2016 Australian news quiz: how closely were you paying attention?

Pokémon Go and Hillary Clinton blazed brightly across the Australian year, in their different ways, while a new face appeared on the currency.
Composite: Jonny Weeks for the Guardian

1. In January, an animal that had got lost on the NSW south coast was saved when an RAAF Hercules flew it to Queensland. What kind of animal?

   1. A grey nurse shark

   2. A northern bettong

   3. A cassowary

   4. A dugong

2. In September an Alice Springs college was in the news for what it described as “a poor judgment call” on a student’s prize-winning Book Week costume. Which historical figure did the student come as?

   1. Captain Cook

   2. Emperor Hirohito

   3. Adolf Hitler

   4. Osama bin Laden

3. 

   A crowdfunding campaign raised tens of thousands of dollars for Duncan Storrar after he reluctantly shot to fame for asking a question on Q&A in May. What was it initially meant to help him buy?

   1. A washing machine

   2. A toaster

   3. A kettle

   4. A microwave

4. Which bird features on the new $5 note, launched in September?

   1. Eastern spinebill

   2. New Holland honeyeater

   3. Wattle bird

   4. Sulphur-crested cockatoo

5. In April, which energy company tweeted: “Tomorrow is #WorldEarthDay. Time to reflect and do our bit”?

   1. BP

   2. Adani

   3. AGL

   4. GVK Hancock

6. In January, the owner of a cafe on the NSW south coast received death threats for a sign allegedly disrespecting Australia Day. What did it call 26 January?

   1. Invasion Day

   2. UnAustralia Day

   3. National Shame Day

   4. National Dickhead Day

7. A trio of raptors was deployed at the Melbourne Cup to instil an "atmosphere of fear" among seagulls that might have interfered with the race. Which of these was not among them?

   1. Zorro the wedge-tailed eagle

   2. Spitfire the peregrine falcon

   3. B2 the barking owl

   4. Gonzo the goshawk

8. What did Malcolm Turnbull initially say was caused by “a confluence of events”

   1. The South Australian power blackout

   2. The crash of the census website

   3. The crash of the tax office website

   4. The crash of the Centrelink website

9. The animal activist group Peta campaigned to change the name of a geographic location in August. Which one?

   1. Eggs and Bacon Bay in Tasmania

   2. Lamb Range in Queensland

   3. Porky Flat in South Australia

   4. Slaughterhouse Creek in Victoria

10. 

    In February Shane Warne discussed evolution on I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here. Who or what did he say humans were descended from?

    1. Monkeys

    2. Aliens

    3. Lizards

    4. No other being – he revealed himself as a creationist

11. "Australians seem to be having a love affair with ______ and it shows no sign of stopping." Which product was the subject of an intense crisis as booming demand pushed up prices?

    1. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7

    2. Avocados

    3. Real estate

    4. Coffee

12. 

    Which North American personality was bombarded with tweets about the Great Barrier Reef from an Australian government minister in June?

    1. Julia Louis-Dreyfus

    2. Susan Sarandon

    3. Naomi Klein

    4. Ellen DeGeneres

13. In July the Age ran a front-page story about Samuel Davide Hains, “the embodiment of Melbourne’s hipster fashion scene”, before it was revealed he was a “persona” rather than an actual person. Which of these hipster fashion items was not part of Hains’ get-up?

    1. Osh Kosh B’Gosh overalls worn backwards

    2. A black turtleneck

    3. Handmade artisan brogues

    4. A tote bag bearing the words “Feeling Myself”

14. Who admitted they used the email alias “Terry Smith”?

    1. Businessman and purported bitcoin creator Craig Wright

    2. Businessman and former MP Clive Palmer

    3. Businessman and Australia-first enthusiast Dick Smith

    4. Businessman and former stud owner Nathan Tinkler

15. 

    The Western Bulldogs won an emotional AFL grand final in October, defeating the Sydney Swans. Which university had an ad in Melbourne papers commiserating with the Bulldogs on their defeat?

    1. University of Sydney

    2. University of Melbourne

    3. Victoria University

    4. La Trobe University

16. Pokémon Go (remember that?) sparked chaotic scenes across Australia. Which of these incidents was caused by the hunt for imaginary creatures?

    1. A security scare that briefly caused the Sydney Opera House to be locked down

    2. Erection of electronic signs by Victorian police warning motorists not to play while driving

    3. A brawl involving dozens of teenagers on the Gold Coast

    4. An extensive search and rescue mission for a couple lost in the Blue Mountains

17. How did the Melbourne Museum celebrate Phar Lap’s 90th birthday?

    1. It reunited his head with body parts held at two other museums

    2. Its staff made a living tableau of his head outside the museum

    3. It devised a mechanism for his head to blow out candles on a cake

    4. It displayed his head in the Melbourne Cup parade

18. Which magazine was described by a former editor as “a bible to so many generations of young Aussie women” when its closure was announced?

    1. Cleo

    2. Cosmpolitan

    3. Dolly

    4. Woman’s Day

19. In August a Melbourne council ordered the removal of a mural depicting Hillary Clinton in a bikini. What did the artist replace it with?

    1. A mural of Melania Trump in a bikini

    2. A mural of Hillary Clinton in a niqab

    3. A mural of Pauline Hanson in a niqab

    4. A mural of Bill Clinton in a bikini

20. Who was named UK Australian of the year for 2016?

    1. Lobbyist Lynton Crosby

    2. Singer Kylie Minogue

    3. Rugby coach Eddie Jones

    4. Writer Clive James

Solutions

1:D, 2:C, 3:B, 4:A, 5:B, 6:D - Owner Matt Chun maintained the blackboard was "possibly the most Australian thing that one could write about ‘Australia Day’.", 7:D, 8:B, 9:A - Proposed new name: Apple and Cherry Bay, 10:B - Warne's logic: "If we’ve evolved from monkeys, then why haven’t those ones evolved?" , 11:B - John Tyas, chief executive of Avocados Australia, said this after customers were slugged as much as $7 in January., 12:D - Then enviroment minister Greg Hunt was keen to promote Australia as a "global role model" in protecting the reef. , 13:C, 14:B - In court after the collapse of Queensland Nickel, Palmer maintained the address had been set up so he could book a restaurant incognito., 15:C, 16:B, 17:B, 18:C - Lisa Wilkinson responded to the announcement in December that the print version would no longer be produced, 19:B, 20:A

Scores