What is unusual about Parliament House's roof?

People can walk on grass over it

Canberra Quiz: Parliament House and National Institutions

This Canberra quiz tours Australia's purpose-built capital, designed around a lake and a hill. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on the Sydney and Melbourne rivalry, Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, Lake Burley Griffin, Parliament House, the War Memorial and the national museums.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Role
What is Canberra?
Rivalry
Which two cities' rivalry led to Canberra's creation?
Designers
Who won the 1912 competition to design Canberra?
Lake
What kind of lake is Lake Burley Griffin?
Parliament
When did the current Parliament House open?
Flag
What tops Parliament House?
Grass
What is unusual about Parliament House's roof?
Before
Where did Parliament sit before moving to Canberra in 1927?
Memorial
Which institution honors Australians who served in war?
Gallery
Which Pollock painting hangs in the National Gallery?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What is Canberra?
Answer: Australia's capital
It is in the Australian Capital Territory.
Q2: Which two cities' rivalry led to Canberra's creation?
Answer: Sydney and Melbourne
A new capital was the compromise.
Q3: Who won the 1912 competition to design Canberra?
Answer: Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin
They were American architects.
Q4: What kind of lake is Lake Burley Griffin?
Answer: An artificial lake
It was filled in the 1960s.
Q5: When did the current Parliament House open?
Answer: 1988
It opened in Australia's bicentenary year.
Q6: What tops Parliament House?
Answer: A giant flagpole
It rises 81 meters.
Q7: What is unusual about Parliament House's roof?
Answer: People can walk on grass over it
The building sits inside Capital Hill.
Q8: Where did Parliament sit before moving to Canberra in 1927?
Answer: Melbourne
It met there for decades.
Q9: Which institution honors Australians who served in war?
Answer: Australian War Memorial
It faces Parliament along a long avenue.
Q10: Which Pollock painting hangs in the National Gallery?
Answer: Blue Poles
Its 1973 purchase caused debate.

Canberra Quiz – Parliament House and National Institutions

Canberra became Australia's capital as a compromise between rival Sydney and Melbourne. American architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin won the 1912 design competition with a plan built around water and hills.

Parliament met in Melbourne until 1927, when Old Parliament House opened. The current Parliament House opened in 1988, set into Capital Hill with grass over its roof and a giant flagpole on top.

Lake Burley Griffin, filled in the 1960s, sits at the heart of the city. Nearby are the Australian War Memorial, the National Gallery with Blue Poles, the National Library and the Questacon science center.

What This Quiz Teaches

Geography fans will enjoy these questions.

Why Canberra was built
Who designed it
Where Parliament sits
What the lake is
Which institutions to visit

Did You Know?

Canberra's name may come from a local word meaning meeting place.
The Floriade flower festival is held each spring.
The Ngunnawal people are traditional owners of the area.
Old Parliament House is now a museum of democracy.
Canberra has many hot air balloon flights.