The theme for October was: 'Murray-Darling'
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Question 1: |
Who gave the Murray River its current name, and after whom was it named? |
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Answer: |
The Murray River was named in January 1830 by explorer Charles Sturt. Sturt named the river after Sir George Murray, a former senior British army officer (prominent in the Napoleonic wars) who at the time was the British Secretary of State of the Colonies. |
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Question 2: |
In 1887 & 1888 three Canadian brothers pioneered large-scale irrigation at Renmark and Mildura. Who were they? |
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Answer: |
The Chaffey Brothers: George, William ('Ben') & Charles Chaffey.
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Question 3: |
What single word, added to Section 100 of the Australian Constitution at the insistence of Sir John Downer at the 1897-98 Australasian Federal Convention in Adelaide, gave the Federal Government a role in water management in the Murray-Darling Basin? |
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Answer: |
"Reasonable" (Section 100 reads: "The Commonwealth shall not, by any law or regulation of trade or commerce, abridge the right of a State or of the residents therein to the reasonable use of the waters of rivers for conservation or irrigation.").
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Question 4: |
In 1942 a wartime project which was to have far-reaching implications for the Murray Valley began at Tulla Estate in NSW's Wakool District. What was it? |
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Answer: |
The first rice was grown in the Murray Valley..
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Question 5: |
What disaster for the Murray-Darling river ecosystems began in 1961 at Boolarra in Victoria? |
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Answer: |
A new strain of European carp was introduced into a farm dam, from where they were subsequently introduced into the Murray-Darling system.
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Question 6: |
What event in South Australia in 1981 – happening for the first time in recorded history – put the issue of water extraction from the Murray River on the national agenda? |
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Answer: |
The Murray Mouth closed. |
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Question 7: |
When did the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council announce the first interim 'Cap' on water diversions from the Murray-Darling Basin? |
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Answer: |
30 June, 1995.
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Question 8: |
Who in August 1998 – in the run-up to a Federal election - famously called on voters to "zap the Cap"? |
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Answer: |
Former Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer. |
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Question 9: |
What major report was released by the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council on 22 October 1999, predicting a worsening Basin-wide problem caused primarily by dryland farming? |
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Answer: |
The Salinity Audit (full title: 'The Salinity Audit of the Murray-Darling Basin: a 100-year perspective')
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Question 10: |
On 26 March 2008 the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council agreed to bring the Basin under the management of a newly created independent body, which will incorporate the existing Murray Darling Basin Commission. What is the new body called? |
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Answer: |
The Murray Darling Basin Authority.
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