Australian History and Politics

Colonial and Federation History

23 practice questions, each with the answer and an explanation.

Practise Colonial and Federation History now

Random questions from this topic, one at a time. You see the answer and the explanation straight after each one.

All 23 questions

  1. Which event took place at Sydney Cove on 26 January 1788?
  2. On what date did the six colonies join to form the Commonwealth of Australia?
  3. Who was the first Prime Minister of Australia?
  4. What was the Eureka Stockade of 1854?
  5. What does Anzac Day, held on 25 April, commemorate?
  6. What did the High Court decide in the Mabo case of 1992?
  7. What did the 1967 referendum change?
  8. Which navigator charted the east coast of Australia in 1770 aboard HMS Endeavour?
  9. Which European explorer sighted the island now called Tasmania in 1642?
  10. In which year was gold announced near Bathurst, starting the first big Australian gold rush?
  11. Who won the 1912 international competition to design the new federal capital, Canberra?
  12. Which arrival marked the end of convict transportation to Australia?
  13. In which year did most Australian women win the right to vote and stand for election to the federal parliament?
  14. Which law, passed in 1901, was a first step of the White Australia policy?
  15. What was the main finding of the 1997 report Bringing Them Home?
  16. Which Prime Minister delivered the national apology to the Stolen Generations in February 2008?
  17. What happened in the Rum Rebellion of 1808?
  18. Who led the first crossing of the Blue Mountains west of Sydney in 1813?
  19. What was the outcome of the Burke and Wills expedition of 1860 and 1861?
  20. Which battle of July 1918 is regarded as a model of planning by Lieutenant General John Monash?
  21. Where did Australian soldiers fight the Japanese on a mountain track in 1942?
  22. What occurred in Darwin on 19 February 1942?
  23. What happened on 11 November 1975 in Canberra?

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