New South Wales (abbreviated
as NSW) is Australia's most populous state, located in the
south-east of the country, north of Victoria
and south of Queensland.
It was founded in 1788 and originally comprised much of
the Australian mainland, as well as New Zealand, Lord Howe
Island and Norfolk Island. During the 19th century large
areas were successively separated to form the British colonies
of Tasmania,
Victoria,
South
Australia
and New Zealand.
An inhabitant
of New South Wales is referred to as a New South Welshman.
New South Wales' largest city and capital is Sydney.
It is not clear
whether New South Wales refers to the area being named after
South Wales, or a New Wales in the Southern Hemisphere.
In the journal
covering his survey of the eastern coast of the Australian
continent, the then Lt. James Cook (later Captain James
Cook) first named the east coast of Australia "New
Wales", which he later corrected in his journal to
"New South Wales".
History
Main article: History of New South Wales
The original inhabitants of the area were Aboriginal tribes
who arrived in Australia approximately forty to sixty thousand
years ago.However, the first European discovery of the area
was made by Captain James Cook during his voyage along the
East coast of Australia in 1770.
Settlement
The first British settlement was made by what is known in
Australian history as the First Fleet led by Captain Arthur
Phillip who assumed the role of Governor of the settlement
on arrival in 1788 until 1792. During this time New South
Wales was an entirely penal colony.
After years
of chaos, anarchy and the overthrow of Governor William
Bligh, a new Governor, Lieutenant-colonel (later Major-General)
Lachlan Macquarie was sent from Britain to reform the settlement
in 1809. During his time as Governor, Macquarie commissioned
the construction of roads, wharves, churches and public
buildings, sent explorers across the continent and employed
a planner to design the street layout of Sydney.Macquarie's
legacy can still be felt today.
1800s
630 lb (235 kg) gold unearthed in 1872 from Hill End during
the Gold RushLater in the mid 19th century saw the gold
rush and a huge influx in the New South Wales population.
It is estimated that the population rose 33.5 percent or
100 000 people in less than ten years.
Soon after
the gold rush, settlers demanded a responsible government
that could govern itself. The result was the New South Wales
Constitution Act of 1855, steered through the British Parliament
by the veteran radical Lord John Russell, who wanted a constitution
which balanced democratic elements against the interests
of property, as did the Parliamentary system in Britain
at this time. The Act created a bicameral Parliament of
New South Wales, with a lower house, the Legislative Assembly,
consisting of 54 members. As the population continued to
rise, separate colonies were split off from greater NSW.
Tasmania,
Victoria,
South
Australia,
and Queensland
were formed as self-governing colonies reducing NSW to its
present area.
Federation
As the 1800s drew to a close the movement toward federation
between the Australian colonies gathered momentum. Conventions
and forums involving colony leaders were held on a regular
basis. NSW as a free trade state were in dispute with the
other leading colony Victoria
who had a protectionist economy. At this time customs posts
were common on borders, even on the Murray River. Supporters
of federation included the NSW premier Sir Henry Parkes
whose 1889 speech in Tenterfield was pivotal in gathering
support for NSW involvement. Edmund Barton later to become
Australia's first Prime Minister was another strong advocate
for federation and a meeting held in Corowa in 1893 drafted
an initial constitution.
In 1898 popular
referendums on the proposed federation were held in NSW,
Victoria,
South Australia and Tasmania.
All votes resulted in a majority in favour, but the NSW
government under Premier George Reid (popularly known as
"yes-no Reid" due to his constant changes of opinion
on the issue) had set a requirement for a higher "yes"
vote than just a simple majority which was not met.
In 1899 further
referendums were held in the same states as well as Queensland
(but not Western
Australia). All resulted in yes votes with
majorities increased from the previous year. NSW met the
conditions its government had set for a yes vote. As a compromise
to the question on where the capital was to be located,
an agreement was made that the site was to be with-in NSW
but not closer than 100 miles (161 km) from Sydney.
Eventually the area that now forms the Australian Capital
Territory was ceded by NSW when Canberra was selected.
Early 1900s
New South Wales in 1916In the years after World War I, it
was the farmers rather than the workers who were the most
discontented and militant class in New South Wales. 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 Country Party used its reliable
voting base to make demands on successive non-Labor governments,
mainly to extract subsidies and other benefits for farmers,
as well as public works in rural areas.[citation needed]
The Great Depression
which began in 1929 ushered a period of unprecedented 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.
Japanese
POW camp in Cowra, 1944, several weeks before the Cowra
breakoutBy 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.[citation
needed] New South Wales continued to outstrip Victoria as
the centre of industry, and increasingly of finance and
trade as well.[citation needed] 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.
Postwar New South Wales
Labor stayed in power until 1965. Towards the end of its
term in power it announced a plan for the construction of
an opera/arts facility on Bennelong Point. The design competition
was won by Jørn Utzon. Controversy over the cost
of what would eventually become the Sydney Opera House became
a political issue and was a factor in the eventual defeat
of Labor in 1965 by the conservative Liberal Party led by
Sir Robert Askin. Sir Robert remains a controversial figure
with supporters claiming him to be reformist especially
in terms of reshaping the NSW economy. Others though regard
the Askin era has synonymous with corruption with Askin
the head of a network involving NSW police and SP bookmaking
(Goot).
In the late
1960s, a secessionist movement in the New England region
of the state led to a referendum on the issue. The new state
would have consisted of much of northern NSW including Newcastle.
The referendum was narrowly defeated and there are no active
or organised campaigns for new states in NSW beyond individuals.
Askin's resignation
in 1975 was followed by a number of short lived premierships
by Liberal Party leaders. When a general election came in
1976 the ALP under Neville Wran were returned to power.
Wran was able to transform this narrow one seat victory
into landslide wins (known as Wranslide) in 1978 and 1981.
New
South Wales showing highwaysAfter winning a
comfortable though reduced majority in 1984, Wran resigned
as premier and left parliament. His replacement Barry Unsworth
struggled to emerge from Wran's shadow and lost a 1988 election
against a resurgent Liberal Party led by Nick Greiner. Unsworth
was replaced as ALP leader by Bob Carr. Initially Greiner
was a popular leader instigating reform such as the creation
of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
Greiner called a snap election in 1991 which the Liberals
were expected to win. However the ALP polled extremely well
and the Liberals lost their majority and needed the support
of independents to retain power.
Greiner was
accused (by ICAC) of corrupt actions involving an allegation
that a government position was offered to tempt an independent
(who had defected from the Liberals) to resign his seat
so that the Liberal party could regain it and shore up its
numbers. Greiner resigned but was later cleared of corruption.
His replacement as Liberal leader and Premier was John Fahey.
Although personally popular, Fahey's government suffered
from a series of scandals including tax evasion, illegal
recording of customer conversations, sexual harassment,
and death threats. [citation needed] In the 1995 election,
Fahey's government lost narrowly and the ALP under Bob Carr
returned to power.
Like Wran before
him Carr was able to turn a narrow majority into landslide
wins at the next two elections (1999 and 2003). During this
era, NSW hosted the 2000 Sydney Olympics which were internationally
regarded as very successful and helped boost Carr's popularity.
Carr surprised most people by resigning from office in 2005.
He was replaced by Morris Iemma who remains Premier and
was re-elected in March 2007.
Government
New
South Wales Parliament HouseMain article: Government
of New South Wales
Constitution
The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed
in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it
has been amended many times since then. Since 1901 New South
Wales has been a state of the Commonwealth of Australia,
and the Australian Constitution regulates its relationship
with the Commonwealth.
Under the Australian
Constitution, New South Wales ceded certain legislative
and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained independence
in all other areas. The New South Wales Constitution says:
"The Legislature shall, subject to the provisions of
the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, have power
to make laws for the peace, welfare, and good government
of New South Wales in all cases whatsoever." In practice,
however, the independence of the Australian states has been
greatly eroded by the increasing financial domination of
the Commonwealth. [citation needed]
Parliament
Political
Party Legislative
Assembly Legislative
Council
ALP 52 (56%) 19 (45%)
Liberal 22 (24%) 10 (24%)
National 13 (14%) 5 (12%)
Independent/Other 6 (6%) 8 (20%)
Source: Parliament of New South Wales.
The State Parliament is composed of the Sovereign and two
houses: the Legislative Assembly (lower house), and the
Legislative Council (upper house). Elections are held every
four years on the fourth Saturday of March, the most recent
being on 24 March 2007. At each election one member is elected
to the Legislative Assembly from each of 93 electoral districts
and half of the 42 members of the Legislative Council are
elected by a statewide electorate.
Policing
New South Wales is policed by the New South Wales Police
Force, a statutory authority. Established in 1862, the NSW
Police Force investigates Summary and Indictable offences
throughout the State of New South Wales.
Head of State
New
South Wales is a Constitutional Monarchy. Queen
Elizabeth II is the Sovereign, represented by the Governor
of New South Wales. The Governor is Her Excellency Professor
Marie Bashir (Lady Shehadie). The Governor commissions as
Premier the leader of the parliamentary political party
that can command a simple majority of votes in the Legislative
Assembly. The Premier then recommends the appointment of
other Members of the two Houses to the Ministry, under the
principle of responsible or Westminster government. It should
be noted, however, that there is no legal requirement in
NSW for the Government to be formed from the Parliament
- merely convention. The Premier is Morris Iemma of the
Australian Labor Party.
People
Population
The estimated population of New South Wales at the end of
2006 was 6.83 million people. This indicates an annual growth
rate of 0.9%, lower than the 1.0% average growth rate of
the last 10 years and the national rate of 1.1%.
62.9% of NSW's
population is based in Sydney.
Education
Sutton school was opened in 1871
The Sydney Grammar School, established in 1854, is the oldest
secondary school still in use in Sydney city
Charles Sturt University has campuses in several country
towns in New South Wales
Primary and Secondary
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. Within these to sets of
schooling are various stages. Stage 1 includes years 1 and
2 (Kindergarten is Early Stage 1, and is considered separate
in terms of curriculum planning). Stage 2 incorporates years
3 and 4. This cycle continues until it reaches stage 6 and
ends with the Higher School Certificate
School Certificate
Schooling is compulsory until completion of the School Certificate
at the end of year 10. This test has no pass or fail but
is designed to grade a student on his or her 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.
As of 2006,
there are five subjects that are compulsory for this examination.
They are English, Mathematics, Science, Australian History,
Geography, Civics and Citizenship and Computing Skills.
Along with this, there are two 'elective' subjects that
are assessed throughout the year.[citation needed]
Higher School Certificate
Main article: 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
either college, university or TAFE (although the HSC itself
can be completed at TAFE).
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.
Geography
The Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains
The coast of Coffs HarbourMain article: Geography of New
South Wales
New South Wales can be divided geographically into four
sections:
A 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 , the Shoalhaven near Nowra, Newcastle, the Central
Coast and the North Coast.
The mountainous areas of the Great Dividing Range and the
high country surrounding them. Whilst not particularly steep,
many peaks rise above 1,000 metres (3,280 ft), with the
highest Mount Kosciuszko at 2,229 metres (7,308 ft). This
includes the Southern Highlands, Central Tablelands and
the New England regions.
The agricultural plains that fill a significant portion
of the state's area, with a much sparser population than
the coast, includes the Riverina area around Wagga Wagga.
The arid plains in the far north-west of the state, which
feature few small settlements.
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's three major cities are Sydney,
Newcastle and Wollongong which all lie along the coast.
Other notable settlements include Albury, a large town which
borders with Victoria; Broken Hill, the most Westerly large
town; Dubbo; Orange, Bowral, Bathurst, home of the Bathurst
1000; Port Macquarie, Tamworth, home to the country music
festival; Armidale, Inverell, Lismore, Nowra, Gosford, Griffith,
Queanbeyan, Leeton, Wagga Wagga, Goulburn, where a large
proportion of the Australia's fruit is grown and Coffs Harbour,
a popular tourist destination.
Highest maximum
temperature: 50.0 °C (122.0 °F), Wilcannia, 11 January
1939
Lowest minimum
temperature: -23.0 °C (-9.4 °F), Charlotte Pass,
29 June 1994 (lowest temperature recorded in whole of Australia).
October 9th,
2007, NSW announced plans to built a 1,000 MW (megawatt)
bank of wind powered turbines. The output of these are anticipated
to be able to power up to 400,000 holmes. The cost of this
project will be $1.8 billion for 500 turbines.
New
South Wales Australia
The Hunter Valley is known for its wineries.
Sheep in the Riverina which has a large wool industryMain
article: The New South Wales Economy
Since the 1970s, New South Wales has undergone an increasingly
rapid economic and social transformation. Old industries
such as steel and shipbuilding have largely disappeared,
and although agriculture remains important its share of
the state's income is smaller than ever before.[citation
needed] New industries such as information technology, and
financial services are largely centred in Sydney, have risen
to take their place with many companies having their Australian
headquarters in Sydney CBD. In addition, the Macquarie Park
area of Sydney has attracted the Australian headquarters
of many information technology firms.
Coal and related
products are the state's biggest export. Its value to the
state's economy is over A$5 billion accounting for about
19% of all exports from NSW.
Tourism has
also become important, with Sydney as its centre but also
stimulating growth on the North Coast, around Coffs Harbour
and Byron Bay.[citation needed] Tourism is worth over $23
billion to the New South Wales economy and employs over
8% of the workforce.
New South Wales
had a Gross State Product in 2006 (equivalent to Gross Domestic
Product) of A$310 billion which equalled A$45,584 per capita.
Sport
EnergyAustralia Stadium in Newcastle is the homeground of
the Newcastle Knights
The Bathurst 1000, held at Mount Panorama Circuit in BathurstMain
article: Sport in New South Wales
Throughout Australian history, NSW sporting teams have been
very successful in both winning domestic competitions and
providing players to the Australian national team. The NSW
Blues play in the Ford Ranger Cup and Pura Cup 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 8 of the 16 National Rugby League (NRL)
teams. (Sydney Roosters, South Sydney
Rabbitohs, 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. Rugby league football is the most popular
sport by far in terms of spectators and television viewers.[citation
needed] The main summer sport is cricket, and the state
boasts arguably the most competitive cricket outside first
class level in the Sydney Grade Cricket competition. [neutrality
disputed]
The state is
represented by three teams in the football (soccer) A-League:
Sydney FC (the inaugural champions in 2005-06), the Central
Coast Mariners, based at Gosford and the Newcastle United
Jets. Football (soccer) 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 Kings, West Sydney Razorbacks
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 Telstra
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 (soccer) World
Cup qualifier between Australia and Uruguay.
The Sydney
Cricket Ground traditionally hosts the 'New Year' cricket
test match from 2-6 January each year, and is also one of
the site 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 Arts
The Pro Hart gallery in Broken HillNew South Wales is home
to several artistic bodies including: the Sydney Symphony
(Australia's busiest and largest orchestra) and Opera Australia
(head office in Sydney) both of which perform a subscription
series at the Sydney Opera House. The Art Gallery of New
South Wales (AGNSW), houses a significant collection of
Australian art; other major spaces include the Sydney Jewish
Museum, the Museum of Sydney and the Museum of Contemporary
Art. Besides this Sydney is host to the Australian Ballet
for its Sydney season (the ballet is headquartered in Melbourne).
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). The world famous Australian
Chamber Orchestra has its headquarters in Sydney, however,
spends most of its time touring both the world and Australia.
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