1.
Sydney
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Sydney /ˈsɪdni/ is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Located on Australias east coast, the metropolis surrounds the worlds largest natural harbour, residents of Sydney are known as Sydneysiders. The Sydney area has been inhabited by indigenous Australians for at least 30,000 years, the first British settlers, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, arrived in 1788 to found Sydney as a penal colony, the first European settlement in Australia. Since convict transportation ended in the century, the city has transformed from a colonial outpost into a major global cultural. As at June 2016 Sydneys estimated population was 5,005,358, in the 2011 census,34 percent of the population reported having been born overseas, representing many different nationalities and making Sydney one of the most multicultural cities in the world. There are more than 250 different languages spoken in Sydney and about one-third of residents speak a language other than English at home and it is classified as an Alpha+ World City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, indicating its influence in the region and throughout the world. Ranked eleventh in the world for economic opportunity, Sydney has a market economy with strengths in finance, manufacturing. Its gross regional product was $337 billion in 2013, the largest in Australia, there is a significant concentration of foreign banks and multinational corporations in Sydney and the city is promoted as one of Asia Pacifics leading financial hubs. Its natural features include Sydney Harbour, the Royal National Park, man-made attractions such as the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Tower and the Sydney Harbour Bridge are also well known to international visitors. The first people to inhabit the now known as Sydney were indigenous Australians having migrated from northern Australia. Radiocarbon dating suggests human activity first started to occur in the Sydney area from around 30,735 years ago, the earliest British settlers called them Eora people. Eora is the term the indigenous used to explain their origins upon first contact with the British. Its literal meaning is from this place, prior to the arrival of the British there were 4,000 to 8,000 native people in Sydney from as many as 29 different clans. Sydney Cove from Port Jackson to Petersham was inhabited by the Cadigal clan, the principal language groups were Darug, Guringai, and Dharawal. The earliest Europeans to visit the area noted that the people were conducting activities such as camping and fishing, using trees for bark and food, collecting shells. Development has destroyed much of the citys history including that of the first inhabitants, there continues to be examples of rock art and engravings located in the protected Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. The first meeting between the people and the British occurred on 29 April 1770 when Lieutenant James Cook landed at Botany Bay on the Kurnell Peninsula. He noted in his journal that they were confused and somewhat hostile towards the foreign visitors, Cook was on a mission of exploration and was not commissioned to start a settlement
2.
New South Wales
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New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south and it has a coast line with the Tasman Sea on its east side. The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within the state, New South Wales state capital is Sydney, which is also Australias most populous city. In March 2014, the population of New South Wales was 7.5 million. Just under two-thirds of the population,4.67 million. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen, the Colony of New South Wales was founded as a penal colony in 1788. It originally comprised a more than half of the Australian mainland with its western boundary set at 129th meridian east in 1825, in addition, the colony also included the island territories of New Zealand, Van Diemens Land, Lord Howe Island, and Norfolk Island. During the 19th century, most of the area was detached to form separate British colonies that eventually became New Zealand. However, the Swan River Colony has never administered as part of New South Wales. Lord Howe Island remains part of New South Wales, while Norfolk Island has become a federal Territory, as have the now known as the Australian Capital Territory. The prior inhabitants of New South Wales were the Aboriginal tribes who arrived in Australia about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago, before European settlement there were an estimated 250,000 Aboriginal people in the region. The Wodi Wodi people are the custodians of the Illawarra region of South Sydney. The Bundjalung people are the custodians of parts of the northern coastal areas. The European discovery of New South Wales was made by Captain James Cook during his 1770 survey along the eastern coast of the Dutch-named continent of New Holland. In his original journal covering the survey, in triplicate to satisfy Admiralty Orders, Cook first named the land New Wales, however, in the copy held by the Admiralty, he revised the wording to New South Wales. After years of chaos and anarchy after the overthrow of Governor William Bligh, macquaries legacy is still evident today. During the 19th century, large areas were separated to form the British colonies of Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria. Responsible government was granted to the New South Wales colony in 1855, following the Treaty of Waitangi, William Hobson declared British sovereignty over New Zealand in 1840
3.
Sydney central business district
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The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 km from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement in which the Sydney region was initially established, due to its pivotal role in Australias early history, it is one of the oldest established areas in the country. Geographically, its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in the south, at the 2011 Australian Census, the CBD recorded a population of 14,308. Sydney CBD is very used to refer not only to the CBD proper. The Sydney CBD is Australias main financial and economic centre, as well as a hub of economic activity for the Asia-Pacific region. The city centre employs approximately 13% of the Sydney regions workforce and it produced $64.1 billion worth of goods and services in 2011–12. Culturally, the city centre is Sydneys focal point for nightlife and it is also home to some of the citys most significant buildings and structures. The Sydney CBD is an area of very densely concentrated skyscrapers and other buildings, interspersed by parks such as Hyde Park, The Domain, Royal Botanic Gardens. George Street is the Sydney CBDs main north–south thoroughfare, the CBD runs along two ridge lines below Macquarie Street and York Streets. Between these ridges is Pitt Street, running close to the course of the original Tank Stream, bridge Street, took its name from the bridge running east–west that once crossed this stream. Pitt Street is the heart of the city which includes the Pitt Street Mall. Macquarie Street is a historic precinct that houses such buildings as the State Parliament House, administratively, the Sydney CBD falls under the authority of the local government area of the City of Sydney. The New South Wales state government also has authority over some aspects of the CBD, the Sydney CBD is home to some of the largest Australian companies, as well as serving as an Asia-Pacific headquarters for many large international companies. Sydneys CBD is serviced by rail, light rail, buses. There is a largely-underground CBD rail loop, accessed in both directions via Central, which services five additional CBD stations, plus a spur line to Bondi Junction which services two. The only light rail line currently operating links the southern part of the CBD, buses, both government-run and privately owned, service the CBD along several dozen routes to both inner and more remote suburbs. NightRide is an bus service that operates between midnight and 5, 00am, with most services running from George Street outside the Sydney Town Hall. Sydney Ferries operate largely from Circular Quay, on the edge of the CBD
4.
Chinatown, Sydney
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Sydneys Chinatown is an urban locality in the southern part of the Sydney central business district, in New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Haymarket, between Central Station and Darling Harbour and it is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney and is Australias largest Chinatown. The current location is the third in Sydney to be known as Chinatown, in the late 19th century, it was located in the Rocks area of Sydney and later moved to the area near Market Street at Darling Harbour. By the 1920s, it began to be established in its current location, Chinatown is centred on Dixon Street, a pedestrian street mall with many Chinese restaurants, and with a Paifang at each end. At the eastern side, running parallel with Dixon Street, are Sussex Street, which has a number of shops, other streets and lanes within Sydneys Chinatown include Factory Street, Goulburn Street, Little Hay Street, Kimber Lane and Thomas Street. At the southern side of Chinatown, next to Hay Street, unlike the Chinatowns in some other countries, Sydneys Chinatown has been relatively free of crime and hygiene issues. By the 1920s, Sydneys Chinatown migrated over to Campbell Street, but Sydneys Chinatown still remains a major focus for the Chinese Australian community. It is one of the few public traditional Chinese gardens outside of China, Chinese Garden of Friendship Shirley Fitzgerald. SYDNEY. com - Chinatown and Haymarket Fitzgerald, Shirley, state Library of New South Wales Press in association with The City of Sydney. Destiny in Sydney, An epic novel of convicts, Aborigines, and Chinese embroiled in the birth of Sydney, Australia
5.
Cockle Bay (Sydney)
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Cockle Bay is a small bay in inner-city Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the edge of the Sydney central business district. Cockle Bay is one of the bays in Darling Harbour, which opens into the much larger Sydney Harbour, the locality around the bay is also known as Darling Harbour. The bay is known for Cockle Bay Wharf, a waterfront entertainment area designed by Eric Kuhne that includes a wide variety of restaurants, pubs, clubs, cafes. When the First Fleet reached Sydney Cove in January 1788, the convict transport Scarborough also carried 5,000 bricks and 12 wooden moulds for making bricks. This token consignment sufficed for the first settlers to make a start on the colony’s first buildings, brick-making required a plentiful supply of clay and a ready source of fresh water. Approximately a mile from the settlement, at the head of a long cove and this site was later named Cockle Bay, and still later, Darling Harbour. Official Cockle Bay Wharf website Kirsty Harris - University of Melbourne
6.
King Street Wharf
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Darling Harbour ferry wharf is located on the eastern side of Darling Harbour serving the Sydney central business district. It is part of the King Street Wharf complex and is served by Sydney Ferries Parramatta River, the wharf has a single jetty with two faces and is served by First Fleet and RiverCat class ferries. Darling Harbour wharf opened in circa 2000 as part of the King Street Wharf complex, Darling Harbour wharf is scheduled to close when Barangaroo wharf opens
7.
Pyrmont, New South Wales
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It is also part of the Darling Harbour region. As of 2011, it is Australias most densely populated suburb, Pyrmont was once a vital component of Sydneys industrial waterfront, with wharves, shipbuilding yards, factories and woolstores. As industry moved out, the population and the area declined, in recent years it has experienced redevelopment with an influx of residents and office workers. Pyrmont contained a spring of cold water bubbling out of a rock and was thus named for a similar natural spring in Bad Pyrmont, close to Hanover. Thomas Jones was granted 55 acres of land on the peninsula in 1795, land was sold to Obadiah Ikin in 1796 for 10 pounds, which he then sold to Captain John Macarthur in 1799 for a gallon of rum. Pyrmont was the site of quarries from an early stage because of the quality of the sandstone. Charles Saunders, licensee of the Quarrymans Arms hotel, became the biggest quarrymaster, the work was continued by his son and grandson till circa 1931. The quarries were nicknamed Paradise, Purgatory and Hell Hole by the Scottish workers employed by Saunders, steam-powered equipment was used there for the first time in Australia. The sandstone was used in many of the most significant buildings in Sydney, Saunders Street, near the site of the Paradise quarry, was named after Saunders. The area was also the site of the first Presbyterian Church in the colony, built in 1864, the congregation eventually outgrew the premises and had to move to a new church at Quarry Street, Ultimo, in 1883. In the 1870s, a small Methodist chapel was built in Harris Street on land owned by Charles Saunders, in the 1920s, it was converted to the Maybanke Free Kindergarten, named after Maybanke Anderson, a feminist and educationist. It was still used for purpose as of 2013. Pyrmont became a working class industrial and port community, a major sugar refinery was operated by CSR Limited. In 1900 the area had a population of around 30,000, the first Pyrmont Bridge opened in 1858. A larger bridge with a swinging span opened in 1902, but was closed to traffic in the 1980s and it was subsequently turned into a pedestrian precinct. Pyrmont was regarded as an area in the 19th century. It started to decay seriously after World War II, when industries closed down, in 1963 the Ultimo Powerhouse closed down as well. Its population declined to only 1,800 by 1978, by 1990 the population had dropped to around 900
8.
Port Jackson
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Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea and it is the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. The location of the first European settlement in Australia, Port Jackson has continued to play a key role in the history and development of Sydney. Many recreational events are based on or around the harbour itself particularly the Sydney New Years Eve celebrations, the waterways of Port Jackson are managed by the Roads & Maritime Services. Sydney Harbour National Park protects a number of islands and foreshore areas, swimming spots, bushwalking tracks, the land around Port Jackson was occupied at the time of the European arrival and colonisation by the Eora clans, including the Gadigal, Cammeraygal, and Wangal. The Gadigal occupied the land stretching along the side of Port Jackson from what is now South Head. The Cammeragal lived on the side of the harbour. The area along the banks of the Parramatta River to Rose Hill belonged to the Wangal. The Eora occupied Port Jackson, south to the Georges River, the first recorded European discovery of Sydney Harbour, was by Lieutenant James Cook in 1770 - Cook named the inlet after Sir George Jackson. His ships log notation states at noon we were. about 2 or 3 miles from the land, eighteen years later, on 21 January 1788, after arriving at Botany Bay, Governor Arthur Phillip took a longboat and two cutters up the coast to examine Cooks Port Jackson. Phillip first stayed over night at Camp Cove, then moved down the harbour, landing at Sydney Cove, Phillip returned to Sydney Cove in HM Armed Tender Supply on 26 January 1788, where he established the first colony in Australia, later to become the city of Sydney. From 1938, seaplanes landed in Sydney Harbour on Rose Bay, in 1942, to protect Sydney Harbour from a submarine attack, the Sydney Harbour anti-submarine boom net was constructed. It spanned the harbour from Green Point, Watsons Bay to the battery at Georges Head, on the night of 31 May 1942, three Japanese midget submarines entered the harbour, one of which became entangled in the western end of the boom nets central section. Unable to free their submarine, the crew detonated charges, killing themselves in the process, a second midget submarine came to grief in Taylors Bay, the two crew committing suicide. The third submarine fired two torpedoes at USS Chicago before leaving the harbour, in November 2006, this submarine was found off Sydneys Northern Beaches. The anti-submarine boom net was demolished soon after World War II, and all that remains are the foundations of the old boom net winch house, today, the Australian War Memorial has on display a composite of the two midget submarines salvaged from Sydney Harbour. The conning tower of one of the submarines is on display at the RAN Heritage Centre, Garden Island. Fort Denison is a former site and defensive facility occupying a small island located north-east of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney Harbour
9.
Local government in Australia
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Local government in Australia is the third tier of government in Australia administered by the states and territories, which in turn are beneath the federal tier. Local government is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia and two referenda in the 1970s and 1980s to alter the Constitution relating to local government were unsuccessful, every state government recognises local government in their respective constitutions. Unlike Canada, or the United States there is one level of local government in each state. In August 2016 there were 547 local councils in Australia, despite the single level of local government in Australia, there are a number of extensive areas with relatively low populations which are not a part of any local government area. Despite this, they occupy a role in each state. State-based departments oversee local councils and may intervene in their affairs, the first official local government in Australia was the Perth Town Trust, established in 1838, only three years after British settlement. The Adelaide Corporation followed, created by the province of South Australia in October 1840, the City of Melbourne and the Sydney Corporation followed, both in 1842. Council representatives attended conventions before Federation, however local government was regarded as outside the Constitutional realm. In the 1970s, the Whitlam Government expanded the level of funding to local governments in Australia beyond grants for road construction, general purpose grants become available for the first time. Significant reforms took place in the 1980s and 1990s in which state governments used metrics, each state conducted an inquiry into the benefits of council amalgamations during the 1990s. In the early 1990s, Victoria saw the number of local councils reduced from 210 to 78, South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland saw some reductions in the number of local governments while Western Australia and New South Wales rejected compulsory mergers. New South Wales eventually forced the merging of some councils, the main purpose of amalgamating councils was for greater efficiency and to improve operations, but forced amalgamation of councils is sometimes seen as a dilution of representative democracy. An increase in the range of services offered by councils, the council mergers have resulted in widespread job losses and lingering resentment from some whose roles have experienced a larger workload. The growth of the Regional Organisations of Councils has also been a factor in local government reform in Australia, in 1995, there were 50 such agreements across the country. A2002 study identified 55 ROCs with the largest involving 18 councils, Local governments are subdivisions of the states and the Northern Territory. Although they are all identical in function, Australian local governments have a variety of names. The term local government area is used to refer collectively to all local governments regardless of status, whilst the local governing body itself is generally known as a council. Today, the borough, city, district, municipality, region, shire, town, community government, Aboriginal shire
10.
City of Sydney
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The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. On 6 February 2004, the local government area of the City of South Sydney was formally merged into the City of Sydney. The leader of the City of Sydney holds the title of the Lord Mayor of Sydney, the current Lord Mayor is Councillor Clover Moore who has been in office since 27 March 2004. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1. 3% of the population, the median age of people in the City of Sydney was 32 years. Children aged 0 –14 years made up 7. 1% of the population and people aged 65 years, of people in the area aged 15 years and over,25. 5% were married and 10. 1% were either divorced or separated. Population growth in the City of Sydney between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census was 3. 31%, and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 4. 57%. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Sydney was more than 1.5 times the national average. The proportion of dwellings in the City of Sydney that are apartments or units is 73. 6%, the proportion of residents in the Sydney local government area that claimed Australian ancestry was approximately half the national average. ^a 1996 Census figures refer to the City of Sydney prior to its merger with the City of South Sydney, in 1972 the Council had prepared the City of Sydney Strategic Plan, only the second city to prepare a comprehensive assessment and plan of major issues for the future. With triennial reviews, this development of the City for twenty years. A1987 Liberal re-organisation saw Sydney Council split, with southern suburbs forming a new South Sydney Council and this was thought to advantage the Liberal government of the day, as the southern suburbs had traditionally voted Labor. In 2004, the Labor State Government undid this change, again merging the councils of the City of Sydney, critics claimed that this was performed with the intention of creating a super-council which would be under the control of Labor, which also controlled the State Government. Critics of the claimed that this was a result of a voter backlash against the party for attempting to create the super-council. The daily administration of the City of Sydney is performed by its General Manager, currently Monica Barone, Sydney City Council is composed of ten Councillors, including the Lord Mayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The Lord Mayor is directly elected while the nine other Councillors are elected proportionally. On 26 January 1788, he named it after Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney, who was the secretary at the time. The City of Sydney was established on 20 July 1842 by the Corporation Act which encompasses present-day Woolloomooloo, Surry Hills, Chippendale and Pyrmont, there were six wards established by boundary posts. A boundary post still exists in front of Sydney Square, the boundaries of the City of Sydney have changed fairly regularly since 1900
