Sydney - Australia, New South Wales capital

Sydney - Australia, New South Wales capital overview

Sydney geographic coordinates: 33*57'S/151*11'E
Sydney population 3,314,815 (2004)

Sydney is the capital of New South Wales located on the southeast coast of Australia. Sydney is the principal port and chief city of the island continent, main cultural and industrial center. Its celebrated harbor and exciting urban life make it a visitor's favorite. It is the largest as well as the oldest city in Australia.

Since it was here that the first international population settled. You can even visit Captain Cook's landing place at Botany Bay, where the first boats arrived. The city serves as the center for retail and wholesale trade as well as public administration and finance.

Its main exports are wool, wheat, flour, sheepskins, and meat; the chief imports are petroleum, coal, timber, and sugar. Sydney has shipyards, oil refineries, textile mills, brass foundries, and automobile, electronics, and chemical plants.

Sydney - Australia, New South Wales capital history

The city was founded in 1788 as the first penal settlement of Australia. Its name was taken from a cave named for Captain Cook's patron, Viscount Sydney. In World War II the city was an Allied military base.

Sydney has experienced tremendous growth since World War II, and there has been extensive urban redevelopment since the 1970s.

Sydney - Australia, New South Wales capital main attractions

Sydney curves around idyllic Port Jackson, where sandstone cliffs and bright islands complement the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Wander the cobbled colonial streets of the historic Rocks quarter, or tour the mansions of Watson's Bay.

The billowing profile of the Opera House greets Crystal Symphony on her arrival to Sydney's glorious harbor. Modernistic Sydney Opera House complex was largely designed by Joern Utzon, the Danish winner of an international competition. Sydney Opera House opened in 1974 and is now Sidney's most famous landmark. Ahead lays the arch of the Harbor Bridge. These twin symbols, more than any other, identify one of the southern Hemisphere's premier cities.

Sydney is an energetic and exciting metropolis whose nightlife, shopping and fine restaurants compare favorably with the finest the world has to offer.

As host city for the Olympic Games in 2000, Sydney is filled with a buoyant sense of optimism. Yet despite its modern advances, Sydney has lovingly cherished its heritage, for this was the birthplace of the Australian nation. Combine Sydney's boundless attractions with its superb harbor side location, and you have that certain magic few other cities can rival.

You can also get off and visit Taronga Zoo, which is open every day of the year. Sea animals from Australia and around the world against breathtaking views of the harbor and a scenic landscape. Crossing the Sydney harbor and linking the two sides of the city is the Sydney Harbor Bridge, which offers exciting walking and climbing opportunities and fantastic sights of the city.

In the city are the Univ. of Sydney (1850), Macquarie Univ. (1964), and the Univ. of New South Wales (1949). Among its museums are the National Gallery of Art and the Australian Museum (natural history). Centrepoint Tower (1981) is Australia's tallest building.

Sydney city usefull links

Sydney flights
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