Sydney is the most populous
city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of
approximately 4.28 million. Sydney is the state capital
of New South Wales, and is the site of the first European
colony in Australia, established in 1788 at Sydney Cove
by Arthur Phillip, leader of the First Fleet from Britain.
A resident of the city is referred to as a Sydneysider.
Sydney is located
on Australia's south-east coast. The city is built around
Port Jackson, which includes Sydney Harbour, leading to
the city's nickname, "the Harbour City". It is
Australia's largest financial centre and is home to the
Australian Stock Exchange. Sydney's leading economic sectors
include property and business services, manufacturing, tourism,
media, health and community services.
Sydney is a
major international tourist destination notable for its
beaches and twin landmarks: the Sydney Opera House and the
Harbour Bridge. The metropolitan area is surrounded by national
parks, and contains many bays, rivers and inlets. It has
been recognised as a beta world city by the Loughborough
University group's 1999 inventory. The city has played host
to numerous international sporting, political and cultural
events, including the 1938 British Empire Games, 2000 Summer
Olympics and the 2003 Rugby World Cup. In September 2007,
the city hosted the leaders of the 21 APEC economies for
APEC Australia 2007, and in July 2008 will host World Youth
Day 2008.
Sydney is one
of the most multicultural cities in the world which reflects
its role as a major destination for immigrants to Australia.
According to the Mercer cost of living survey, Sydney is
Australia’s most expensive city, and the 21st most
expensive in the world.
History
Main article: History of Sydney
A map of Sydney in 1789Radiocarbon dating has provided evidence
that the Sydney region has been populated by indigenous
Australians for at least 30,000 years. At the time of the
arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, 4000 - 8000 Aboriginal
people lived in the region. There were three language groups
in the Sydney region; these were further refined into dialects
spoken by smaller clans. The principal languages were Darug
(the Cadigal, original inhabitants of the City of Sydney,
spoke a coastal dialect of Darug), Dharawal and Guringai.
Each clan had a territory; the location of that territory
determined the resources available. Although urbanization
has destroyed most evidence of these settlements (such as
shell middens), Sydney and its environs are well known for
numerous rock drawings and carvings due to the nature of
the rock, Hawkesbury sandstone.
The International Exhibition of 1879 at the Garden PalaceEuropean
interest in colonising Australia arose with the landing
of British sea captain Lieutenant James Cook in Botany Bay
in 1770. Under instruction from the British government,
a convict settlement was founded by Arthur Phillip, who
arrived at Botany Bay with a fleet of 11 ships on January
26, 1788. This site was soon found to be unsuitable for
habitation, owing to poor soil and a lack of reliable fresh
water. Phillip founded the colony at Sydney Cove on Port
Jackson. He named it after the British Home Secretary, Thomas
Townshend, Lord Sydney, in recognition of Sydney's role
in issuing the charter authorising Phillip to establish
a colony. [citation needed] In April 1789 a disease, thought
to be smallpox, decimated the indigenous population of Sydney;
a conservative estimate says that 500 to 1000 Aboriginal
people died in the area between Broken and Botany Bays.There
was violent resistance to British settlement, notably by
the warrior Pemulwuy in the area around Botany Bay, and
conflicts were common in the area surrounding the Hawkesbury
River. By 1820 there were only a few hundred Aborigines
and Governor Macquarie had begun initiatives to 'civilize,
Christianize and educate' the Aborigines by removing them
from their clans.
Sydney in 1796Macquarie's tenure as Governor of New South
Wales was a period when Sydney was improved from its basic
beginnings. Roads, bridges, wharves and public buildings
were constructed by British and Irish convicts, and by 1822
the town had banks, markets, well-established thoroughfares
and an organised constabulary. The 1830s and 1840s were
periods of urban development, including the development
of the first suburbs, as the town grew rapidly when ships
began arriving from Britain and Ireland with immigrants
looking to start a new life in a new country. On 20 July
1842 the municipal council of Sydney was incorporated and
the town was declared the first city in Australia, with
Charles H. Chambers the first mayor. The first of several
gold rushes started in 1851, and the port of Sydney has
since seen many waves of people arriving from around the
world. Rapid suburban development began in the last quarter
of the 19th century with the advent of steam powered tramways
and railways. With industrialisation Sydney expanded rapidly,
and by the early 20th century it had a population well in
excess of one million. The Great Depression hit Sydney badly.
One of the highlights of the Depression era, however, was
the completion of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932.
Throughout
the 20th century Sydney continued to expand with various
new waves of European and (later) Asian immigration, resulting
in its highly cosmopolitan atmosphere.
Geography
Main article: Geography of Sydney
Image of Sydney taken by NASA RS satellite. The city centre
is about a third of the way in on the south shore of the
upper inlet. Click on the image and then scroll down for
an annotated versionSydney is in a coastal basin bordered
by the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Blue Mountains to
the west, the Hawkesbury River to the north and the Woronora
Plateau to the south. Sydney lies on a submergent coastline,
where the ocean level has risen to flood deep river valleys
(ria carved in the hawkesbury sandstone. One of these drowned
valleys, Port Jackson, better known as Sydney Harbour, is
the largest natural harbour in the world. There are more
than 70 harbour and ocean beaches, including the famous
Bondi Beach, in the urban area. Sydney's urban area covers
1687 square kilometres (651 mi²) as at 2001. The Sydney
Statistical Division, used for census data, is the unofficial
metropolitan area and covers 12,145 square kilometres (4,689
mi²). This area includes the Central Coast and Blue
Mountains as well as broad swathes of national park and
other unurbanised land.
Geographically,
Sydney sprawls over two major regions: the Cumberland Plain,
a relatively flat region lying to the south and west of
the harbour, and the Hornsby Plateau, a sandstone plateau
lying mainly to the north of the harbour, dissected by steep
valleys. The oldest parts of the city are located in the
flat areas south of the harbour; the North Shore was slower
to develop because of its hilly topography, and was mostly
a quiet backwater until the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened
in 1932, linking it to the rest of the city.
Climate
Darling Harbour at nightSydney has an temperate climate
with warm summers and mild winters, with rainfall spread
throughout the year. The weather is moderated by proximity
to the ocean, and more extreme temperatures are recorded
in the inland western suburbs. The warmest month is January,
with an average air temperature range at Observatory Hill
of 18.6 °C–25.8 °C and an average of 14.6
days a year over 30 °C. The maximum recorded temperature
was 45.3 °C on 14 January 1939 at the end of a 4 day
nationwide heat wave. The winter is mildly cool, with temperatures
rarely dropping below 5 °C in coastal areas. The coldest
month is July, with an average range of 8.0 °C–16.2
°C. The lowest recorded minimum was 2.1 °C. Rainfall
is fairly evenly divided between summer and winter, but
is slightly higher during the first half of the year, when
easterly winds dominate. The average annual rainfall, with
moderate to low variability, is 1217.0 millimetres (47.9
in), falling on an average 138.0 days a year. Snowfall last
occurred in the Sydney City area in the 1830s.
Although the
city does not suffer from cyclones or significant earthquakes,
the El Niño Southern Oscillation plays an important
role in determining Sydney's weather patterns: drought and
bushfire on the one hand, and storms and flooding on the
other, associated with the opposite phases of the oscillation.
Many areas of the city bordering bushland have experienced
bushfires, notably in 1994 and 2001/2002 — these tend
to occur during the spring and summer. The city is also
prone to severe hail storms and wind storms. One such storm
occurred in Sydney's eastern and city suburbs on the evening
of 14 April 1999, producing massive hailstones of at least
9 centimetres (3.5 in) in diameter and resulting in insurance
losses of around $1.5 billion in less than one hour.The
city is also prone to flash flooding from enormous amounts
of rain caused by East Coast Lows (a low pressure depression
which deepens off the state usually in winter and early
spring which can bring significant damage due to heavy rain,
cyclonic winds and huge swells). The most notable event
was the great Sydney flood which occurred on 6 August 1986
and dumped a record 327.6 millimetres (12.9 in) on the city
in 24 hours. This caused major traffic chaos and damage
in many parts of the metropolitan area.
The Bureau
of Meteorology have reported that the last four years in
Sydney have been the warmest on record (since 1859). 2004
had an average daily maximum temperature of 23.39 °C,
2005 - 23.35 °C, 2002 - 22.91 °C and 2003 - 22.65
°C. The average daily maximum between 1859 and 2004
was 21.6 °C. For the first nine months of 2006 the mean
temperature was 18.41 °C; the warmest year previously
was 2004 with 18.51 °C. Since the beginning of 2002,
there have been only two months in which the average daily
maximum was below average: March 2005 (0.43 °C below
average) and June 2006 (0.25 °C below average).[citation
needed]
Climate Table
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum temperature (°C) 25.8 25.7 24.7 22.4
19.3 16.9 16.2 17.7 19.9 22.0 23.6 25.1 21.6
Mean daily minimum temperature (°C) 18.6 18.7 17.5 14.7
11.5 9.2 8.0 8.9 11.0 13.5 15.5 17.5 13.7
Mean total rainfall (mm) 103.3 117.4 131.2 127.2 123.3 128.1
98.1 81.5 68.7 76.9 83.1 78.1 1217.0
Mean number of rain days 12.1 12.3 13.3 12.0 12.0 11.4 10.3
9.9 10.3 11.5 11.4 11.5 138.0
Source: Bureau of Meteorology
Urban structure
Eastern
SuburbsHills
DistrictInner
WestLower
North
ShoreNorthern
BeachesPort JacksonNorth ShoreSouthern
SydneySouth-eastern
SydneySouth-western
SydneySutherland
ShireBotany
Bay
St GeorgeGreater
Western
SydneySydney
CBDBondi
BeachKingsford Smith
International Airport
North Sydney's high-rise commercial district.
Sydney from the air, looking east.The extensive area covered
by urban Sydney is formally divided into more than 300 suburbs
(for addressing and postal purposes), and administered as
38 local government areas. There is no city-wide government,
but the Government of New South Wales and its agencies have
extensive responsibilities in providing metropolitan services.
The City of Sydney itself covers a fairly small area comprising
the central business district and its neighbouring inner-city
suburbs. In addition, regional descriptions are used informally
to conveniently describe larger sections of the urban area.
These include Eastern Suburbs, Hills District, Inner West,
Lower North Shore, Northern Beaches, North Shore, St George,
Southern Sydney, South-eastern Sydney, South-western Sydney,
Sutherland Shire and Western Sydney. However, many suburbs
are not conveniently covered by any of these categories.
Sydney's central
business district (CBD) extends southwards for about 2 kilometres
(1.25 mi) from Sydney Cove, the point of the first European
settlement. Densely concentrated skyscrapers and other buildings
including historic sandstone buildings such as the Sydney
Town Hall and Queen Victoria Building are interspersed by
several parks such as Wynyard and Hyde Park. The Sydney
CBD is bounded on the east side by a chain of parkland that
extends from Hyde Park through the Domain and Royal Botanic
Gardens to Farm Cove on the harbour. The west side is bounded
by Darling Harbour, a popular tourist and nightlife precinct
while Central station marks the southern end of the CBD.
George Street serves as the Sydney CBD's main north-south
thoroughfare.
Although the
CBD dominated the city's business and cultural life in the
early days, other business/cultural districts have developed
in a radial pattern since World War II. As a result, the
proportion of white-collar jobs located in the CBD declined
from more than 60 per cent at the end of World War II to
less than 30 per cent in 2004.[citation needed] Together
with the commercial district of North Sydney, joined to
the CBD by the Harbour Bridge, the most significant outer
business districts are Parramatta in the central-west, Penrith
in the west, Bondi Junction in the east, Liverpool in the
southwest, Chatswood to the north, and Hurstville to the
south.
Governance
Apart from the limited role of the Cumberland County Council
from 1945–1964, there has never been an overall governing
body for the Sydney metropolitan area; instead, the metropolitan
area is divided into local government areas (LGAs). These
areas have elected councils which are responsible for functions
delegated to them by the New South Wales State Government,
such as planning and garbage collection.
The City of
Sydney includes the central business area and some adjoining
inner suburbs, and has in recent years been expanded through
amalgamation with adjoining local government areas, such
as South Sydney. It is led by the elected Lord Mayor of
Sydney and a council. The Lord Mayor, however, is sometimes
treated as a representative of the whole city, for example
during the Olympics.
The
38 LGAs in Sydney are:
Ashfield
Auburn
Bankstown
Baulkham Hills
Blacktown
Botany Bay
Burwood
Camden
Campbelltown
Canada Bay
Canterbury
Fairfield
Holroyd
Hornsby
Hunter's Hill
Hurstville
Kogarah
Ku-ring-gai
Lane Cove
Leichhardt
Liverpool
Manly
Marrickville
Mosman
North Sydney
Parramatta
Penrith
Pittwater
Randwick
Rockdale
Ryde
Strathfield
Sutherland
Sydney
Warringah
Waverley
Willoughby
Woollahra
Sydney's Local Government Areas
The Central Business District in Sydney is home to most
of Sydney's financial centresMost citywide government activities
are controlled by the state government. These include public
transport, main roads, traffic control, policing, education
above preschool level, and planning of major infrastructure
projects. Because a large proportion of New South Wales'
population lives in Sydney, state governments have traditionally
been reluctant to allow the development of citywide governmental
bodies, which would tend to rival the state government.
For this reason, Sydney has always been a focus for the
politics of both State and Federal Parliaments. For example,
the boundaries of the City of Sydney LGA have been significantly
altered by state governments on at least four occasions
since 1945, with expected advantageous effect to the governing
party in the New South Wales Parliament at the time.
Economy
Main article: Economy of Sydney
Sydney is a modern, prosperous city with the highest median
household income of any major city in Australia ( US$43,171
PPP).
The largest
economic sectors in Sydney, measured by numbers of people
employed, include property and business services, retail,
manufacturing, and health and community services. Since
the 1980s, jobs have moved from manufacturing to the services
and information sectors. Sydney provides approximately 25
per cent of the country's total GDP.
Sydney is the
largest corporate and financial centre in Australia and
is also an important financial centre in the Asia Pacific.
The Australian Stock Exchange and the Reserve Bank of Australia
are located in Sydney, as are the headquarters of 90 banks
and more than half of Australia's top companies, and the
regional headquarters for around 500 multinational corporations.
Fox Studios Australia has large movie studios in the city.
The Sydney
Futures Exchange (SFE) is one of the Asia Pacific's largest
financial futures and options exchanges, with 64.3 million
contracts traded during 2005. In global terms it is the
12th largest futures market in the world and the 19th largest
including options. With the increasing commercial role of
Sydney's many medical laboratories and research centres,
science and research is another strong growth sector.[citation
needed]Tourism plays an important role in Sydney's economy,
with 7.8 million domestic visitors and 2.5 million international
visitors in 2004.[29]
As of September
2003, the unemployment rate in Sydney was 5.3 per cent.
According to The Economist Intelligence Unit's Worldwide
cost of living survey, Sydney is the sixteenth most expensive
city in the world, while a UBS survey ranks Sydney as 18th
in the world in terms of net earnings.
As of 20 September
2007, Sydney has the highest median house price of any Australian
capital city at $559 000. Sydney also has the highest median
rent prices than any other Australian city at $450 a week.
A report published by the OECD in November 2005, shows that
Australia has the Western World's highest housing prices
when measured against rental yields.
Sydney has
been classified as a "Beta" global city by the
Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network.
Demographics
3,455,110 people lived in Sydney's urban area as at 2001.
As of 2006, there are an estimated 4,119,190 people living
in the Sydney Statistical Division Inner Sydney being the
most densely populated place in Australia with 4023 persons
per square kilometre. The statistical division is larger
in area than the urban area, as it allows for predicted
growth. A resident of Sydney is commonly referred to as
a Sydneysider.
Sydney's ChinatownIn the 2006 census, the most common self-described
ancestries identified for Sydney residents were Australian,
English, Irish, Scottish and Chinese. The Census also recorded
that one per cent of Sydney's population identified as being
of indigenous origin and 31.7 per cent were born overseas.
The three major sources of immigrants are England, China
and New Zealand . Significant numbers of immigrants also
came from Vietnam, Lebanon, Italy, India and the Philippines.
Most Sydneysiders are native speakers of English; many have
a second language, the most common being Arabic (including
the Lebanese dialect), Chinese languages (Mandarin and Cantonese),
and Greek. Sydney has the seventh largest percentage of
a foreign born population in the world, ahead of cities
such as the highly multicultural London and Paris.
Some ethnic
groups are associated with the suburbs where they first
settled: the Italians with Leichhardt, Haberfield, Five
Dock; Indonesians in Tempe and Marrickville; Greeks with
Earlwood, Marrickville and Brighton-Le-Sands; Portuguese
with Petersham; Lebanese with Lakemba and Bankstown; Koreans
with Campsie and Strathfield and Eastwood; ethnic Macedonians
with Rockdale; Irish and New Zealanders with Bondi; Jews
with Bondi, Waverley, St Ives and Rose Bay; Indians with
Westmead and Parramatta; Chinese with Hurstville, Chatswood,
Ashfield, Eastwood and Haymarket (location of Sydney's Chinatown);
Armenians with Ryde and Willoughby and Chatswood; Serbs
with Liverpool; Turks with Auburn; Filipinos with Blacktown
and Mount Druitt; Vietnamese with Cabramatta and Marrickville;
Assyrians with Fairfield; Croatians with Edensor Park, Fairfield.
The median
age of a Sydney resident is 34, with 12 per cent of the
population over 65 years. 15.2 per cent of Sydney residents
have educational attainment equal to at least a bachelor's
degree,[39] which is lower than the national average of
19 per cent.[citation needed]
According to
the 2006 census, 64 per cent of the Sydney residents are
identified as Christians, 3.7 per cent as Buddhists, 3.9
per cent as Muslims, 1.7 per cent as Hindus, 0.9 per cent
as Jews and 14.1 per cent as having no religion.
Education
The University of Sydney has been operating since 1850 and
is the oldest university in AustraliaSydney is home to some
of Australia's most prominent universities, and is the site
of Australia's first university, the University of Sydney,
established in 1850. There are five other public universities
operating primarily in Sydney: the University of New South
Wales, Macquarie University, the University of Technology,
Sydney, the University of Western Sydney, and the Australian
Catholic University (two out of six campuses). Other universities
which operate secondary campuses in Sydney include the University
of Notre Dame Australia and the University of Wollongong.
There are four
multi-campus government-funded Technical and Further Education
(TAFE) institutes in Sydney, which provide vocational training
at a tertiary level: the Sydney Institute of Technology,
Northern Sydney Institute of TAFE, Western Sydney Institute
of TAFE and South Western Sydney Institute of TAFE.
Sydney has
public, denominational and independent schools. Public schools,
including pre-schools, primary and secondary schools, and
special schools are administered by the New South Wales
Department of Education and Training. There are four state-administered
education areas in Sydney, that together co-ordinate 919
schools.[citation needed] Of the 30 selective high schools
in the state, 25 are in Sydney.[citation needed]
Culture
Main article: Culture of Sydney
Many of Sydney's cultural attractions are in the CBD.
Arts and entertainment
Sydney has a wide variety of cultural sites and institutions.
Sydney's iconic Opera House has five theatres capable of
hosting a range of performance styles; it is the home of
Opera Australia—the third busiest opera company in
the world, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Other venues
include the Sydney Town Hall, City Recital Hall, the State
Theatre and the Wharf Theatre.
The Sydney
Dance Company under the leadership of Graeme Murphy during
the late 20th century has also gained acclaim. The Sydney
Theatre Company has a regular roster of local plays, such
as noted playwright David Williamson, classics and international
playwrights.
In 2007, New
Theatre (Newtown) celebrates 75 years of continuous production
in Sydney. Other important theatre companies in Sydney include
Company B and Griffin Theatre Company. From the 1940s through
to the 1970s the Sydney Push, a group of authors and political
activists whose members included Germaine Greer, influenced
the city's cultural life.
The National
Institute of Dramatic Art, based in Kensington, boasts internationally
famous alumni such as Mel Gibson, Judy Davis, Baz Luhrmann
and Cate Blanchett. Sydney's role in the film industry has
increased since the opening of Fox Studios Australia in
1998. Prominent films which have been filmed in the city
include Moulin Rouge!, Mission Impossible II, Star Wars
episodes II and III, Superman Returns, Dark City, Dil Chahta
Hai, and The Matrix. Films using Sydney as a setting include
Finding Nemo, Strictly Ballroom, Mission Impossible II,
Muriel's Wedding, and Dirty Deeds. As of 2006, over 229
films have been set, or featured Sydney.
Sydney hosts
many different festivals and some of Australia's largest
social and cultural events. These include the Sydney Festival,
Australia's largest festival which is a celebration involving
both indoor and free outdoor performances throughout January;
the Big Day Out, a travelling rock music festival which
originated in Sydney; the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras along
Oxford Street; the Sydney Film Festival and many other smaller
festivals such as Tropfest and Archibald Prize, a competition
organised by the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The Sydney
Royal Easter Show which is the largest event in Australia
is held every year at Sydney Olympic Park, the final of
Australian Idol takes place on the steps of the Opera House,
and Australian Fashion Week takes place in April/May. Also
Sydney's New Years Eve and Australia Day celebrations are
the largest in Australia.
The world famous Bondi Beach on a winter's day
Australian rock bands which formed in Sydney include AC/DC,
Rose Tattoo, The Vines, Sick Puppies , Midnight Oil, INXS,
Noiseworks, Hoodoo Gurus, The Church, Radio Birdman, You
Am I, The Cruel Sea, The Whitlams, Alex Lloyd, Wolfmother,
indie rockers The Clouds, Decoder Ring and The Crystal Set,
electronic music pioneers Severed Heads, Single Gun Theory
and Itch-E and Scratch-E. Jazz groups such as the Sydney-based
The Necks have performed at The Basement and the Harbourside
Brasserie. On 7th July 2007, Sydney was one of the legs
of the global concert series called Live Earth which was
hosted jointly with other global cities around the world.
Sydney is home to many heavy metal bands such as Lord Kaos,
Infernal Method and Flesh Mechanic. Although these bands
have not acquired much mainstream success in Australia they
have found fairly substantial popularity in European countries
and America. Also many Heavy Metal Musicians such as Astennu
currently reside in Sydney.
Sydney's most
popular nightspots include Kings Cross, Oxford Street, Darling
Harbour, Circular Quay and The Rocks which all contain various
bars, nightclubs and restaurants. Star City Casino, is Sydney's
only casino and is situated around Darling Harbour. There
are also many traditional pubs, cafes and restaurants in
inner city areas such as Newtown, Balmain and Leichhardt.
Sydney's main live music hubs include areas such as Newtown
and Annandale. It once had thriving live music scene in
the 1970s and 1980s, nurturing great acts such as AC/DC,
Midnight Oil and INXS. Other popular nightspots tend to
be spread throughout the city in areas such as Bondi, Manly
and Parramatta.
Sydney also
has many shopping centres and retail outlets throughout
the city. These include Westfield Parramatta, a large shopping
complex located in Western Sydney, and Westfield Bondi Junction
a shopping centre in the Eastern Suburbs which caters for
the upmarket consumer. The Queen Victoria Building on George
Street also contains many shops, as do other parts of the
city around Pitt Street and Oxford Street which sell more
niche products. Many of the large regional centres around
the metropolitan area also contain large shopping complexes.
Sydney has
several museums. The biggest are the Australian Museum (natural
history and anthropology), the Powerhouse Museum (science,
technology and design), the Art Gallery of New South Wales,
the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Australian National
Maritime Museum.
The Chinese Garden of FriendshipBeing Australia's oldest
city there is also much architecture and historic buildings
to be seen throughout the city. Some of the most well know
architectural sites in Sydney include Sydney Opera House,
Queen Victoria Building, Martin Place and Sydney Town Hall.
Some of the most well known historic buildings are the Sydney
Mint, one of Australia's oldest buildings, Fort Denison,
a penal site which was built in the colonial days on a small
island situated on the harbour, as well as the heritage
listed buildings built on The Rocks which were the first
buildings built in Australia on settlement.
Sydney is well
endowed with open spaces, and has many natural areas even
within the city centre. Within the Sydney central business
district are the Chinese Garden of Friendship, Hyde Park,
The Domain and the Royal Botanical Gardens. The metropolitan
area contains several national parks, including the Royal
National Park, the second oldest national park in the world
and several parks in Sydney's far west which are part of
the World Heritage listed Greater Blue Mountains Area.
Sport is also
an important part of the culture in Sydney. For more information
go to Sport in Sydney or Sport in New South Wales.
Transport
Main article: Public transport in metropolitan New South
Wales
Most Sydney residents travel by car through the system of
roads, and motorways. The most important trunk routes in
the urban area form the nine Metroad systems, which includes
the 110 kilometre (68 mi) Sydney Orbital Network. Sydney
is also served by extensive train, taxi, bus and ferry networks.
Circular Quay, the main ferry terminal in SydneySydney trains
are run by CityRail, a corporation of the New South Wales
State Government. Trains run as suburban commuter rail services
in the outer suburbs, then converge in an underground city
loop service in the central business district. In the years
following the 2000 Olympics, CityRail's performance declined
significantly. In 2005, CityRail introduced a revised timetable
and employed more drivers. A large infrastructure project,
the Clearways project, is scheduled to be completed by 2010.
Sydney has
one privately operated light rail line, the Metro Light
Rail, running from Central Station to Lilyfield along a
former goods train line. There is also a small monorail
which runs in a loop around the main shopping district and
Darling Harbour. Sydney was once served by an extensive
tram network, which was progressively closed in the 1950s
and 1960s. Most parts of the metropolitan area are served
by buses, many of which follow the pre-1961 tram routes.
In the city and inner suburbs the state-owned Sydney Buses
has a monopoly. In the outer suburbs, service is contracted
to many private bus companies. Construction of a network
of rapid bus transitways in areas not previously well served
by public transport began in 1999, and the first of these,
the Liverpool-Parramatta Rapid Bus Transitway opened in
February 2003. Sydney Ferries, another State government-owned
organisation, runs numerous commuter and tourist ferry services
on Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River.
An EDI M-set (Millennium) train at Sydney's Central Station.Kingsford
Smith International Airport, located in the suburb of Mascot,
is Sydney's main airport, and the oldest continuously operating
commercial airport in the world. The smaller Bankstown Airport
mainly serves private and general aviation. There are light
aviation airfields at Hoxton Park and Camden. RAAF Base
Richmond lies to the north-west of the city. The question
of whether Sydney needs a second international airport has
raised much controversy. A 2003 study found that Kingsford
Smith can manage as Sydney's sole international airport
for 20 years with a significant increase in airport traffic
predicted. The resulting expansion of the airport will have
a substantial impact on the community, including additional
aircraft noise affecting residents. Land has been acquired
at Badgerys Creek for a second airport, the site acting
as a focal point of political argument.
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