

Melbourne and music reproduction.

1. At various times the bells in the Post Office Clock in Elizabeth Street play melodies. How are these melodies stored and reproduced?
2. A piano roll was traditionally made by a pianist sitting at a specially fitted piano and the playing would produce marks on a roll of paper. These marks would later be cut out as holes. One Melbourne nutter decided that if he just went straight to the roll of paper and cut out the holes he could produce the music of pianist with 88 fingers. What was his name?
3. Next to the river in Benalla is a public musical instrument. What is its name and how is it played?
4. A Melbourne nutter noted that by moving a lever on a rheostat in an electronic oscillator you could produce a moving musical tone. He rigged up the lever to special cardboard cutout curves on a rotating spindle to create a new style of musical instrument. What was his name?
5. Melbourne’s first radio station was 3LO. Who owned and operated this station?
6. A Melbourne nutter was fascinated by the sound produced by rubbing your finger around the top of a wine glass and incorporated it into a large scale choral and orchestral work. What was his name?
7. Name a Melbourne sculpture that incorporates sound into its design.

Question 21

(from our newsletter no.155 of 16 December 2005)

Where in Melbourne would you find:

1. A set of tiles illustrating Edward Lear limericks
2. A large art deco urinal
3. A gay bar
4. Really weird xxxx
5. A rooftop beer garden in the city

Question 22

(from our newsletter no.159 of 20 January 2006)

Disasters in Melbourne & Victoria.

1. A major mining disaster occurred near Creswick. What and when was this disaster?
2. A major railway disaster occurred in an outer Melbourne suburb. What and when was this disaster?
3. A major construction disaster is associated with a piece of Melbourne infrastructure. What and when was this disaster?
4. A number of shipping disasters have occurred in Port Phillip Bay. Name one.
5. What was the name given to the first disastrous bushfires to rage through the fledgling European settlements in Victoria and where can you find a painting of this disaster?

Question 23

(from our newsletter no.163 of 24 February 2006)

Mysterious Australians

1. In the first weeks of European settlement of Melbourne, a strange “wild white man” wandered into the Batman camp at Indented Head. What was his name?
2. By 1901 Melbourne had become the de facto capital of Australia. A charismatic politician whose past was vague – maybe Canadian, maybe American – and with a name that would please Joseph Heller, was to become a major force in the building of Canberra. What was his name?
3. Some time ago in the Mildura region an enigmatic swagman would sometimes be fleetingly sighted in the bush. He would accept food left for him but usually repaid this doubly with anonymous maintenance work on fences, chopping wood, freshly caught rabbits, etc. By what name was he known?
4. After the First World War a remarkable set of poems from an unknown digger-poet was discovered. So far-reaching was the spirit of this author that it still inspires countless post-modernist dissertations and even a novel that won the Miles Franklin award. What was the name of the poet?
5. For a period of time, the mastermind of a high-profile crime in Britain lived anonymously in a Melbourne suburb. What was his name and what was the crime?

Question 24

(from our newsletter no.164 of 3 March 2006)

Melbourne & Victorian Streetscapes

1. If you stand in the middle of Swanston Street you can see the Shrine at one end. Until the 1980s, what could you see at the other end?
2. In what Victorian country town can you find the main street almost unchanged since the 1930s?
3. What small suburban shopping strip maintains a full set of ‘corporation verandahs’ on both sides?
4. What Victorian town has a railway line running down the middle of the main street?
5. Where in Victoria would you find a submarine as part of the streetscape?

Question 25

Melbourne and shapes

1. What shape is the City Circle?
2. What shape is the City Square?
3. The façade of Federation Square is constructed from what repeated shape?
4. The Arts Centre (Gallery, Concert Hall and Spire) was designed around three simple solid shapes. Which ones? (Note, - the spire was later redesigned to save money and so is not quite the shape what was originally designed)
5. How many points do the stars on the Australia flag have and why?

Question 26

(from our newsletter no. 170 of 21 April 2006)

French women.

1. La Trobe and his Swiss wife settled on a pretty hill in Melbourne. What name did she give this pretty hill?
2. One Melbourne suburb is usually pronounced half in French and half in English. What suburb is this?
3. A certain French lady became well-known and recognized in Melbourne, but for much of her life could not be seen after 6 o’clock. Why?
4. Who is the French artist who created the mural with cherubs at the end of the Flinders Street Station concourse?
5. Where in Melbourne can you see a statue of a famous French woman?

Question 27

(from our newsletter no.176 of 15 June 2006)

Melbourne is a great mercantile city, and anyone walking through Melbourne without a rudimentary knowledge of business is missing two-thirds of the history that is sitting in front of them. So here is a little mercantile quiz.

1. The coat of arms of Melbourne displays 4 different industries. What are they? (Hint – you can find the coat of arms on various structures including corporation verandas and the pillars on Princes Bridge).
2. One of Australia’s most successful international companies is BHP. Its headquarters have been housed in 3 major buildings in Melbourne over time. Which buildings?
3. On a number of old warehouse buildings in central Melbourne you will find the words “bond” and “free”. What do they mean?
4. The 1850s created the conditions that led to the achievement of the 8 hour day. It also created the conditions where numbers of hard working people from humble backgrounds could set up businesses that have employed thousand over people over several generations and whose names are still recognised in Melbourne today. Name one.

Question 28

(from our newsletter no.179 og 6 July 2006)

Ball games

1. Australian rules football was codified in Melbourne in 1858 (you can see the handwritten rules reproduced on a large scale in the new MCG entry area). When were soccer and rugby codified? (a short answer will do).
2. In the 1860s an Aboriginal cricket team toured England. Name a player in that team and the area he came from.
3. Near Royal Park (on the other side of the railway line) you will find a baseball ground. Similarly in Victoria Park in Ballarat you will find baseball pitches. Why did they grow up in these places?
4. Name a male and a female Australian squash champion.
5. After a colonial cricket match with England, a Melbourne woman burnt the bails and created ‘The Ashes’. What was her name and where will you find a monument to her?
6. Before the construction of Rod Laver Arena and the Melbourne Park tennis complex where were major tennis tournaments played in Melbourne?
7. Since the early days of Melbourne, certain sporting facilities and clubs were established on public parkland. Over time some of these sporting facilities were fenced off from the public and were only available for ‘members’ or paying customers. What ball game has excised the greatest amount of Melbourne’s public parkland in this way? (Think carefully).

Question 29

(from our newsletter no,180 of 13 July 2006)

Melbourne Theatre

1. What street in Richmond is named after a theatre entrepreneur?
2. What Victorian highway is named after an opera singer?
3. What area in the Dandenongs is named after an opera entrepreneur? (our classical music newsletter subscribers should have no problem with this)
4. Which popular stage performer was known as ‘Our Nell’?
5. Henry van der Sluys adopted a shorter stage name and later was often known by the even shorter name of one of the characters he played. What was that stage name and what was the character name?
6. George Coppin bought the schooner Appollo with the intention of taking his company to India. In the meantime he put it on the Melbourne to Portland trading route under Captain Loutit. What two Victorian place names resulted from this enterprise?
7. By what name was J.C.Williamson’s theatre company often known?
8. Where and what was ‘The Pram Factory’?

Question 30

(from our newsletter no.181 of 20 July 2006)

Melbourne and science.

1. A Melbourne scientist is also a keen jazz fan and often recorded jazz performances and kept up with the latest recording technology. This was to lead to an invention of world significance. What is the name of the scientist and his invention?
2. Our state animal is named after a chief taxidermist from the museum. What is the name of the scientist and the name of the animal?
3. A nut is named after a Melbourne scientist (and President of the Royal Society). What is the name of the scientist and the nut?
4. An Australian dinosaur is named after an engineering equipment company. Which dinosaur and why?
5. A large area of Antarctica is named after a Melbourne sweets manufacturer. Why?
6. In the 1920s a Melbourne chemist created a use for a waste by-product of beer manufacture. What is the name of that product?
7. Who is the current Australian of the year?

Some other Quiz questions

• Burke & Wills
• Australian Place Names
• Melbourne General Cemetery