New South Wales, Australia: Table of Contents
- New South Wales, Australia: Facts
- New South Wales, Australia: Geography and Climate
- New South Wales, Australia: History
- New South Wales, Australia: Maps
- New South Wales, Australia: Pictures
- New South Wales, Australia: People
- New South Wales, Australia: Politics and Government
- New South Wales, Australia: Economy
- New South Wales, Australia: Education
- New South Wales, Australia: Science
- New South Wales, Australia: Culture
- New South Wales, Australia: Sports
- New South Wales, Australia: Transportation
- New South Wales, Australia: Travel and Tourism
- New South Wales, Australia: References
- New South Wales, Australia: Additional Reading
- New South Wales, Australia: External Links
New South Wales, Australia: Facts
New South Wales, Australia: Introduction
New South Wales (abbreviated as NSW), the state of southeastern Australia, occupying both coastal mountains and interior tablelands. It is bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the east and the states of Victoria to the south, South Australia to the west, and Queensland to the north. The capital is Sydney, the nation's largest city.
The scene of the first British settlement in Australia in 1788, New South Wales is the most economically stable and, after Victoria, the most industrialized Australian state. Originally the name New South Wales was applied to all Australian territory east of the 135th meridian of east longitude. The colonies of Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria, and Queensland were successively carved out of its territory in the 19th century. The Australian Capital Territory at Canberra and Jervis Bay is administered by the Commonwealth government even though it is surrounded by New South Wales. Although it is by no means the largest Australian state in area, New South Wales is the most populous, and in its variety it constitutes a microcosm of Australia as a whole.
New South Wales reflects the problems of a semiperipheral nation adjusting to changes in the world economy. Its manufacturing base has been devastated by cheaper and better products from overseas, and its rural industries face major world oversupply and declining prices. Unemployment is high but is often lower than in some other states. Rapidly expanding international tourism is seen as a major hope for development. While most of the population lives in the cities, there is widespread concern about the degradation of the land resources of the state. The state government's powers are increasingly limited by Commonwealth government control of the collection and expenditure of public moneys.
New South Wales, Australia: Profile
Name: New South Wales
Capital City: Sydney
Demonym: New South Welshmen
Government: Constitutional Monarchy
Governor: Professor Marie Bashir
Premier: Nathan Rees (Australian Labor Party)
Area:
- Totol Area: 809,444 km2
- Land Area: 800,642 km2
- Water Area: 8,802 km2 (1.09%)
Population:
- Population: 7,017,100 (1st)
- Density: 8.60/km2 (3rd)
Elevation:
- Highest: Mount Kosciuszko, 2,228 m (7,310 ft)
Time Zone: UTC+10 (UTC+11 DST)
Federal Representation:
- House Seats: 49/150
- Senate Seats: 12/76
Abbreviations:
- Postal: NSW
- ISO 3166-2: AU-NSW
Emblems
- Floral: Waratah (Telopea Speciosissima)
- Bird: Kookaburra (Dacelo Gigas)
- Animal: Platypus (Ornithorhynchus Anatinus)
- Fish: Blue Groper (Achoerodus Viridis)
- Colours: Sky Blue (Pantone 291)
Web Site: http://www.nsw.gov.au/
New South Wales, Australia: Geography and Climate
New South Wales, Australia: Geography
New South Wales (NSW) is Australia's most populous state, located in the east coast of the continent. It is in the southern hemisphere between latitudes 28 and 38 degrees south of the equator and longitudes 143 and 154 degrees east of the Universal Prime Meridian (formerly known as the Greenwich meridian). The state is in the warm temperate climatic zone.
The area of New South Wales is 809,444 km2 (312,528 sq mi). The coastline is 2,137 km (1,328 mi) in length.
Cape Byron, in the north-east of the state, is Australia's most easterly mainland point.
The state is bordered on the north by Queensland, on the west by South Australia, and on the south by Victoria. Its coast faces the Tasman Sea. New South Wales contains two Federal enclaves: the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), and the Jervis Bay Territory.
New South Wales can be divided physically into four sections:
- A thin coastal strip, with climates warming from cool temperate on the far south coast to subtropical near the Queensland border, including the regions south of Sydney such as the Illawarra and Shoalhaven near Nowra. North of Sydney are the Central Coast and Newcastle and the North Coast, north of the Hunter Region, as well as others.
- The mountainous areas of the Great Dividing Range and the high country surrounding them. Whilst not particularly steep, many peaks rise above 1,000 m, with the highest Mount Kosciuszko at 2,229 m (7,308 ft). This includes the Southern Highlands, Central Tablelands and the Northern Tablelands.
- The agricultural plains that fill a significant portion of the state's area, with a much sparser population than the coast, including The Riverina area around Wagga Wagga.
- The Western Plains covering almost two-thirds of the state. In some years production is limited by water availability.
New South Wales, Australia: Cities
Its four main cities from north to south are Newcastle, Gosford, Sydney, and Wollongong which all lie along the coast. Other cities and towns include Albury, Broken Hill, Dubbo, Tamworth, Armidale, Lismore, Nowra, Griffith, Leeton, Wagga Wagga, Goulburn and Coffs Harbour.
New South Wales, Australia: Towns and Villages
New South Wales, Australia: Mergers
New South Wales, Australia: Climate
New South Wales has a generally mild climate. The seasons are well-defined in the south, with a hot summer and cooler winter, set off by a pronounced spring and autumn. Autumn begins in March, winter in June, spring in September, and summer in December. Seasonal variation is less apparent in the north, where summers are hot and wet and winters cooler and drier. Early house-types were designed to make warm-climate living easier, but these have given way to imported and unsuitable types of building.
About 12 percent of the state receives less than 10 inches (250 millimetres) of rainfall a year, the westerly limit of wheat growing. About 22 percent receives between 10 and 15 inches. The coastal districts have the most annual rainfall, varying from 35 inches in the south to 60 or more inches in the north. Precipitation is highest with the orographic effect of the rise to the tablelands but generally declines westward. The Western Division, which consists of semiarid western plains, is recognized as an area of marked rainfall deficiency, and attempts have been made to rationalize land use there to minimize damage to the fragile environment.
The dry climate and abundant sunshine present problems for the agriculturalist, but they make delightful living for those in the cities. It is rarely too hot in summer, though the north coast can be uncomfortably humid, and Sydney is without sunshine for an average of only 23 days a year. Inland it is both hotter in summer and colder in winter. Average temperatures range from about 75° to 84° F (24° to 29° C) in summer and from about 45° to 59° F (7° to 15° C) in winter. Temperatures over 100° F (38° C) are not uncommon in the summer months, and frost at night is common in winter on the tablelands and southern slopes. In the Snowy Mountains (Kosciusko massif), heavy snow falls over an area larger than the Swiss Alps.
New South Wales, Australia: History
New South Wales, Australia: Early History
Aborigines
The original inhabitants of the area were Aboriginal tribes who arrived in Australia approximately forty to sixty thousand years ago.
New South Wales, Australia: Middle History
British Settlement
New South Wales was the first Australian colony to be established by the British. Discovered in 1770 by Captain James Cook, who took possession in the name of King George III, it originally covered the eastern third of Australia from Cape York Peninsula to the tip of Van Diemen's Land (later Tasmania). This vast area covered a variety of landforms and climatic conditions ranging, on the mainland, from the dry interior to the wetter coastal plains. These stretched from the semitropical north to the more temperate south and were separated from the interior by the Great Dividing Range. Inhabited by Aboriginal tribes, the country was still mainly virgin. Centuries earlier, large prehistoric animals had grazed the land, but now there were only small species—the kangaroo, koala, wombat, and the dingo, which had been brought by the Aborigines.
Gradually after 1788 New South Wales was subdivided. Van Diemen's Land ceased to come under the governor at Sydney in 1825, some 27 years after the explorer George Bass discovered that it was an island. The Port Phillip district, settled in the 1830s by pastoralists from Van Diemen's Land and from farther north on the mainland, formed the nucleus of the colony of Victoria that was separated from New South Wales in 1851, after considerable agitation. Eight years later Queensland was given its own government, which was located at Brisbane, originally the centre of a penal settlement. No further changes were made to New South Wales until 1908, when a portion of territory some 185 miles southwest of Sydney was acquired by the federal government as the site for the national capital, Canberra.
Although New South Wales was progressively reduced in physical extent, its history in other ways was one of growth. It began in January 1788 as a small settlement of a thousand or so people clustered around the foreshores of Sydney Harbour, near what is now the city of Sydney. Why the British government should have established a colony in so distant and isolated a site has long occasioned dispute. It was once accepted that the move resulted from the need to find an outlet for convicts, whom the American colonists would no longer accept after their revolt against British rule in 1776. Some historians, while conceding that penal considerations did influence the government, have suggested that more was involved. It is widely recognized that even before the loss of the American colonies Britain had begun to pay attention to the area in which Australia was located. Already possessions had been acquired in India, trade had developed with China, and an interest had been displayed in the Pacific region. Some historians view the settlement of Botany Bay as part of this broader process of imperial expansion. The outpost, it has been claimed, was valued for commercial purposes and as a means of protecting British shipping, particularly from the French, whom the government sought to exclude from this region. It has also been suggested that the presence on Norfolk Island of pine trees suitable for masts and flax needed for canvas provided a further incentive. These and other possible motives have attracted considerable attention, but debate over their significance continues.
Whatever the merits of the different explanations for the colonization of New South Wales, it remains true that the First Fleet, which arrived under the command of Governor Arthur Phillip in January 1788, brought only convicts and their jailers. For the next 52 years of its existence the colony continued to receive regular consignments of felons. At first they arrived only in a trickle, but, once the Napoleonic Wars were over, larger numbers were dispatched. Historians agree that among the convicts were political offenders whose only offense was to have protested against injustice and misrule. These, however, formed a small part of a group largely composed of men and women who had been found guilty of theft and other offenses against property. All were lawbreakers, but questions have been raised as to whether they can be regarded as criminals. Some historians view the convicts as the innocent victims of a harsh law and an unjust society. Others claim that, in the main, they were less the victims than the enemies of society, and they depict them as ne'er-do-wells who chose crime in preference to other occupations.
Whatever their background before coming to the colony, however, the convicts made an important contribution to its development, providing a servile labour force that was used by the government but more commonly by private settlers, who were encouraged to employ convicts under the assignment system. After completing their sentences most convicts found work as labourers or tradesmen, but the more enterprising acquired land, established businesses, or, when suitably qualified, entered the professions. They included artists such as Thomas Watling; writers such as Henry Savery, whose Quintus Servinton was the first novel printed in Australia; Francis Greenway, the celebrated architect; the solicitor George Crossley; and Laurence Halloran, who established a well-known school. Others, such as Samuel Terry, who became known as the “Rothschild of Botany Bay,” and the landowner, trader, and manufacturer Simeon Lord, rose to positions of wealth, although the stigma of having been convicts continued to cling to them.
The Growth of a Free Society
Increasingly, however, the convict element was overshadowed by men and women who had come to the colony as free people. From the earliest days the British government encouraged migrants who, it was hoped, could employ, discipline, and perhaps reform the convicts. Few arrived until after 1815, by which time the activities of John Macarthur and other pastoralists had shown that New South Wales was well suited to the production of meat and especially wool. During the 1820s the pastoral industry attracted men of capital in large numbers. They were joined in the 1830s and '40s by some 120,000 men, women, and children who sought to escape the harsh conditions of industrial England. Their passages were in many cases paid from a fund resulting from the decision of the British government in 1831 to sell crown land in colonies instead of giving it away free. This category of migrant brought skills rather than capital and added greatly to the work force.
The presence of growing numbers of ex-convicts, migrants, and “currency lads and lasses,” as the local-born were known, helped convert New South Wales from a convict outpost to a free colony. Wool was sent to Britain in commercial quantities from 1821, although until 1834 the products of the fisheries, whale oil, and sealskins formed the principal export. Thereafter, wool leaped ahead at a remarkable rate. Wool exports increased from nearly 5 million pounds by weight in 1834 to 14 million in 1850, linking the colony more closely to the English industrial system. Originally valued exclusively as an outlet for convicts, New South Wales was drawn more closely into the British imperial network. It became an outlet for migrants and a market for investment capital and manufactured products, and it replaced Spain and the German states as Britain's source of wool.
All this gave a boost to development in New South Wales. The bounds of settlement spread outward as pastoralists took their sheep and cattle farther and farther afield. The local government, backed by the authorities in London, sought to impose limits on expansion. But they had no way of enforcing orders, and increasing numbers of stock owners moved outside the limits of settlement. Such people, known as squatters, struggled to obtain a firm tenure to their land, and in 1847 they won major concessions. By that time most of the eastern mainland was occupied, country towns had sprung up to meet the needs of surrounding districts, and Sydney, the capital city, had been transformed. Originally little more than the headquarters of a jail, it had become a thriving metropolis that was a centre of government and the colony's principal port. Here were located the public offices, mercantile houses, and a limited range of manufactures. The early buildings had been of primitive design and rough construction, but during and after the days of Governor Lachlan Macquarie gracious buildings were erected, some designed by the ex-convict architect Francis Greenway.
This expansion was at the expense of the Aboriginal people, of whom, it has been estimated, at least 300,000 were present in New South Wales and Victoria when the first white settlers arrived (some estimates are higher than 1,000,000). The delicate structure of Aboriginal society, which technologically lagged behind that of the whites, could not withstand the incursions of the newcomers. Driven from their lands, ravaged by disease, and killed in large numbers as a result of frontier clashes, the Aborigines declined in number. Those who survived became virtual outcasts in white society or fell back into the interior, beyond the reach of the settlers. Governors were instructed to treat them with humanity and as British subjects. Most attempted to do so and to punish those whites who mistreated the Aborigines. In 1838, following the notorious Myall Creek Massacre, seven whites were hanged at the instance of Governor Sir George Gipps. In general, however, the law itself, as well as the difficulties of enforcing it in outlying districts, favoured the whites. During the 1830s, attempts were made to safeguard the Aborigines by placing them under supervision in protectorates, but these failed and were abandoned after the coming of self-government in the 1850s.
Movement Toward Self-Rule
The emergence of a free society was accompanied by the growth of opposition to the existing form of government. So long as convicts were sent to New South Wales it was considered necessary for close control to be exercised by those in authority. The naval governors who successively ruled between 1788 and 1808, Arthur Phillip, John Hunter, Philip Gidley King, and William Bligh, possessed virtually absolute powers. These they discharged in a responsible manner, for all were dedicated, hard-working administrators. From the time of Phillip's departure in 1792, however, they met opposition from the New South Wales Corps, which had been recruited to perform garrison duty. Its officers were allowed to own land and, contrary to instructions, they also began trading in a number of goods, including liquor. Efforts to check them failed, and they used their influence to undermine the positions of Hunter and King. Governor Bligh, a courageous, energetic, but abrasive and tactless man, already noted for the mutiny on the Bounty, proved more resistant. He clashed with the corps, with other sections of the community, and, more seriously, with the difficult and overbearing John Macarthur. A crisis developed that culminated with the overthrow of Bligh in the Rum Rebellion of January 1808. The corps ruled under successive commandants until 1810, when it was recalled, and Lachlan Macquarie arrived with his own regiment. A Scot of energy and vision, he ruled from 1810 until 1821, restoring order and bringing stability to a colony whose interests he did much to promote. His autocratic ways, however, created problems, and, following an inquiry begun in 1819 by Commissioner J.T. Bigge, a small Legislative Council made up of government officials and nominated colonists was established in 1823. This body and its powers were enlarged in 1828, but responsibility still lay with the governors, who were answerable only to the Colonial Office in far-off London.
Conflict developed during the 1820s and '30s as pressure for an increased say in government mounted among free colonists. A group called “emancipists” or “Botany Bay Whigs,” led by the local-born, Cambridge-educated lawyer and pastoralist W.C. Wentworth, demanded an elected Legislative Council. This was opposed initially by a small but influential conservative faction known as “exclusives” or “Botany Bay Tories,” that clustered around John Macarthur. In response to demands from the emancipists, British authorities sanctioned the introduction of trial by jury into the civil and criminal courts, but they refused to reform the legislature while convicts were arriving. Representative government was finally introduced in 1842, two years after convict transportation was abolished. The new legislature, composed of 36 members, 24 of whom were elected, had limited powers, however.
Once convicts ceased to arrive, the old division between emancipist and exclusive faded. The two groups, which were composed mainly of wealthy landowners, came together under Wentworth's leadership. During the 1840s they sought to tighten their hold over the land and the resumption of convict transportation to ease the labour shortage. This brought them into conflict with urban elements who saw the resumption of transportation as a threat to their well-being. Wentworth and his associates, however, predominated among the elected members of the legislature, and they continued to press for reforms designed to secure self-government and guarantee their own supremacy. In 1856, as part of a series of changes affecting most of the Australian colonies, the British government established in New South Wales a new legislature composed of a Legislative Council and a wholly elected Legislative Assembly. Power passed from the governor to whichever political leader from the lower house possessed majority support. Representative government had given way to responsible government, and the premier had replaced the governor as the chief executive officer.
The new constitution failed to give the landed gentry the protection it sought. After 1856 this conservative group lost ground to the urban middle class, which came to dominate political life. Political parties had not yet emerged, and between the 1860s and the 1880s New South Wales was governed mainly by loose-knit factions whose presence resulted in frequent changes of ministry. Fortunately, both a well-established public service and the broadly common outlook shared by the leading political figures made for stability. Liberalism was the dominant political creed, and there was general agreement as to the desirability of fashioning a society that offered opportunity to as wide a section of the white community as possible. Beginning in 1861 with the land acts for which John Robertson was responsible, attempts were made to reduce the power of the squatters and open up the lands to small settlers, or selectors. Reforms were also introduced in the sphere of education that culminated in Sir Henry Parkes's 1880 Public Instruction Act. This sought to end the existing dual system under which church and state schools operated side by side. Thereafter it was intended that primary schools would be provided solely by the state, which sought to ensure that all children attended them. The act was opposed by the Roman Catholic church, which objected to the idea of education being controlled by secular authorities. The church continued with its own schools, perpetuating the dual system.
Economic Developments
In the economic sphere, boom conditions prevailed until the late 1880s. The gold rushes of the 1850s brought much less wealth to New South Wales than they did to Victoria, where the goldfields were considerably larger. But after causing some dislocation the gold rushes did add to the well-being of the colony and helped it recover from a depression experienced in the early 1840s. After 1860 capital poured in from England, and the pastoral industry was placed on a new footing. The squatters were largely untroubled by the attempts to dispossess them of their land. They began to build permanent homes in the Outback and effect other improvements on their properties, reducing the need for shepherds and herdsmen by enclosing their land with the new wire fencing. The wool and cattle industries continued to expand, as did wheat farming, which, like pastoralism, was given a boost by the introduction of railway systems after the 1850s. Meat exports became possible in the 1880s after refrigerated transport was invented. All this benefited the large grazier, but the selectors also made their presence felt. The Robertson Land Acts, once wrongly regarded as a failure, did succeed in areas suitable for dairying or intensive cultivation and helped promote these branches of rural industry. Elsewhere, however, selectors often failed or were reduced to poverty. The economic climate thus created helped provide the conditions in which bushrangers could thrive. Such people had been present from the earliest days, but it was in the 1860s and '70s that they came to the fore. Their resistance to authority and to the unpopular squatters helped make them folk heroes.
Even more marked than the expansion of rural industry was urban growth. Country towns increased in number and size, although those that were bypassed by the railway suffered decline. Sydney, which as always was well placed to tap the wealth of both the interior and the Pacific, expanded to an unprecedented extent. The gold rushes had given Melbourne a great boost, but Sydney remained a centre of great importance. With the coming of the railway and later of the tram, new suburbs were established in the outer districts. Previously workers had been obliged to live close to employment, but increasingly they were able to break this nexus. The urban sprawl that has been so much a feature of city development in New South Wales had already begun.
The opening years of the last decade of the 19th century were marked by a severe depression that affected most of Australia. In New South Wales financial institutions collapsed, savings were lost, and unemployment was widespread. Industrial disputes, more serious than ever before, broke out, the most noteworthy being the Great Maritime Strike of May to November 1890. The unions involved in the strike were defeated, and this setback contributed to the decision in 1891 to establish a Labor Party. Its presence forced other political groups to organize themselves along party lines and ended the faction system, already undermined by the split between free-traders and protectionists.
The 1890s were also marked by a heightened sense of national feeling, resulting in part from the fact that the population was by now mainly locally born. Art and literature reflected this impulse, which also played a part in the federation movement. The movement had received a stimulus in 1889 when Henry Parkes, one of the outstanding political leaders in New South Wales, delivered his Tenterfield oration. More than a decade of hard bargaining was necessary before federation was achieved. New South Wales favoured the eventual outcome in two referenda held in 1898 and 1899, although opinion was divided in the community.
New South Wales, Australia: Modern History
Federation of Australia
The establishment of a Commonwealth government in 1901 inaugurated a new era in the history of New South Wales. The once-independent colony was now a state that formed part of a wider unit. Important powers were handed over to the federal government, which progressively encroached on the state's domain. Other changes affected the course of the state's development. For most of the 19th century, New South Wales had enjoyed almost continuous progress, broken only by occasional setbacks. The first half of the 20th century, in contrast, was marked by two world wars and a world depression in the 1930s. Besides creating widespread unemployment and precipitating the collapse of businesses and financial institutions, the depression produced a political crisis. The Labor premier, John Thomas Lang, who had introduced major reforms since coming to power in 1925, threatened to repudiate payment on overseas debts. He clashed with the Commonwealth government and alarmed wealthy propertied groups, which gave support to a semimilitaristic movement, the New Guard. Tensions mounted, and on March 19, 1932, F.E. De Groot, a member of the New Guard, cut the ribbon opening the Sydney Harbour Bridge before Lang was able to do so. This was a symbolic gesture, but two months later, after Lang forbade government departments to hand over money to the Commonwealth, he was dismissed by the New South Wales governor, Sir Philip Game.
Despite the disturbances occasioned by war and depression, much was accomplished in New South Wales between 1900 and 1945. Labor held office for the first time under James Sinclair Taylor McGowen in 1910. He was succeeded by William Arthur Holman, who left the party in 1917, after it split over the question of whether conscription for overseas military services should be introduced. The party held office for most of the 1920s, but in the 1930s power passed to a coalition of the United Australia Party (later the Liberal Party) and the Country Party; the latter party had been established in 1925 in New South Wales (it was previously called the Progressive Party) to represent the rural interest. The state continued to control public works, law and order, and health and education. Important reforms were introduced, particularly in the field of education. The state system brought into being under Parkes was reformed after 1904 by Peter Board, the celebrated director general of education. He established Sydney Teachers' College in 1905–06 and sought to ensure that teaching and courses were adapted to the needs of children. In 1911 he laid the basis for an improved secondary, or high, school system that was designed to cater to older students. Some of those who attended high school proceeded to the University of Sydney, the oldest in Australia, dating from 1850. It too was expanded after 1900 and became a major centre of learning with an international reputation.
The educational reforms introduced after 1900 reflected a growing tendency on the part of the government to help its citizens. State intervention had been a feature of New South Wales history from the outset, for, in so large a colony, government alone possessed the resources to provide essential services. The emergence of the Labor Party gave an additional stimulus to this tendency and pushed it in new directions. From the 1890s a welfare state gradually took shape. Old-age pensions were introduced in 1900 and later extended. As the 20th century progressed, further innovations, including a scheme for child endowment that set the lead for Australia, were established. So too was a system for settling industrial disputes by arbitration and conciliation, a workers' compensation scheme, and the 44-hour work week. Yet, as the depression of the 1930s showed, many members of the community were unprotected or poorly safeguarded against threats to their well-being. Indeed, research has revealed that even in earlier periods of supposed plenty, poverty existed in what was thought to be a land of opportunity. Such problems were to continue after World War II, although additional steps were taken to alleviate them.
Early 20th Century
In the years after World War I, the high prices enjoyed during the war fell with the resumption of international trade, and farmers became increasingly discontented with the fixed prices paid by the compulsory marketing authorities set up as a wartime measure by the Hughes government. In 1919 the farmers formed the Country Party, led at national level by Earle Page, a doctor from Grafton, and at state level by Michael Bruxner, a small farmer from Tenterfield.
The Great Depression which began in 1929 ushered a period of political and class conflict in New South Wales. The mass unemployment and collapse of commodity prices brought ruin to both city workers and to farmers. The beneficiary of the resultant discontent was not the Communist Party, which remained small and weak, but Jack Lang's Labor populism. Lang's second government was elected in November 1930 on a policy of repudiating New South Wales' debt to British bondholders and using the money instead to help the unemployed through public works. This was denounced as illegal by conservatives, and also by James Scullin's federal Labor government. The result was that Lang's supporters in the federal Caucus brought down Scullin's government, causing a second bitter split in the Labor Party. In May 1932 the Governor, Sir Philip Game dismissed his government. The subsequent election was won by the conservative opposition.
By the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the differences between New South Wales and the other states that had emerged in the 19th century had faded as a result of federation and economic development behind a wall of protective tariffs. New South Wales continued to outstrip Victoria as the centre of industry, and increasingly of finance and trade as well. Labor returned to office under the moderate leadership of William McKell in 1941 and stayed in power for 24 years. World War II saw another surge in industrial development to meet the needs of a war economy, and also the elimination of unemployment.
The Postwar Period
World War II and the decades that followed produced major changes in New South Wales. The population expanded from some 2,917,415 in 1945 to some 5,738,500 in 1988. The proportion of residents of British origin fell as increasing numbers of immigrants—initially from Europe, then from South America, the Middle East, and Asia—arrived under schemes implemented by the federal government. Attempts were at first made to assimilate them, but this policy was replaced by one aimed at creating a multicultural society. The presence of immigrants enriched cultural life and produced changes in social customs. This was particularly evident in the cities, the continued growth of which was another feature of the postwar years. Sydney, which had a population of about 1,756,611 in 1945, grew to 3,596,000 by 1988. Important too was the expansion of Newcastle and Wollongong, centres of the iron and steel industry. The increased concentration of population in coastal cities created problems and gave rise to attempts to promote growth in the interior of the state, where some country towns were in decline. Only limited results, however, were achieved.
Despite some setbacks, the postwar years were ones of economic expansion. The Snowy Mountains HydroElectric Scheme began in 1949; undertaken in conjunction with the federal and Victorian governments, it was outstanding among a number of public works projects that brought improvements to the power supply, roads, railways, and city life. The largest trading state, New South Wales retained a leading position in many spheres of enterprise.
In the political sphere, power alternated between Labor, which ruled until 1965 and from 1976 to 1988, and the coalition formed by the Country Party and the Liberal Party. After 1942 the Commonwealth alone levied income tax; this limited the state's opportunities to initiate reforms. Increasingly the Commonwealth seized the initiative in spheres such as health and education, and particularly in the university and college sector, which underwent unprecedented expansion after 1957. Nevertheless, the state government did much to diversify and expand the economy and improve facilities and opportunities for a widening segment of the population. Reforms were introduced in the hospital system, while the school system, primary and secondary, was brought into line with new social and educational needs. Legislation, influenced by that introduced overseas and in Canberra, opened new opportunities for women, who since the 1960s had been organizing in protest against prevailing inequalities.
Attention also was turned toward the Aboriginal people, whose plight aroused national and international concern. Up until World War II it was widely believed that they were a vanishing race and that the object should be to ease the process of their vanishing. Policy was directed first at controlling and protecting the Aborigines and then at assimilating them into white society. The measures adopted, although paternalistic in inspiration, were often unfeelingly administered, and they brought much suffering. After the war attitudes gradually changed, as the Aboriginal people became more conscious of their own individuality and their rights. Support came from overseas, where changes had occurred in the position of black people. Sympathy also developed among segments of the white populace, including university students and teachers. Students joined in the “freedom rides” of 1965, designed to highlight racial discrimination in rural New South Wales. In response to mounting pressure and the example set by the federal government, which after a referendum in 1967 gained power to legislate for the Aboriginal people, reforms were introduced in New South Wales. These culminated in 1983 with an act that established Aboriginal Land Councils and conferred on them the right to hold freehold title to land within their area. Earlier, attempts had been made to improve medical facilities and increase educational opportunities. Much remained to be accomplished, but at least a start had been made toward opening the way for wider sections of the community to share in the future growth of New South Wales.
New South Wales, Australia: Maps
Map of New South Wales, Australia
New South Wales, Australia: Google Map
New South Wales, Australia: Pictures
New South Wales, Australia: Photo Gallery
Sydney Opera House, New South Wales, Australia
Sydney Opera House, New South Wales, Australia
Sydney Opera House, New South Wales, Australia
Sydney Harbour Bridge, New South Wales, Australia
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Bondi Beach, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Bondi Beach, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
New South Wales, Australia: People
New South Wales, Australia: Politics and Government
The state government in theory administers internal matters, while the national (Commonwealth) government is responsible for defense, foreign policy, immigration, trade, customs and excise, post and telegraph services, and air and sea transport. Within those limitations the state government is said to be sovereign and has powers to make laws for the peace, welfare, and good government of New South Wales. In fact, the Commonwealth government has used its financial powers to limit the powers of the states. Like other states, New South Wales has no armed forces apart from the police.
The parliament consists of two houses. The lower house, or Legislative Assembly, has 109 members elected from single-member constituencies by optional preferential voting. The upper house, or Legislative Council, has 45 members who are directly elected at large by optional preferential voting and proportional representation. The Cabinet is chosen from the party that commands a majority in the Legislative Assembly. It is headed by a premier. Through the party system there is effective executive rule, which may, however, be frustrated by a failure to control the Legislative Council. Parliament meets for four years, but can be dissolved earlier.
The governor is the local representative of the British crown and is appointed by the British monarch on the recommendation of the premier. The titular head of the government, the governor is now always an Australian. Although his duties are mostly formal, he may play an important role in a political crisis.
All elections are conducted on the basis of universal adult suffrage. Every citizen over the age of 18 is required to vote in all elections, including those for local government offices.
The basic local government areas are urban municipalities and rural shires. Bodies called county councils are organized to coordinate common services such as flood control and electric power supply in districts that comprise a number of local government units.
Political parties are usually state branches of the federal political parties and tend to have the same policies and interests, though “states' rights” are jealously guarded even among political allies. The three chief parties are the Liberal Party and the National Party, which generally form a coalition, and the Australian Labor Party, which is allied to the trade unions. The much smaller Australian Democrats sit in the upper house and with some Independents are able to reject government bills by joining with the main party in opposition. There is also a small Call to Australia Christian Party in the upper house.
State law and its administration are generally based on the British system. Legal procedure includes trial by jury in criminal and some civil cases, the right of appeal, and an independent judiciary. The highest state court is the Supreme Court, from which appeals can be made to the High Court of Australia. Minor offenses are dealt with by magistrates in the Local Courts, while more serious cases are brought before a judge and jury in the District Court. There is a juvenile justice system administered by magistrates. Crime has not greatly increased in recent years, but public awareness of it has, leading to a more punitive environment.
New South Wales, Australia: Economy
Economically New South Wales is the most important state in Australia, with about a third of the country's sheep, a fifth of its cattle, and a third of its small number of pigs. It produces a large share of Australia's grain, including wheat, corn (maize), and sorghum, and most of its silver, lead, and zinc. The state's share of dairy production has greatly declined in the face of more efficient Victorian production, and its share of coal production has fallen with the rise of Queensland exports, though it remains a major producer from new opencut mines in the Hunter River valley. As with the rest of Australia, manufacturing has declined since 1970, with reduced tariffs, a small market, lack of skills, and a floating Australian dollar. Unemployment is high.
There is a vigorous trade-union movement, and the Chamber of Manufacturers and other associations represent the interests of employers. Both types of organization come into play during annual wage bargaining under an industrial court system that operates both at the state and Commonwealth levels.
State finances are dominated by the Commonwealth government, which since 1942 has collected all income taxes, the chief source of all public revenue. States are reimbursed according to a fixed formula that favours certain “disadvantaged” states at the expense of New South Wales. Commonwealth control has been increased since the 1970s through the awarding of fixed grants to the states for specified purposes. Chief local sources of state revenue are land and payroll taxes and stamp duties on financial transactions.
New South Wales, Australia: Education
Primary and Secondary in New South Wales, Australia
The NSW school system comprises a kindergarten to year twelve system with primary schooling up to year 6 and secondary schooling between year 7 and 12. Schooling is compulsory until age 15.
Primary and secondary schools include government and non-government schools. Government schools are further classified as comprehensive and selective schools. Non-government schools include Catholic schools, other denominational schools, and non-denominational independent schools.
Typically, a primary school provides education from kindergarten level to year 6. A secondary school, usually called a "high school", provides education from years 7 to 12. Secondary colleges are secondary schools which only cater for years 11 and 12.
The government classifies the 12 years of primary and secondary schooling into six stages, beginning with stage 1 (years 1 and 2) and ending with stage 6 (years 11 and 12).
School Certificate
The School Certificate is awarded by the Board of Studies to students at the end of Year 10. Typically, students in secondary schools will have completed a course of study in accordance with the Board's requirements, and sit for the tests at the end of year 10.
The Board administers five external tests in English-literacy, Mathematics, Science, Australian History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship. Students are not given a "pass" or "fail" result. The tests are designed to grade a student on their ability. The results of this test are categorised into bands 1 through to 6 with band 1 as the lowest and band 6 as the highest.
Higher School Certificate
The Higher School Certificate (HSC) is the usual Year 12 leaving certificate in NSW. Most students complete the HSC prior to entering the workforce or going on to study at college, university or TAFE (although the HSC itself can be completed at TAFE). The HSC must be completed for a student to get an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (formerly University Admissions Index), which determines the students rank against fellow students who completed the Higher School Certificate.
Tertiary
Eleven universities primarily operate in New South Wales. Sydney is home to Australia's first university, the University of Sydney, founded in 1850, as well as the University of New South Wales, Macquarie University, the University of Technology, Sydney and the University of Western Sydney. The Australian Catholic University has two of its six campuses in Sydney, and the private University of Notre Dame Australia also operates a secondary campus in the city.
Outside Sydney, the leading universities are the University of Newcastle and the University of Wollongong. Armidale is home to the University of New England, and Charles Sturt University and Southern Cross University have campuses spread across cities in the state's south-west and north coast respectively.
The public universities are state government agencies, however they are largely regulated by the federal government, which also administers their public funding. Admission to NSW universities is arranged together with universities in the Australian Capital Territory by another government agency, the Universities Admission Centre.
Primarily vocational training is provided up the level of advanced diplomas is provided by the state government's ten Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutes. These institutes run courses in over 130 campuses throughout the state.
Universities in New South Wales, Australia
- Australian Graduate School of Management
- Charles Sturt University
- Macquarie University
- Southern Cross University
- University of New England
- University of New South Wales
- University of Newcastle
- University of Sydney
- University of Technology Sydney
- University of Western Sydney
- University of Wollongong
- Australian Catholic University
New South Wales, Australia: Science
New South Wales, Australia: Culture
As Australia's most populous state, New South Wales is home to a number of cultural institutions of importance to the nation. In music, New South Wales is home to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Australia's busiest and largest orchestra. Australia's largest opera company, Opera Australia, is headquartered in Sydney. Both of these organisations perform a subscription series at the Sydney Opera House. Other major musical bodies include the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Sydney is host to the Australian Ballet for its Sydney season (the ballet is headquartered in Melbourne). Apart from the Sydney Opera House, major musical performance venues include the City Recital Hall and the Sydney Town Hall.
New South Wales is home to a number of major art galleries. The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), houses a significant collection of Australian art, while the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney focuses on contemporary art.
Major museums include the natural history-focussed Australian Museum, the technology and arts-and-crafts focussed Powerhouse Museum, and the history-focussed Museum of Sydney. Other museums include the Sydney Jewish Museum.
Sydney is home to five Arts teaching organisations which have all produced world famous students: The National Art School, The College of Fine Arts, the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), the Australian School of Film, Radio and Television and the Conservatorium of Music (now part of the University of Sydney).
New South Wales, Australia: Sports
Throughout Australian history, NSW sporting teams have been very successful in both winning domestic competitions and providing players to the Australian national teams. The NSW Blues play in the Ford Ranger Cup and Sheffield Shield cricket competitions, the NSW Waratahs in the Super 14 rugby union competition and The 'Blues' represent NSW in the annual Rugby League State of Origin series.
As well as the State of Origin, the headquarters of the Australian Rugby League and National Rugby League (NRL) are in Sydney, which is home to 9 of the 16 National Rugby League (NRL) teams. (South Sydney Rabbitohs, Sydney Roosters, Parramatta Eels, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Wests Tigers, Penrith Panthers, Canterbury Bulldogs and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles), as well as being the northern home of the St George Illawarra Dragons, which is half-based in Wollongong. A tenth team, the Newcastle Knights is located in Newcastle. The main summer sport is cricket.
The state is represented by three teams in association football's A-League: Sydney FC (the inaugural champions in 2005-06), the Central Coast Mariners, based at Gosford and the Newcastle United Jets (2007-08 A League Champions). Football has the highest number of registered players in New South Wales of any football code. Australian rules football has historically not been strong in New South Wales outside the Riverina region. However, the Sydney Swans relocated from South Melbourne in 1982 and their presence and success since the late 1990s has raised the profile of Australian rules football, especially after their AFL premiership in 2005. Other teams in national competitions include basketball's Sydney Spirit (formerly the West Sydney Razorbacks) and the defunct team Sydney Kings and Sydney Uni Flames, and netball's Sydney Swifts.
Sydney was the host of the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 1938 British Empire Games. The Olympic Stadium, now known as ANZ Stadium is the scene of the annual NRL Grand Final. It also regularly hosts rugby league State of Origin games and rugby union internationals, and has recently hosted the final of the 2003 Rugby World Cup and the football World Cup qualifier between Australia and Uruguay.
The Sydney Cricket Ground hosts the 'New Year' cricket Test match from 2-6 January each year, and is also one of the sites for the finals of the One Day International series. The annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race begins in Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day. The climax of Australia's touring car racing series is the Bathurst 1000, held near the city of Bathurst.
The popular equine sports of campdrafting and polocrosse were developed in New South Wales and competitions are now held across Australia. Polocrosse is now played in many overseas countries. New South Wales is the home to the world famous Coolmore, Darley and Kia-Ora Thoroughbred horse studs.
New South Wales, Australia: Transportation
Public transport operators in NSW carry over 2 million passengers each weekday on rail, bus, ferry and taxi services. Around 72% of trips to the Sydney CBD each weekday are made using public transport.
The transport sector employs about 20,000 people across NSW.
New South Wales, Australia: Airports
New South Wales, Australia: Rail
The Australian state of New South Wales has an extensive network of railways, which were integral to the growth and development of the state. The vast majority of railway lines were government built and operated, but there were also several private railways, some of which operate to this day.
New South Wales, Australia: Roads
New South Wales, Australia: Ports
New South Wales, Australia: Travel and Tourism
New South Wales, Australia: Flights
New South Wales, Australia: Hotels
GTA Discounted Hotels Reservations
New South Wales, Australia: Restaurants
New South Wales, Australia: Attractions
Osaka Prefecture Tourism: Parks & Gardens
National Parks in New South Wales, Australia
New South Wales has more than 780 national parks and reserves covering more than 8% of the state.[28] These parks range from rainforests, spectacular waterfalls, rugged bush to marine wonderlands and outback deserts, including World Heritage areas.
The Royal National Park on the southern outskirts of Sydney became Australia's first National Park when proclaimed on 26 April 1879. Originally named The National Park until 1955, this park was the second National Park to be established in the world after Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. Kosciuszko National Park is the largest park in state encompassing New South Wales' alpine region.
The National Parks Association was formed in 1957 to create a system of national parks all over New South Wales. This government agency is responsible for developing and maintaining the parks and reserve system, and conserving natural and cultural heritage, in the state of New South Wales. These parks preserve special habitats, plants and wildlife, such as the Wollemi National Park where the Wollemi Pine grows and areas sacred to Australian Aboriginals such as Mutawintji National Park in western New South Wales.
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