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Already one week into 2023, there may well be many who would like to bury 2022 and forget about it. But before we consign the year to the compost heap of history here’s the second part of the Sunday Star-Times quiz of the year...
July
1. Which former prime minister of Japan was assassinated while giving a public speech on July 8.
2. Who are John Plumtree and Brad Mooar and why were they dusting off their CVs this month?
3. Which New Zealand political leader faced a shock challenge to his leadership on July 23?
4. Which country did Topher Richwhite and his wife Bridget Thackwray enter this month, resulting in quiet diplomacy by New Zealand to get them out?
5. ‘‘Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world. It allowed me to feel free and adventurous … A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking.’’ Renaissance was many people’s album of the year - but who was the artist behind it and this quote?
August
1. When the Birmingham Commonwealth Games wound up on August 8, New Zealand had won 50 medals, including 20 golds. The teams three flag-bearers were, for the opening ceremony, Tom Walsh and Joelle King, and, for the closing ceremony, Aaron Gate - but do you remember which sports they represented and whether they won medals?
2. In probably the year’s greatest ‘‘only in Southland’’ moment, what halted a National Provincial Championship rugby game between Southland and Auckland in Invercargill and forced the crowd of 3000 out of the ground for 20 minutes?
3. James Nolan, who died this month, achieved infamy as leader of which visitor group to New Zealand in 2019 – an episode which gave rise to an unlikely theme for an NZ Opera production?
4. The career of Olivia NewtonJohn, who died on August 8, took off after her co-starring role in Grease in 1978. Although she played high-school student Sandy, how old was she during filming: a) 24; b) 26; or c) 28?
5. In which South Island city did an ‘‘atmospheric river’’ cause devastation on August 8?
September
1. After the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the Brits marked the occasion with a queue for the ages as about 750,000 people paid their respects and filed past her coffin at Westminster Hall. But how did daytime TV hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby make global headlines in relation to the queue?
2. Who was Mahsa Amini?
3. Which former Tonga, Auckland and North Harbour rugby player died on September 7 while in Cape Town working as a commentator on the World Cup Sevens tour?
4. Fill in the blanks from this rather breathless Newshub story published on September 30: ‘‘Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll probably know that New Zealand’s first ------ officially opened in Auckland on Wednesday, and it’s safe to say the arrival of the retail giant prompted hysteria similar to that evoked by boy bands and teen heartthrobs.’’ 5. The arthouse documentary film Moonage Daydream, released on September 16, was about which British rock star?
October
1. The 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup kicked off this month. Which three venues hosted all 26 matches?
2. The UK got their third prime minister of the year this month can you name all three?
3. Which ‘‘Chief Twit’’ tweeted ‘‘the bird is freed’’ on October 27?
4. ‘‘Sick burn’’, tweeted the Ukraine government on October 8. What were they referring to?
5. Sir Tim Shadbolt, defeated as mayor of Invercargill in this month’s local body elections, made a contribution to health and science by using his mayoral fund in 1999 to save a tiny population of which species living on the Auckland Islands?
November
1. The Supreme Court ruled in favour of the ‘‘Make It 16’’ organisation over what issue?
2. Fill in the blank from this NZ Herald report on the Black Ferns Women’s Rugby World Cup final win over England: ‘‘At this stage, ----/--- had the 42,579-strong Eden Park crowd in the palm of her hand and began to sing Tu¯ tira Mai Nga¯ Iwi, the waiata most New Zealanders learn while at primary school. The Eden Park crowd responded in full voice.’’
3. Sir Murray Halberg, who died on November 30, won his 5000m gold medal at which year’s Olympics held in Rome?
4. The world’s population passed 8 billion on November 15 - but in which years did it pass 5 billion, 6 billion and 7 billion: a) 1987, 1999 and 2011 (every 12 years) ; b) 1956, 1978, 2000 (every 22 years) ; or c) 1896, 1938, 1980 (every 42 years)?
5. Who is the Central Bank Governor who signed off for the year telling Kiwi consumers: ‘‘Think harder about your spending. Think about saving rather than consuming, I know that’s a strange concept. Just cool the jets’’?
December
1. What landed on a woman’s nose at a Guns N’ Roses concert in Adelaide, prompting the band to call time on a 30-year end-of-show tradition before they arrived in New Zealand?
2. Who was the unlucky French footballer who won the coveted Golden Boot for scoring the most goals at the World Cup, and also scored a hat-trick in the final against Argentina, but ended up on the losing side?
3. Name any of the five bands that legendary Flying Nun label stalwart and NZ Hall of Fame musician Hamish Kilgour, who was confirmed to have died on December 6, played in.
4. Which NZ-filmed blockbuster was released this month claiming to have used 1400 Kiwi crew members, almost 800 extras, 114 stunt artists, 46 New Zealand cast, 36 interns, 174 sets (including 17 that cost at least $1m, 13 ‘‘wet sets’’ and 87 grey sets) 145,000 nights in accommodation, 10 dreadlocked wigs, 1.5 million litres of heated water and three excavators to create waves in water tanks?
5. The crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground’s Boxing Day Test were asked to wear which player’s trademark zinc sunblock and floppy hat and held a minute-long applause to mark his March death?