Australia
Australia the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area; the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea and East Timor to the north. The population of 25 million is urbanised and concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, its largest city is Sydney; the country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians for about 60,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, it is documented. After the European exploration of the continent by Dutch explorers in 1606, who named it New Holland, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788, a date which became Australia's national day; the population grew in subsequent decades, by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored and an additional five self-governing crown colonies established.
On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy, comprising six states and ten territories. Being the oldest and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils, Australia has a landmass of 7,617,930 square kilometres. A megadiverse country, its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east and mountain ranges in the south-east. A gold rush began in Australia in the early 1850s, its population density, 2.8 inhabitants per square kilometre, remains among the lowest in the world. Australia generates its income from various sources including mining-related exports, telecommunications and manufacturing. Indigenous Australian rock art is the oldest and richest in the world, dating as far back as 60,000 years and spread across hundreds of thousands of sites. Australia is a developed country, with the world's 14th-largest economy.
It has a high-income economy, with the world's tenth-highest per capita income. It is a regional power, has the world's 13th-highest military expenditure. Australia has the world's ninth-largest immigrant population, with immigrants accounting for 26% of the population. Having the third-highest human development index and the eighth-highest ranked democracy globally, the country ranks in quality of life, education, economic freedom, civil liberties and political rights, with all its major cities faring well in global comparative livability surveys. Australia is a member of the United Nations, G20, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Trade Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Pacific Islands Forum and the ASEAN Plus Six mechanism; the name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis, a name used for a hypothetical continent in the Southern Hemisphere since ancient times. When Europeans first began visiting and mapping Australia in the 17th century, the name Terra Australis was applied to the new territories.
Until the early 19th century, Australia was best known as "New Holland", a name first applied by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1644 and subsequently anglicised. Terra Australis still saw occasional usage, such as in scientific texts; the name Australia was popularised by the explorer Matthew Flinders, who said it was "more agreeable to the ear, an assimilation to the names of the other great portions of the earth". The first time that Australia appears to have been used was in April 1817, when Governor Lachlan Macquarie acknowledged the receipt of Flinders' charts of Australia from Lord Bathurst. In December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office. In 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known by that name; the first official published use of the new name came with the publication in 1830 of The Australia Directory by the Hydrographic Office. Colloquial names for Australia include "Oz" and "the Land Down Under". Other epithets include "the Great Southern Land", "the Lucky Country", "the Sunburnt Country", "the Wide Brown Land".
The latter two both derive from Dorothea Mackellar's 1908 poem "My Country". Human habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun around 65,000 to 70,000 years ago, with the migration of people by land bridges and short sea-crossings from what is now Southeast Asia; these first inhabitants were the ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. Aboriginal Australian culture is one of the oldest continual civilisations on earth. At the time of first European contact, most Indigenous Australians were hunter-gatherers with complex economies and societies. Recent archaeological finds suggest. Indigenous Australians have an oral culture with spiritual values based on reverence for the land and a belief in the Dreamtime; the Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, obtained their livelihood from seasonal horticulture and the resources of their reefs and seas. The northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited s
Grevillea
Grevillea is a diverse genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, native to rainforest and more open habitats in Australia, New Guinea, New Caledonia and other Indonesian islands east of the Wallace Line. It was named in honour of Charles Francis Greville; the species range from prostrate shrubs less than 50 cm tall to trees 35 m tall. Common names include spider flower, silky oak and toothbrush plant. Related to the genus Hakea, the genus gives its name to the subfamily Grevilleoideae; the brightly coloured, petal-less flowers consist of a calyx tube that splits into 4 lobes with long styles. They are good bird-attracting plants, honeyeaters in particular are common visitors, they are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the dryandra moth and the Pieris rapae. Many species of grevilleas are popular garden plants in Australia but in other temperate and subtropical climates. Many grevilleas have a propensity to interbreed and extensive hybridisation and selection of horticulturally desirable attributes has led to the commercial release of many named cultivars.
Among the best known is'Robyn Gordon', a small shrub up to 1.5 m high and wide which can flower 12 months of the year in subtropical climates. The cultivar'Canberra Gem' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, they can be grown from soft tip cuttings from December -- seed. Many harder-to-grow species can be grafted onto hardy rootstock such as Grevillea robusta. There is an active Grevillea Study Group in the Australian Native Plants Society for people interested in grevilleas, both for uses in horticulture and for conservation in the wild. Grevillea flowers were a traditional favourite among Aborigines for their sweet nectar; this could be shaken onto the hand to enjoy, or into a coolamon with a little water to make a sweet drink. They might be referred to as the original "bush lollies". Drinking nectar direct from the flower is best avoided as some cultivated grevillea species produce flowers containing toxic cyanide. A grevillea wood veneer was used on a Pembroke table, a small table with two drawers and folding sides, made in the 1790s for Commissioner of the Royal Navy, Sir Andrew Snape Hamond.
The timber from which the veneer was made, referred to as'beef wood', was sent from Port Jackson by Surgeon-General John White, who arrived in the new penal colony of Australia with the First Fleet. This table is in the collection of the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. There are over 350 species which are endemic to Australia, including the following: Five species are endemic to areas outside Australia. Three of these - G. exul. G. gillivrayi, G. meisneri are endemic to New Caledonia while G. elbertii and G. papuana are endemic to Sulawesi and New Guinea respectively. Two other species, G. baileyana and G. glauca, occur in Queensland. Data related to Grevillea at Wikispecies ANBG.gov: online Flora of Australia treatment of Grevillea — by ABRS−Australian Biological Resources Study ANPSA.org: Grevillea website — by ASGAP−Australian Native Plants Society. Grevilleapark.org: Illawarra Grevillea Park website PlantList search for Grevillea. Retrieved 20190318
Sydney
Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Port Jackson and extends about 70 km on its periphery towards the Blue Mountains to the west, Hawkesbury to the north, the Royal National Park to the south and Macarthur to the south-west. Sydney is made up of 40 local government areas and 15 contiguous regions. Residents of the city are known as "Sydneysiders"; as of June 2017, Sydney's estimated metropolitan population was 5,230,330 and is home to 65% of the state's population. Indigenous Australians have inhabited the Sydney area for at least 30,000 years, thousands of engravings remain throughout the region, making it one of the richest in Australia in terms of Aboriginal archaeological sites. During his first Pacific voyage in 1770, Lieutenant James Cook and his crew became the first Europeans to chart the eastern coast of Australia, making landfall at Botany Bay and inspiring British interest in the area.
In 1788, the First Fleet of convicts, led by Arthur Phillip, founded Sydney as a British penal colony, the first European settlement in Australia. Phillip named the city Sydney in recognition of 1st Viscount Sydney. Penal transportation to New South Wales ended soon after Sydney was incorporated as a city in 1842. A gold rush occurred in the colony in 1851, over the next century, Sydney transformed from a colonial outpost into a major global cultural and economic centre. After World War II, it experienced mass migration and became one of the most multicultural cities in the world. At the time of the 2011 census, more than 250 different languages were spoken in Sydney. In the 2016 Census, about 35.8% of residents spoke a language other than English at home. Furthermore, 45.4% of the population reported having been born overseas, making Sydney the 3rd largest foreign born population of any city in the world after London and New York City, respectively. Despite being one of the most expensive cities in the world, the 2018 Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranks Sydney tenth in the world in terms of quality of living, making it one of the most livable cities.
It is classified as an Alpha+ World City by 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 an advanced market economy with strengths in finance and tourism. There is a significant concentration of foreign banks and multinational corporations in Sydney and the city is promoted as Australia's financial capital and one of Asia Pacific's leading financial hubs. Established in 1850, the University of Sydney is Australia's first university and is regarded as one of the world's leading universities. Sydney is home to the oldest library in Australia, State Library of New South Wales, opened in 1826. Sydney has hosted major international sporting events such as the 2000 Summer Olympics; the city is among the top fifteen most-visited cities in the world, with millions of tourists coming each year to see the city's landmarks. Boasting over 1,000,000 ha of nature reserves and parks, its notable natural features include Sydney Harbour, the Royal National Park, Royal Botanic Garden and Hyde Park, the oldest parkland in the country.
Built attractions such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the World Heritage-listed Sydney Opera House are well known to international visitors. The main passenger airport serving the metropolitan area is Kingsford-Smith Airport, one of the world's oldest continually operating airports. Established in 1906, Central station, the largest and busiest railway station in the state, is the main hub of the city's rail network; the first people to inhabit the area now known as Sydney were indigenous Australians having migrated from northern Australia and before that from southeast Asia. Radiocarbon dating suggests human activity first started to occur in the Sydney area from around 30,735 years ago. However, numerous Aboriginal stone tools were found in Western Sydney's gravel sediments that were dated from 45,000 to 50,000 years BP, which would indicate that there was human settlement in Sydney earlier than thought; the first meeting between the native people and the British occurred on 29 April 1770 when Lieutenant James Cook landed at Botany Bay on the Kurnell Peninsula and encountered the Gweagal clan.
He noted in his journal that they were somewhat hostile towards the foreign visitors. Cook was not commissioned to start a settlement, he spent a short time collecting food and conducting scientific observations before continuing further north along the east coast of Australia and claiming the new land he had discovered for Britain. 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; the earliest British settlers called the natives Eora people. "Eora" is the term the indigenous population used to explain their origins upon first contact with the British. Its literal meaning is "from this place". Sydney Cove from Port Jackson to Petersham was inhabited by the Cadigal clan; the principal language groups were Darug and Dharawal. The earliest Europeans to visit the area noted that the indigenous people were conducting activities such as camping and fishing, using trees for bark and food, collecting shells, cooking fish. Britain—before that, England—and Ireland had for a long time been sending their convicts across the Atlantic to the American colonies.
That trade was ended with the Declaration of Independence by the United States in 1776. Britain decided in 1786 to found a new penal outpost in the territory discovered by Cook some 16 years ear
National park
A national park is a park in use for conservation purposes. It is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently, there is a common idea: the conservation of'wild nature' for posterity and as a symbol of national pride. An international organization, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, its World Commission on Protected Areas, has defined "National Park" as its Category II type of protected areas. While this type of national park had been proposed the United States established the first "public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people", Yellowstone National Park, in 1872. Although Yellowstone was not termed a "national park" in its establishing law, it was always termed such in practice and is held to be the first and oldest national park in the world. However, the Tobago Main Ridge Forest Reserve, the area surrounding Bogd Khan Uul Mountain are seen as the oldest protected areas, predating Yellowstone by nearly a century.
The first area to use "national park" in its creation legislation was the U. S.'s Mackinac, in 1875. Australia's Royal National Park, established in 1879, was the world's third official national park. In 1895 ownership of Mackinac National Park was transferred to the State of Michigan as a state park and national park status was lost; as a result, Australia's Royal National Park is by some considerations the second oldest national park now in existence. Canada established Parks Canada in 1911, becoming the world's first national service dedicated to protecting and presenting natural and historical treasures; the largest national park in the world meeting the IUCN definition is the Northeast Greenland National Park, established in 1974. According to the IUCN, 6,555 national parks worldwide met its criteria in 2006. IUCN is still discussing the parameters of defining a national park. National parks are always open to visitors. Most national parks provide outdoor recreation and camping opportunities as well as classes designed to educate the public on the importance of conservation and the natural wonders of the land in which the national park is located.
In 1969, the IUCN declared a national park to be a large area with the following defining characteristics: One or several ecosystems not materially altered by human exploitation and occupation, where plant and animal species, geomorphological sites and habitats are of special scientific and recreational interest or which contain a natural landscape of great beauty. In 1971, these criteria were further expanded upon leading to more clear and defined benchmarks to evaluate a national park; these include: Minimum size of 1,000 hectares within zones in which protection of nature takes precedence Statutory legal protection Budget and staff sufficient to provide sufficient effective protection Prohibition of exploitation of natural resources qualified by such activities as sport, fishing, the need for management, etc. While the term national park is now defined by the IUCN, many protected areas in many countries are called national park when they correspond to other categories of the IUCN Protected Area Management Definition, for example: Swiss National Park, Switzerland: IUCN Ia - Strict Nature Reserve Everglades National Park, United States: IUCN Ib - Wilderness Area Victoria Falls National Park, Zimbabwe: IUCN III - National Monument Vitosha National Park, Bulgaria: IUCN IV - Habitat Management Area New Forest National Park, United Kingdom: IUCN V - Protected Landscape Etniko Ygrotopiko Parko Delta Evrou, Greece: IUCN VI - Managed Resource Protected AreaWhile national parks are understood to be administered by national governments, in Australia national parks are run by state governments and predate the Federation of Australia.
In Canada, there are both national parks operated by the federal government and provincial or territorial parks operated by the provincial and territorial governments, although nearly all are still national parks by the IUCN definition. In many countries, including Indonesia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, national parks do not adhere to the IUCN definition, while some areas which adhere to the IUCN definition are not designated as national parks. In 1810, the English poet William Wordsworth described the Lake District as a sort of national property, in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy; the painter George Catlin, in his travels through the American West, wrote during the 1830s that the Native Americans in the United States might be preserved...in a magnificent park... A nation's Park, containing man and beast, in all the wild and freshness of their nature's beauty! The first effort by the U. S. Federal government to set aside such protected lands was on 20 April 1832, when President Andrew Jackson signed legislation that the 22nd United States Congress had enacted to set aside four sections of land around what is now Hot Springs, Arkansas, to protect the natural, thermal springs and adjoining mountainsides for the futur
Eastern pygmy possum
The eastern pygmy possum is a diprotodont marsupial of south-eastern Australia. Occurring from southern Queensland to eastern South Australia and Tasmania, it is found in a range of habitats, including rainforest, sclerophyll forest and heath. Eastern pygmy possums are small, weighing from 15 to 43 grams and having a body length of between 7 and 9 centimetres with a 8 to 11 centimetres tail, they are dull grey above and white below, with big, forward pointing hairless, ears and a long prehensile tail, with thick fur at the base that becomes sparser towards the tip. They have long whiskers, a narrow ring of dark fur around each eye; the eastern pygmy possum is an active climber. It uses its brush tipped tongue to feed on nectar and pollen from Banksia and Callistemon species, it feeds on insects, will eat soft fruits when flowers are not available. It is a solitary animal, sheltering in tree hollows and stumps, abandoned bird nests, thickets. During winter it spends time in torpor, they are nocturnal, although thought to be solitary, have been reported to share communal nests, to be seen in groups of two or more adult individuals.
Males occupy home ranges of 0.24 to 1.7 hectares, which overlap with each other and with the smaller, 0.18 to 0.61 hectares ranges of females. Eastern pygmy possums are found along the southeastern Australian coast, from eastern South Australia to southern Queensland, on Tasmania, they inhabit shrubby vegetation in a wide variety of habitats, from open heathland or shrubland to sclerophyll or rain forest, at elevations from sea level to 1,800 metres. Despite this apparent diversity of habitats, their distribution is patchy, they are low in number where they are found. Eastern pygmy possums breed twice a year, although they may breed a third time if food is plentiful. Females have a well-developed pouch with four to six teats, give birth to four young, although larger litters are not uncommon. Gestation lasts around 30 days, they are weaned at 60 to 65 days, remain with the mother for at least a further ten days, by which time they weigh about 10 grams. The young reach the full adult size at around five months, but may be able to breed as little as three months after birth.
They live for up to 7.5 years in captivity, but no more than five years in the wild. The first specimen of an eastern pygmy possum known to Europeans was collected by François Péron, a naturalist aboard Nicolas Baudin’s voyage to the south seas. Whilst on a short stay on Maria Island, off eastern Tasmania between 19 and 27 February 1802, Péron traded with the Aboriginal inhabitants for a single small marsupial. Péron wrote ‘In the class of mammiferous animals, I only saw one kind of Dasyurus, scarcely as large as a mouse. I obtained one, alive, in exchange for a few trifles, from a savage, just going to kill and eat it’. In an unpublished manuscript Péron wrote that the animal ‘was given to me by the natives; the specimen collected by Péron was transported back to France, is now held in the Muséum National d’Historie Naturelle in Paris as the holotype. The eastern pygmy possum is the type species of the genus Cercartetus, was first described as Phalangista nana with the specific name meaning ‘dwarf’ in Latin.
The authority for the specific name is accepted as Desmarest 1818, but in a review published, it was pointed out that an earlier version of Desmarest's account was published in 1817. Names synonymous with Cercartetus nanus are Dromicia britta; these coincide with the two subspecies C. n. unicolor. Vernacular names that have been used for this species include dwarf phalanger, minute phalanger, dwarf cuscus, pigmy phalanger, Bell's Dromicia, opossum mouse, dusky Dromicia, pygmy opossum, thick-tailed Dromicia, mouse-like phalanger, common dormouse-phalanger, dormouse phalanger, common dormouse-opossum, dormouse possum, pigmy opossum, pigmy possum and eastern pigmy possum. A standard name arose via a committee of the Australian Mammal Society. Bones of this species are recorded as fossils or sub-fossils from late Pleistocene and Holocene cave deposits in south-eastern Australia, it is incorporated into the fossil record because owls and/or quolls that have preyed on eastern pygmy possums deposit regurgitated or faecal pellets in caves which act as excellent preservation sites.
About 50 such sites form the fossil record for the eastern pygmy possum. Eastern pygmy possums are listed as least concern by the IUCN, both subspecies are listed as lower risk by Australian Commonwealth Government legislation. At the State level within Australia, its status is defined variously. In New South Wales, it is considered vulnerable under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. In South Australia, the species is considered vulnerable under Schedule 8 of that State's National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972. In Victoria, it is not listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, is therefore not threatened. Records for Queensland are scant, but the species is misleadingly classed as common under that State's Nature Co
South Coast Line
The South Coast Line is an intercity rail service operated by NSW TrainLink that services the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The service runs from Central, runs the entire length of the eponymous South Coast railway line to Bomaderry; the service runs along the Eastern Suburbs railway line at peak hours and the Port Kembla railway line to Port Kembla. It is operated with NSW TrainLink H sets and Sydney Trains T sets, with Endeavour railcars operating the service on the non-electrified line between Kiama and Bomaderry. Passenger trains first operated on the South Coast railway line in 1887, is one of five routes on the NSW TrainLink Intercity network; the South Coast Line routes span 40 stations, across 159 km of railway. An additional 5 stations and 7 km of railway are travelled by South Coast Line trains at peak hour on the Eastern Suburbs railway line; the first passenger train services on the Illawarra commenced on 21 June 1887, after the line was completed from Clifton to Wollongong, North Kiama on 9 November 1887.
The line was connected to Waterfall via Helensburgh, Stanwell Park and Coalcliff the following year between July and October 1888, after delays on construction between Waterfall and Clifton. The line was further extended to Bomaderry through Kiama, opening on 2 June 1893. Throughout its long history, the South Coast Line's roster of stations have changed significantly. Many stations in the Upper Illawarra had closed and new ones opened towards the first half of the 20th century. Stations such as the ones serving Clifton were closed, along with a majority of the original railway between Waterfall and Coalcliff between 1915 and 1920, replaced with a new alignment that made use of a flatter gradient and made the infamous Otford Tunnel defunct. New stations along the line that opened throughout this period included Coledale in 1902, North Wollongong in 1915, Coniston in 1916, Wombarra in 1917, Towradgi in 1948. Further removals of stations from the line in the latter half of the 20th century included the station serving Yallah in 1974, the majority of the stations on the line between Kiama and Bomaderry, Lilyvale in 1983.
Dunmore was closed in November 2014, replaced by Shellharbour Junction, after rising commercial and residential development in Flinders and Shell Cove and their distance from Dunmore station, prompted the Government of New South Wales to build a replacement station closer to the area of urban growth. While the railway network at Port Kembla was built in 1916, stations and passenger trains servicing the surrounding suburbs did not operate until 5 January 1920, when the Port Kembla railway station was opened. A station at Cringila was added to the Port Kembla commuter branch in 1926, along with one at Port Kembla North, a decade in 1936. A railway station for workers at Port Kembla, named Lysaghts, after the nearby Lysaght steel plant, was opened in 1938. Services were operated with locomotive-hauled trains and Diesel railcars, prior to the electrification of the South Coast railway line; the line was electrified to Helensburgh in 1984, with the suburban Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line service extending their service past the terminus at Waterfall at Helensburgh during peak hours.
Electrification extended to Wollongong the following year. Despite the newly installed electrification and locomotive trains still operated along the line from Kiama all the way past Wollongong to Sydney, including the South Coast Daylight Express, until 1991. Electrification of the South Coast railway line was further extended to Dapto in 1993 and to Kiama in 2001; the railway between Kiama and Bomaderry is the only part of the line that remains non-electrified, operated by New South Wales Endeavour railcars since their introduction in 1994. The electrified rolling stock of the South Coast Line began with V set intercity trains. There were accompanied by Tangaras when they were introduced into the CityRail network in 1988; the Tangaras that ran on the South Coast Line were different variations of T sets known as G sets. G sets differed from T sets in that they had reversible seats, fresh water dispensers and luggage racks. In late 2005, it was discovered that a majority of the V set rolling stock operating on the South Coast Line were suffering from corrosion in their underframes.
More G sets were introduced onto the South Coast Line to compensate, became the standard rolling stock on the South Coast Line after V sets ceased operating on the service. From January 2012, V sets ceased operating South Coast services. In 2009, after the introduction of OSCARs onto the intercity CityRail network, All G sets were recalled for conversion into T sets; the OSCAR fleet replaced the G set rolling stock and, since 2010, standard Sydney Trains T sets, owned by NSW TrainLink, have been operating services to Port Kembla. In 2017, it was revealed that the Liberal state government had reviewed a 3.6 billion dollar tunnel between Thirroul and Waterfall that could reduce travel time between Sydney and Wollongong by 22 minutes, but that rail improvements were being sidetracked in favour of improving and extending the nearby Princes Motorway. On 20 December 1994, an accident involving two empty S sets occurred during a shunting procedure at Waterfall. One of the trains jack-knifed onto the platform.
No injuries or casualties, were reported. On the morning of 31 January 2003, an intercity Tangara en route to Port Kembla derailed at high speed between Waterfall and Helensburgh, resulting in the deaths of seven people and injury of forty; the accident was the thi
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 km from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement in which the Sydney region was established. Due to its pivotal role in Australia's 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, its east–west axis runs from a chain of parkland that includes Hyde Park, The Domain, Royal Botanic Gardens and Farm Cove on Sydney Harbour in the east. At the 2016 Australian Census, the CBD recorded a population of 17,252. "Sydney CBD" is occasionally used to refer not only to the CBD proper, but its nearby inner suburbs such as Pyrmont, Haymarket and Woolloomooloo. The Sydney CBD is Australia's main financial and economic centre, as well as a leading hub of economic activity for the Asia-Pacific region.
The city centre employs 13% of the Sydney region's workforce. Based on industry mix and relative occupational wage levels it is estimated that economic activity generated in the city in 2015/16 was $118 billion. Culturally, the city centre is Sydney's focal point for entertainment, it is home to some of the city's most significant buildings and structures. The Sydney CBD is an area of densely concentrated skyscrapers and other buildings, interspersed by several parks such as Hyde Park, The Domain, Royal Botanic Gardens and Wynyard Park. George Street is the Sydney CBD's main north–south thoroughfare; the streets run on a warped grid pattern in the southern CBD, but in the older northern CBD the streets form several intersecting grids, reflecting their placement in relation to the prevailing breeze and orientation to Circular Quay in early settlement. The CBD runs along two ridge lines below Macquarie 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. Pitt Street is the retail heart of the city which includes the Pitt Street Mall and the Sydney Tower. Macquarie Street is a historic precinct that houses such buildings as the State Parliament House and the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Prior to European settlement in New South Wales, the area around Sydney was home to the Gadigal tribes of Indigenous Australians; the colony of New South Wales founded Sydney at the Rocks in 1788 and established a city in 1842. In the midst of World War 1, on Valentine's day, riots racked the CBD, in what has come to be known as the Central Station Riots of 1916. A substantial segment of the violence was concentrated in the Central area; these riots involved five thousand military recruits who refused to comply with extraneous parade orders. During the riots they caused significant damage to buildings. People with "foreign" names were targeted; the recruits clashed with soldiers. A number of eight people sustained injuries.
Because this incident occurred in the middle of the Great War the state discouraged media coverage. Only a fifth of the rioters were court-marshalled; these riots spurred the introduction of lockout laws for pubs after 6pm. This law was only lifted in 1955; the Sydney central business district has many heritage-listed buildings including: Administratively, the Sydney CBD falls under the authority of the local government area of the City of Sydney. The New South Wales state government has authority over some aspects of the CBD, in particular through the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority. Independent Alex Greenwich has represented the Sydney seat since the 2012 by-election, triggered by the resignation of previous independent Clover Moore, the Lord Mayor of Sydney, due to introduced state laws preventing dual membership of state parliament and local council; 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.
The financial services industry in particular occupies much of the available office space, with companies such as the Westpac, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Deutsche Bank, Macquarie Bank, AMP Limited, Insurance Australia Group, AON, Allianz, HSBC, AXA, ABN Amro, RBC and Bloomsbury Publishing all having offices. Church Hill is a northerly district in the Central Business district of Australia, it is so named because the earliest churches in Australia were formed on this site, including St Patrick's, St Philip's and Scots Church The significance of Church Hill dates back to the time of Governor Arthur Phillip, who mandated compulsory Sunday church attendance for all convicts, until they rebelled and burned down the area’s first church in 1798. The area gained greater prominence as Church Hill on Wednesday 1 October 1800, when incoming Governor Philip Gidley King had the foundation stone laid for St Philip’s Church, which subsequently he proclaimed one of Australia’s first two parishes in 1802.
The site where St Patrick’s Church stands is where the Roman Catholic Eucharist was first preserved in Australia, in May 1818. Celebrations for the bicentenary of this occasion were held in St Patrick’s Church on Sunday 6 May 2018. A proposed stop on the tram network under construction on George Street may be named Church Hill. Sydney's CBD is serviced by commuter rail, light
