Australian Citizenship Test National Symbols and Days Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the title of Australia's national anthem?
- God Save the King
- Waltzing Matilda
- Advance Australia Fair (Correct answer)
- Song of Australia
Correct answer: Advance Australia Fair
'Advance Australia Fair' was officially proclaimed as Australia's national anthem on 19 April 1984. 'God Save the King' is the Royal Anthem, played for the monarch, while 'Waltzing Matilda' and 'Song of Australia' are popular patriotic songs.
Question 2: A person attending a citizenship ceremony notices many people wearing a sprig of a particular yellow flower. This flower is Australia's national floral emblem. What is it called?
- Kangaroo Paw
- Waratah
- Royal Bluebell
- Golden Wattle (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Golden Wattle
Australia's national floral emblem is the Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha). It was officially proclaimed in 1988 and its colours, green and gold, are Australia's national colours. The Waratah is the emblem of NSW, the Kangaroo Paw is for WA, and the Royal Bluebell is for the ACT.
Question 3: The Australian Coat of Arms features two native animals, the kangaroo and the emu. Why were these specific animals chosen to support the shield?
- Because they are the most common animals in Australia.
- To represent a nation moving forward, as neither animal can easily move backwards. (Correct answer)
- Because they were important food sources for early colonists.
- To symbolise the friendship between marsupials and birds.
Correct answer: To represent a nation moving forward, as neither animal can easily move backwards.
The kangaroo and emu were chosen for the Commonwealth Coat of Arms to symbolise a nation moving forward. This is based on the common belief that neither animal can easily walk backwards.
Question 4: Australia Day is a public holiday observed annually on 26 January. What historical event does this date commemorate?
- The day Australia became a federation of states.
- The arrival of the First Fleet and raising of the British flag at Sydney Cove in 1788. (Correct answer)
- The date of the Gallipoli landing in World War I.
- The signing of the Australian Constitution.
Correct answer: The arrival of the First Fleet and raising of the British flag at Sydney Cove in 1788.
Australia Day on 26 January marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Sydney Cove, where Captain Arthur Phillip raised the Union Flag to proclaim British sovereignty. Federation occurred on 1 January 1901, and the Gallipoli landing is commemorated on Anzac Day, 25 April.
Question 5: A family is watching an international sports match and notices the Australian team is wearing uniforms of green and gold. These are Australia's national colours. What natural symbol are these colours derived from?
- The green of the eucalyptus forests and the gold of the desert sands.
- The colours of the national gemstone, the opal.
- The colours of the Golden Wattle, Australia's floral emblem. (Correct answer)
- The green of the ocean and the gold of the beaches.
Correct answer: The colours of the Golden Wattle, Australia's floral emblem.
Australia's national colours of green and gold were formally proclaimed in 1984 and are the colours of the Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha), the national floral emblem. While they also evoke images of the Australian landscape, their direct origin as national symbols is from the wattle.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes the purpose of National Sorry Day, observed on 26 May?
- To apologise for Australia's involvement in past international conflicts.
- To remember the victims of natural disasters in Australia.
- To acknowledge the strength of the Stolen Generations and the harm caused by forced removal policies. (Correct answer)
- To commemorate the day the Australian Parliament was first opened.
Correct answer: To acknowledge the strength of the Stolen Generations and the harm caused by forced removal policies.
National Sorry Day, held on 26 May, is a day to acknowledge the injustices done to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were forcibly removed from their families, known as the Stolen Generations. The first National Sorry Day was held in 1998, one year after the 'Bringing Them Home' report was tabled in Parliament.
Australian Citizenship Test National Symbols and Days Questions and Answers
What is the title of Australia's national anthem?