A public holiday for the occasion was first granted in New South Wales in 1836, followed by Victoria in 1931. The First Fleet left Botany Bay and landed in Port Jackson on 26 January.Ĭelebrations of Australia Day have been held unofficially since 1808, but the first official celebration wasn't held until 1818. They found Port Jackson, just to the north, which had everything they could want, including fertile soil. Five days later, Phillip led a small party (including Captain John Hunter) to find a better site. These trees also were very strong and the axes soon broke, necessitating the use of gunpowder to clear the area. However the bay was not protected, had no fresh water, and the land was heavily treed. The First Fleet, led by Captain (later, Admiral) Arthur Phillip originally landed, on January 18, in Botany Bay, as recommended by James Cook. To book a Trivia Night with Ross you can email him at can also follow him on Insta at an eye out for future trivia nights on our Events Calendar. So if you think you can beat us (you’ve got a 50/50 shot, really) then sign up for a Trivia By Ross event, let us know, and we’ll gladly try to match wits in the name of a great night out.Īnd be ready to take the mickey out of Ross a little. What more do you need? Well, maybe a pun or two.Īnd apparently Rrampt is game for a challenge (we’re looking at you, YMCA). It’s not easy to keep everybody happy, especially when some people have to come in last (not us), but it’s easy to fall in love with this kind of event: food, drinks, a great host, lots of laughs, and little competition. “I just want to be loved,” he jokes as we finish up our beers at the bar. “It doesn’t matter if I’m in a room with 30 people or 180…you try to keep everybody happy,” he says. He’s looking to expand his brand of trivia throughout Grey Bruce and Simcoe. “It’s all about what’s going to be right for your corporate, private, or fundraiser event….depending on the event and what they want out of it, I can offer that. He’s hosted a number of fundraisers and social nights out, but he’s looking forward to doing things like birthday parties and wedding events. “When I’m hosting it, you know you’re going to have fun, there are going to be some laughs…I make sure I get around and speak to everybody…and I do that right at the start to put people at ease.” It’s not about the questions per se, but about the overall experience. “There are other trivia events out there,” he acknowledges, but signals he’s doing something unique. “I enjoy ,” he says, but clarifies: “not being mean in any way, but you get that back and forth…that’s how you get a livelier crowd.” Essentially, he’s showing Canadians how it’s done in Britain, where one can attend a trivia night any evening of the week. You’ll love hearing him say ‘dart board’ in Canuck. He won’t be shy to give you his Canadian drawl. He calls it ‘taking the mickey out of him’ which is a British way of saying ‘joke around with him.’ Here’s one thing you can do: call him Australian – he gets that a lot. One distinction between working a group of four year olds in the classroom and a room at trivia night is that he allows the trivia crowd to throw insults at him actually, he encourages it – just playful ones that get a bit of banter going. “You have to be on the ball all the time and entertaining.”

As a teacher by trade, he’s comfortable in front of a group and can think quickly on his feet. “They get into it when they see I’m just joking around,” he says. After hearing about our recent efforts, the YMCA crew officially challenged us to this event, but sadly we were already committed to something and had to take a rain check (really, we’re just intimidated by those super-fit Y trainers).Īnd speaking of intimidation, Docherty admits that trivia can make people a little nervous, but because it’s done in teams and the score is secondary to a fun night out with friends, no one should feel hesitant about coming out to one. He’s hosted events in Wiarton and Southampton recently, and his next gig is the YMCA Trivia Night Fundraiser on June 14. That first trivia night was a big hit and led to ten more events at the popular Mexican restaurant downtown Owen Sound. Docherty is ready to start taking his brand, Trivia by Ross, on the road. and I was English.” He takes a sip of his beer and adds for effect: “I still am.” “They thought it would be funny if they had an English guy come and do. “They wanted to host events and they thought a trivia night would be good,” Docherty tells me over a beer. He and his wife, Alison, had just moved back from England to Owen Sound, where Alison grew up. When Casero decided to throw their first trivia night, he was the perfect choice for a host.

Goodtimes trivia