'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,
South Australia,
Victoria,
Queensland 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.
[1]
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 articles: 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.
[2][3] 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.
[4] 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 Rush
Later 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 1916
In 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.
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.
By the outbreak of
World War II in 1939, the differences between New South Wales and the other states that had emerged in the 19th century had faded as a result of federation and economic development behind a wall of protective tariffs. New South Wales continued to outstrip Victoria as the centre of industry, and increasingly of finance and trade as well. Labor returned to office under the moderate leadership of
William McKell in 1941 and stayed in power for 24 years. World War II saw another surge in industrial development to meet the needs of a war economy, and also the elimination of unemployment.
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
highways connecting towns and major centres
After 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. 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
Main articles: 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.
Parliament
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%
[6], lower than the 1.0% average growth rate of the last 10 years and the national rate of 1.1%.
[7]
62.9% of NSW's population is based in
Sydney.
[6]
Education
The
Sydney Grammar School was established in 1854 and is the oldest secondary school still in use in Sydney city
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.
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
Main articles: 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,
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).
[9]
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. 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.
[10]
Tourism has also become important, with Sydney as its centre but also stimulating growth on the North Coast, around Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay. Tourism is worth over $23 billion to the New South Wales economy and employs over 8% of the workforce.
[11]
New South Wales had a Gross State Product in 2006 (equivalent to
Gross Domestic Product) of
AU$310 billion which equalled AU$45,584 per capita.
[12]
Sport
Main articles: 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 are located in
Newcastle. Rugby league football is the most popular sport by far in terms of spectators and television viewers. 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.
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.
[13] 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
New 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.
References
1. http://www.goway.com/downunder/australia/nsw/index.html#mystery
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/39433889d406eeb9ca2570610019e9a5/0314304e999c07a0ca2572de00150218!OpenDocument
7.
8. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/39433889d406eeb9ca2570610019e9a5/0314304e999c07a0ca2572de00150218!OpenDocument
9.
10. http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/PDF/Trade%20and%20Investment-B3_top10_merch_exports.pdf
11. http://corporate.tourism.nsw.gov.au/scripts/runisa.dll?CORPORATELIVE.590808:HOMEPAGE:790544129:pp=UPPER,pc=HOME
12. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/1338.1Main%20Features1202007?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=1338.1&issue=2007&num=&view=
13. http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4177.0Main%20Features22005-06?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4177.0&issue=2005-06&num=&view=
See also
★
Australian Bureau of Meteorology
★
Australian states and territories
★
NSW cities
★
NSW highways
★
NSW local government areas
★
NSW national parks
★
NSW postal history and stamps
★
NSW Rural Fire Service
★
NSW Supreme Court
★
Territorial evolution of Australia
External links
★
Australia - Map of South East Australia from Geoscience Australia
★
Goot, Murray
★
NSW Official State Website
★
NSW Parliament
★
NSW Police
★
NSW State Law
★
NSW State Library - History of Our Nation
★
NSW Weather and Sydney Weather
★
NSW Directory - from the Open Directory Project
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