New South Wales (commonly abbreviated asNSW) is astate on theeast coast ofAustralia. It bordersQueensland to the north,Victoria to the south, andSouth Australia to the west. Its coast borders theCoral andTasman Seas to the east. TheAustralian Capital Territory andJervis Bay Territory areenclaves within the state. New South Wales' state capital isSydney, which is also Australia's most populous city.[7] In December 2024[update], the population of New South Wales was over 8.5 million,[2] making it Australia's most populous state. Almost two-thirds of the state's population, 5.3 million, live in the Greater Sydney area.[7]
Lord Howe Island remains part of New South Wales, while Norfolk Island became afederal territory, as have the areas now known as the Australian Capital Territory and theJervis Bay Territory.
The original inhabitants of New South Wales were theAboriginalpeople who arrived in Australia about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. Before European settlement, there were an estimated 250,000 Aboriginal people in the region.[8]
Founding of the settlement ofPort Jackson atBotany Bay in New South Wales in 1788 – Thomas Gosse
In 1825, Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) became a separate colony and the western border of New South Wales was extended to the 129th meridian east (now the West Australian border).[11]In 1770,James Cook charted the unmapped eastern coast of the continent ofNew Holland, now Australia, and claimed the entire coastline that he had just explored as British territory. Contrary to his instructions, Cook did not gain the consent of the Aboriginal inhabitants.[12][13] Cook originally named the landNew Wales, but on his returnvoyage to Britain he settled on the nameNew South Wales.[14][a]
In January 1788,Arthur Phillip arrived in Botany Bay with theFirst Fleet of 11 vessels, which carried over a thousand settlers, including 736 convicts.[17] A few days after arrival atBotany Bay, the fleet moved to the more suitablePort Jackson, where Phillip established a settlement at the place he namedSydney Cove (in honour of the Secretary of State,Lord Sydney) on 26 January 1788.[18] This date later became Australia's national day,Australia Day. He formally proclaimed the colony on 7 February 1788 at Sydney. Phillip, asGovernor of New South Wales, exercised nominal authority over all of Australia east of the135th meridian east between the latitudes of 10°37'S and 43°39'S, and "all the islands adjacent in the Pacific Ocean". The area included modern New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania.[19] He remained as governor until 1792.[20]
The settlement was initially planned to be a self-sufficient penal colony based on subsistence agriculture. Trade and shipbuilding were banned to keep the convicts isolated. However, after the departure of Phillip, the colony's military officers began acquiring land and importing consumer goods obtained from visiting ships. Former convicts also farmed land granted to them and engaged in trade. Farms spread to the more fertile lands surroundingParramatta,Windsor andCamden, and by 1803, the colony was self-sufficient in grain. Boat building was developed to make travel easier and exploit the marine resources of the coastal settlements. Sealing andwhaling became important industries.[21]
In March 1804, Irish convicts led around 300 rebels in theCastle Hill Rebellion, an attempt to march on Sydney, commandeer a ship, and sail to freedom.[22] Poorly armed, and with their leader Philip Cunningham captured, the main body of insurgents was routed by about 100 troops and volunteers atRouse Hill. At least 39 convicts were killed in the uprising and subsequent executions.[23][24]
Map of the south eastern portion of Australia, 1850Delivery of 25 bales of wool bill signed by David Fotheringham, 1824
Lachlan Macquarie (governor 1810–1821) commissioned the construction of roads, wharves, churches and public buildings, sent explorers out from Sydney, and employed a planner to design the street layout of Sydney.[25] A road across theBlue Mountains was completed in 1815, opening the way for large scale farming and grazing in the lightly wooded pastures west of theGreat Dividing Range.[26]
New South Wales established a military outpost onKing George Sound in Western Australia in 1826 which was later transferred to the Swan River colony.[27]: 61 [28][29]
In 1839 the UK decided to formally annex at least part of New Zealand to New South Wales.[30] It was administered as a dependency until becoming the separateColony of New Zealand on 3 May 1841.[31][32]
From the 1820s,squatters increasingly established unauthorised cattle and sheep runs beyond the official limits of the settled colony. In 1836, an annual licence was introduced in an attempt to control the pastoral industry, but booming wool prices and the high cost of land in the settled areas encouraged further squatting. The expansion of the pastoral industry led to violent episodes of conflict between settlers and traditional Aboriginal landowners, such as theMyall Creek massacre of 1838.[33] By 1844, wool accounted for half of the colony's exports and by 1850, most of the eastern third of New South Wales was controlled by fewer than 2,000 pastoralists.[34]
The transportation of convicts to New South Wales ended in 1840, and in 1842, a Legislative Council was introduced, with two-thirds of its members elected and one-third appointed by the governor. Former convicts were granted the vote, but a property qualification meant that only one in five adult males were enfranchised.[35]
By 1850, the settler population of New South Wales had grown to 180,000, not including the 70,000 living in the area which became the separate colony of Victoria in 1851.[36]
George Street, Sydney, 1883, byAlfred TischbauerMrE.H. Hargraves,The Gold Discoverer of Australia, 12 February 1851 returning the salute of the gold miners
The property qualification for voters had been reduced in 1851, and by 1856, 95 per cent of adult males in Sydney, and 55 per cent in the colony as a whole, were eligible to vote. Full adult male suffrage was introduced in 1858. In 1859, Queensland became a separate colony.[39]
In 1861, the NSW parliament legislatedland reforms intended to encourage family farms and mixed farming and grazing ventures. The amount of land under cultivation subsequently increased from 246,000 acres in 1861 to 800,000 acres in the 1880s. Wool production also continued to grow, and by the 1880s, New South Wales produced almost half of Australia's wool. Coal had been discovered in the early years of settlement and gold in 1851, and by the 1890s wool, gold and coal were the main exports of the colony.[40]
The NSW economy also became more diversified. From the 1860s, New South Wales had more people employed in manufacturing than any other Australian colony. The NSW government also invested strongly in infrastructure such as railways, telegraph, roads, ports, water and sewerage. By 1889, it was possible to travel by train from Brisbane to Adelaide via Sydney and Melbourne. The extension of the rail network inland also encouraged regional industries and the development of thewheat belt.[41]
In the 1880s, trade unions grew and were extended to lower-skilled workers. In 1890, a strike in the shipping industry spread to wharves, railways, mines, and shearing sheds. The defeat of the strike was one of the factors leading theTrades and Labor Council to form a political party. TheLabor Electoral League won a quarter of seats in the NSW elections of 1891 and held the balance of power between theFree Trade Party and theProtectionist Party.[42][43]
AFederal Council of Australasia was formed in 1885, but New South Wales declined to join. A major obstacle to the federation of the Australian colonies was theprotectionist policies of Victoria which conflicted with the free trade policies dominant in New South Wales. Nevertheless, the NSW premier,Henry Parkes, was a strong advocate offederation and hisTenterfield Oration in 1889 was pivotal in gathering support for the cause. Parkes also struck a deal withEdmund Barton, leader of the NSW Protectionist Party, whereby they would work together for federation and leave the question of a protective tariff for a future Australian government to decide.[45]
In early 1893, the first Citizens' Federation League was established in the Riverina region of New South Wales and many other leagues were soon formed in the colony. The leagues organised a conference inCorowa in July 1893, which developed a plan for federation. The new NSW premier,George Reid, endorsed the "Corowa plan" and in 1895 convinced the majority of other premiers to adopt it. A constitutional convention held sessions in 1897 and 1898, which resulted in a proposed constitution for a Commonwealth of federated states. However, a referendum on the constitution failed to gain the required majority in New South Wales after that colony's Labor party campaigned against it and Premier Reid gave it such qualified support that he earned the nickname "yes-no Reid".[46]
The premiers of the other colonies agreed to some concessions to New South Wales (particularly that the future Commonwealth capital would be located in NSW), and in 1899, further referendums were held in all the colonies except Western Australia. All resulted in yes votes, with the yes vote in New South Wales meeting the required majority. TheImperial Parliament passed the necessary enabling legislation in 1900, and Western Australia subsequently voted to join the new federation. The Commonwealth of Australia was inaugurated on 1 January 1901, and Barton was sworn in as Australia's first prime minister.[47]
A corner grocery store during the Great Depression, Riley & Fitzroy Streets,Surry Hills, Sydney, 21 August 1934
The first post-federation NSW governments wereProgressive orLiberal Reform and implemented a range of social reforms with Labor support. Women won theright to vote in NSW elections in 1902, but were ineligible to stand for parliament until 1918. Labor increased its parliamentary representation in every election from 1904 before coming to power in 1910 with a majority of one seat.[48][49]
The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 saw more NSW volunteers for service than the federal authorities could handle, leading to unrest in camps as recruits waited for transfer overseas. In 1916, the premier,William Holman, and a number of his supporters were expelled from the Labor Party over their support for military conscription. Holman subsequently formed aNationalist government which remained in power until 1920. Despite a huge victory for Holman's pro-conscription Nationalists in the elections of March 1917, a second conscription referendum held in December that year was defeated in New South Wales and nationally.[50]
Following the war, NSW governments embarked on large public works programs including road building, the extension and electrification of the rail network and the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The works were largely funded by loans from London, leading to a debt crisis after the onset of theGreat Depression in 1929. New South Wales was hit harder by the depression than other states, and by 1932, one-third of union members in the state were unemployed, compared with 20 per cent nationally.[51]
Labor won the November 1930 NSW elections andJack Lang became premier for the second time. In 1931, Lang proposed a plan to deal with the depression which included a suspension of interest payments to British creditors, diverting the money to unemployment relief. The Commonwealth and state premiers rejected the plan and later that year Lang's supporters in the Commonwealth parliament brought downJames Scullin's federal Labor government. The NSW Lang government subsequently defaulted on overseas interest payments and was dismissed from office in May 1932 by the governor,Sir Phillip Game.[52][53]
The following elections were won comfortably by the United Australia Party in coalition with the Country Party.Bertram Stevens became premier, remaining in office until 1939, when he was replaced byAlexander Mair.[54]
A contemporary study by sociologist A. P. Elkin found that the population of New South Wales responded to the outbreak of war in 1939 with pessimism and apathy. This changed with the threat of invasion by Japan, which entered the war in December 1941. In May 1942, three Japanese midget submarines entered Sydney Harbour and sank a naval ship, killing 29 men aboard. The following month, Sydney and Newcastle were shelled by Japanese warships. American troops began arriving in the state in large numbers. Manufacturing, steelmaking, shipbuilding and rail transport all grew with the war effort and unemployment virtually disappeared.[55]
A Labor government led byWilliam McKell was elected in May 1941. The McKell government benefited from full employment, budget surpluses, and a co-operative relationship with John Curtin's federal Labor government. McKell became the first Labor leader to serve a full term and to be re-elected for a second term. The Labor Party was to govern New South Wales until 1965.[56]
The Labor government introduced two weeks of annual paid leave for most NSW workers in 1944, and the 40-hour working week was implemented by 1947. The post-war economic boom brought near-full employment and rising living standards, and the government engaged in large spending programs on housing, dams, electricity generation and other infrastructure. In 1954, the government announced a plan for the construction of an opera house onBennelong Point. The design competition was won byJørn Utzon. Controversy over the cost of theSydney Opera House and construction delays became a political issue and was a factor in the eventual defeat of Labor in 1965 by the conservativeLiberal Party andCountry Party coalition led byRobert Askin.[57]
The Askin government promoted private development, law and order issues and greater state support for non-government schools. However, Askin, a former bookmaker, became increasingly associated with illegal bookmaking, gambling and police corruption.[58]
In the late 1960s, asecessionist movement in theNew England region of the state led to a 1967 referendum on the issue which was narrowly defeated. The new state would have consisted of much of northern NSW includingNewcastle.[59]
TheSydney Opera House was completed in 1973 and has become a World Heritage Site.
Askin's resignation in 1975 was followed by several short-lived premierships by Liberal Party leaders. When a general election came in 1976, the ALP underNeville Wran came to power.[60] Wran was able to transform this narrow one seat victory into landslide wins (known as Wranslides) in 1978 and 1981.[61]
After winning a comfortable though reduced majority in 1984, Wran resigned as premier and left parliament. His replacementBarrie Unsworth struggled to emerge from Wran's shadow and lost a 1988 election against a resurgent Liberal Party led byNick Greiner. The Greiner government embarked on an efficiency program involving public sector cost-cutting, the corporatisation of government agencies and the privatisation of some government services. AnIndependent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) was created.[62] 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.
In 1992, Greiner was investigated by ICAC for possible corruption over the offer of a public service position to a former Liberal MP. Greiner resigned but was later cleared of corruption. His replacement as Liberal leader and premier wasJohn Fahey, whose government narrowly lost the 1995 election to the ALP underBob Carr, who was to become the longest-serving premier of the state.[63]
The Carr government (1995–2005) largely continued its predecessors' focus on the efficient delivery of government services such as health, education, transport and electricity. There was an increasing emphasis on public-private partnerships to deliver infrastructure such as freeways, tunnels and rail links. The Carr government gained popularity for its successful organisation of international events, especially the 2000 Sydney Olympics, but Carr himself was critical of the federal government over its high immigration intake, arguing that a disproportionate number of new migrants were settling in Sydney, putting undue pressure on state infrastructure.[64]
Carr unexpectedly resigned from office in 2005 and was replaced byMorris Iemma, who remained premier after being re-elected in theMarch 2007 state election, until he was replaced byNathan Rees in September 2008.[65] Rees was subsequently replaced byKristina Keneally in December 2009, who became the first female premier of New South Wales.[66] Keneally's government was defeated at the2011 state election andBarry O'Farrell became premier on 28 March. On 17 April 2014, O'Farrell stood down as premier after misleading an ICAC investigation concerning a gift of a bottle of wine.[67] The Liberal Party then elected TreasurerMike Baird as party leader and premier. Baird resigned as premier on 23 January 2017, and was replaced byGladys Berejiklian.[68]
On 23 March 2019, Berejiklian led the Coalition to a third term in office. She maintained high personal approval ratings for her management of a bushfire crisis and theCOVID-19 pandemic. However, Berejiklian resigned as premier on 5 October 2021, following the opening of an ICAC investigation into her actions between 2012 and 2018. She was replaced byDominic Perrottet.[69]
New South Wales is bordered on the north by Queensland, on the west by South Australia, on the south by Victoria and the east by theCoral andTasman Seas. TheAustralian Capital Territory and theJervis Bay Territory form a separately administered entity that is bordered entirely by New South Wales. The state can be divided geographically into four areas. New South Wales's three largest cities,Sydney,Newcastle andWollongong, lie near the centre of a narrow coastal strip extending from cool temperate areas on the far south coast tosubtropical areas near the Queensland border.Gulaga National Park in theSouth Coast features the southernmostsubtropical rainforest in the state.[70]
There are numerous forests in New South Wales, with such tree species as Red GumEucalyptus and Crow Ash (Flindersia australis), being represented.[73] Forest floors have a diverse set of understory shrubs and fungi. One of the widespread fungi isWitch's Butter (Tremella mesenterica).[74]
Thewestern slopes and plains fill a significant portion of the state's area and have a much sparser population than areas nearer the coast. Agriculture is central to the economy of the western slopes, particularly theRiverina region andMurrumbidgee Irrigation Area in the state's south-west. Regional cities such asAlbury,Dubbo,Griffith andWagga Wagga and towns such asDeniliquin,Leeton andParkes exist primarily to service these agricultural regions. The western slopes descend slowly to the western plains that comprise almost two-thirds of the state and are largely arid or semi-arid. The mining town ofBroken Hill is the largest centre in this area.[75]
One possible definition of the centre for New South Wales is located 33 kilometres (21 mi) west-north-west ofTottenham.[76]
A little more than half of the state has anarid tosemi-arid climate, where the rainfall averages from 150 to 500 millimetres (5.9 to 19.7 in) a year throughout most of this climate zone. Summer temperatures can be very hot, while winter nights can be quite cold in this region. Rainfall varies throughout the state. The far north-west receives the least, less than 180 mm (7 in) annually, while the east receives between 700 and 1,400 mm (28 and 55 in) of rain.[77]
The climate along the flat,coastal plain east of the range varies fromoceanic in the south tohumid subtropical in the northern half of the state, right aboveWollongong. Rainfall is highest in this area; however, it still varies from around 800 millimetres (31 in) to as high as 3,000 millimetres (120 in) in the wettest areas, for exampleDorrigo. In the state's south, on the westward side of theGreat Dividing Range, rainfall is heaviest in winter due tocold fronts which move acrosssouthern Australia, while in the north, aroundLismore, rain is heaviest in summer from tropical systems and occasionally evencyclones.[77] During late winter, the coastal plain is relatively dry due tofoehn winds that originate from the Great Dividing Range;[78] the mountain rangeblock the moist,westerly cold fronts that arrive from theSouthern Ocean, whereby providing generallyclear conditions on theleeward side.[79][80]
The climate in the southern half of the state is generally warm to hot in summer and cool in the winter. The seasons are more defined in the southern half of the state, especially as one moves inland towardsSouth West Slopes,Central West and theRiverina region. The climate in thenortheast region of the state, or theNorth Coast, borderingQueensland, is hot and humid in the summer and mild in winter. TheNorthern Tablelands, which are also on the North coast, have relatively mild summers and cold winters, due to their high elevation on the Great Dividing Range.
Peaks along the Great Dividing Range vary from 500 metres (1,640 ft) to over 2,000 metres (6,562 ft) above sea level. Temperatures can be cool to cold in winter with frequentfrosts andsnowfall, and are rarely hot in summer due to the elevation.Lithgow has a climate typical of the range, as do the regional cities ofOrange,Cooma,Oberon andArmidale. Such places fall within thesubtropical highland (Cwb) variety. Rainfall is moderate in this area, ranging from 600 to 800 mm (24 to 31 in).
Snowfall is common in the higher parts of the range, sometimes occurring as far north as theQueensland border. On the highest peaks of theSnowy Mountains, the climate can besubpolar oceanic and evenalpine on the higher peaks with very cold temperatures and heavy snow. TheBlue Mountains,Southern Tablelands andCentral Tablelands, which are situated on the Great Dividing Range, have mild to warm summers and cold winters, although not as severe as those in the Snowy Mountains.[77]
The highest maximum temperature recorded was 49.7 °C (121 °F) atMenindee in the west of the state on 10 January 1939. The lowest minimum temperature was −23 °C (−9 °F) atCharlotte Pass in the Snowy Mountains on 29 June 1994. This is also the lowest temperature recorded in the whole of Australia excluding the Antarctic Territory.[81]
The estimated population of New South Wales at the end of December 2021 was 8,095,430 people, representing approximately 31.42% of the nationwide population.[2]
In June 2017, Sydney was home to almost two-thirds (65.3%) of the NSW population.[83]
At the2021 census, 2,794,666 people were living in New South Wales who were born overseas, accounting for 34.6% of the population. Only 43.7% of the population had both parents born in Australia.[note 7][87]
According to the2021 census, 29.5% of people in New South Wales speak a language other than English at home withMandarin (3.4%),Arabic (2.8%),Cantonese (1.8%),Vietnamese (1.5%) andHindi (1.0%) being the most popular.[87]
Religious Affiliations in New South Wales (2021 Census)
Christianity (47.6%)
No Religious Affiliation (33.2%)
Islam (4.30%)
Hinduism (3.40%)
Buddhism (2.80%)
Others (8.70%)
In the2021 census, Christianity was the primary religious affiliation in New South Wales (NSW), comprising 47.6% of the population, mostlyRoman Catholicism (22.4%) andAnglicanism (11.9%). This percentage has declined over time, while the number of people identifying with no religious affiliation has risen. In 2016, the Christian affiliation rate was 55.2%, and in 1971 it was 88.4%. About 33.2% of people in NSW reported having no religious affiliation in 2021.[87][89]
About 12.1% of the population in 2021 identified with a non-Christian religion, with Islam (4.3%), Hinduism (3.4%), and Buddhism (2.8%) being the most common.[89]
New South WalesParliament House in Sydney, the oldest public building in Australia
Executive power is formally exercised by the Executive Council, which consists of the Governor and senior ministers.[90] The current governor isMargaret Beazley. 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 orWestminster government. As in other Westminster systems, there is no constitutional requirement in New South Wales for the government to be formed from the parliament, merely a convention. As of early July 2023, the premier isChris Minns of theLabor Party.
The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution, dating from 1856 and currently theConstitution Act 1902 (NSW).[91] Since 1901 New South Wales has been a state of the Commonwealth of Australia, and theAustralian Constitution regulates its relationship with the Commonwealth.
In 2006, the Constitution AmendmentPledge of Loyalty Act 2006 No 6,[92] was enacted to amend the NSW Constitution Act 1902 to require Members of the New South Wales Parliament and its Ministers to take a pledge of loyalty to Australia and to the people of New South Wales instead of swearing allegiance toElizabeth II her heirs and successors, and to revise the oaths taken by Executive Councillors. The Pledge of Loyalty Act was officially assented to by the Queen on 3 April 2006. The option to swear allegiance to the Queen was restored as an alternative option in June 2012.
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".[93]
New South Wales is policed by theNew South Wales Police Force, astatutory authority. Established in 1862, the New South Wales Police Force investigates Summary and Indictable offences throughout the State of New South Wales. The state has two fire services: the volunteer-basedNew South Wales Rural Fire Service, which is responsible for the majority of the state, and theFire and Rescue NSW, a government agency responsible for protecting urban areas. There is some overlap due to suburbanisation. Ambulance services are provided through theNew South Wales Ambulance. Rescue services (i.e., vertical, road crash, confinement) are a joint effort by all emergency services, with Ambulance Rescue, Police Rescue Squad and Fire Rescue Units contributing. Volunteer rescue organisations include Marine Rescue New South Wales,State Emergency Service (SES),Surf Life Saving NSW andVolunteer Rescue Association (VRA).[citation needed]
The NSW school system comprises a kindergarten to year 12 system with primary schooling up to year 6 and secondary schooling between years 7 and 12. Schooling is compulsory from before 6 years old until the age of 17 (unless Year 10 is completed earlier).[95] Between 1943 and 2009, schooling was only compulsory in NSW until age 15.[96]
Primary and secondary schools include government and non-government schools. Government schools are further classified as comprehensive andselective schools. Non-government schools include Catholic schools, other denominational schools, and non-denominational independent schools.[citation needed]
Typically, a primary school provides education from kindergarten level to year 6. A secondary school, usually called a "high school", provides education from years 7 to 12.Secondary colleges are secondary schools which only cater for years 11 and 12.[citation needed]
TheNSW Education Standards Authority classifies the 13 years of primary and secondary schooling into six stages, beginning with Early Stage 1 (Kindergarten) and ending with Stage 6 (years 11 and 12).[97][98]
The Higher School Certificate (HSC) is the usual Year 12 leaving certificate in NSW. The HSC is the most popular high school credential in Australia with 75,493 students studying one or more HSC courses in 2022.[100] Most students complete the HSC before entering the workforce or going on to study at university orTAFE (although the HSC itself can be completed at TAFE). The HSC must be completed for a student to get anAustralian Tertiary Admission Rank (formerlyUniversities Admission Index), which determines the student's rank against fellow students who completed the Higher School Certificate.
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 theAustralian Capital Territory by another organisation, theUniversities Admission Centre.[103]
Primarily, vocational training up to the level of advanced diplomas is provided by the state government's tenTechnical and Further Education (TAFE) institutes. These institutes run courses on 138 campuses throughout the state.[104]
NSW is the largest state economy in Australia, with service industries contributing almost 80% of the state's economic activity and 90% of its employment. Business services, which include financial services, professional, scientific and technical services, property services, information media, and telecommunications, account for nearly a third of the state economy. Major merchandise exports include coal, copper, beef and aluminium. In recent years, there has been strong growth in exports of education, tourism, and financial and business services.[105]
Construction accounted for 8% of the NSW economy in 2020–21, while manufacturing contributed 6%, mining 2%, and agriculture, forestry and fishing just under 2%.[106]
Coal and related products are the state's biggest merchandise export. Its value to the state's economy is over A$5 billion, accounting for about 19% of all merchandise exports from NSW.[107] Tourism is worth over $18.1 billion to the New South Wales economy and employs 3.1% of the workforce.[108]
Agriculture accounts for just under 2% of the NSW economy.[106] NSW has the second-highest value of agricultural production of the Australian states.[109]Wheat is the most extensive crop in the state by hectare[110] amounting to 39% of the continent's harvest.[111][112] The most important wheat-growing areas are theCentral West,Orana,New England, North-West andRiverina.[113]
Barley, cotton and canola are also important broadacre crops. Most cotton production is in the New England, Orana, North West, and Far West regions.[113] However, the southern regions of the state now produce almost one-third of the state's crop by value.[114]
NSW produces about 20% of Australia's fruit and nuts, and about 12% of its vegetables by value. The major regions for fruit and nut production are the Riverina, Coffs Harbour-Grafton and the Murray.[113] About 40,200 hectares (99,000 acres) of vineyards lie across the eastern region of the state, with theHunter Valley and theRiverina being major wine producing regions.[115]
Cattle, sheep and pigs are the predominant livestock of NSW. The state has over one-third of the country's sheep, and one-fifth of its cattle and pigs.[116] Australia's largest and most valuableThoroughbred horse breeding area is centred onScone in the Hunter Valley.[117]
Passage through New South Wales is vital for cross-continent transport. Rail and road traffic from Brisbane (Queensland) toPerth (Western Australia), or to Melbourne (Victoria) must pass through New South Wales.
The majority of railways in New South Wales are currently operated by the state government. Some lines began as branch lines of railways starting in other states. For instance,Balranald near the Victorian border was connected by a rail line coming up from Victoria and into New South Wales. Another line beginning in Adelaide crossed over the border and stopped at Broken Hill.[citation needed]
Railways management are conducted bySydney Trains andNSW TrainLink[118] which maintain rolling stock. Sydney Trains operates trains within Sydney while NSW TrainLink operates outside Sydney, intercity, country and interstate services.
Private boat services operated between South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales along the Murray and Darling Rivers but these only exist now as the occasional tourist paddle-wheeler service.[129]
New South Wales has more than 780 national parks and reserves covering more than 8% of the state.[130] These parks range from rainforests, waterfalls, rugged bush to marine wonderlands and outback deserts, includingWorld Heritage sites.[131]
TheRoyal National Park on the southern outskirts of Sydney became Australia's first national park when proclaimed on 26 April 1879. Originally named simply 'National Park' until 1955, this park was the second national park to be established in the world afterYellowstone National Park in the U.S.Kosciuszko National Park is the largest park in state encompassing New South Wales' alpine region.[132]
The National Parks Association was formed in 1957 to create a system of national parks all over New South Wales which led to the formation of theNational Parks and Wildlife Service in 1967.[133] This government agency is responsible for developing and maintaining the parks and reserve system, and conserving natural and cultural heritage, in the state of New South Wales. These parks preserve special habitats, plants and wildlife, such as theWollemi National Park where theWollemi Pine grows and areas sacred to Australian Aboriginals such asMutawintji National Park in western New South Wales.
The equine sports ofcampdrafting andpolocrosse were developed in New South Wales and competitions are now held across Australia. Polocrosse is now played in many overseas countries.
As Australia's most populous state, New South Wales is home to several cultural institutions of importance to the nation. In music, New South Wales is home to theSydney Symphony Orchestra, Australia's busiest and largest orchestra. Australia's largest opera company,Opera Australia, is headquartered in Sydney. Both of these organisations perform a subscription series at the Sydney Opera House. Other major musical bodies include theAustralian Chamber Orchestra. Sydney is host to theAustralian Ballet for its Sydney season (the ballet is headquartered in Melbourne). Apart from theSydney Opera House, major musical performance venues include theCity Recital Hall and theSydney Town Hall.
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 Film, Television & Radio School and theConservatorium of Music (now part of the University of Sydney).[citation needed]
New South Wales is the setting and shooting location of many Australian films, includingMad Max 2, which was shot near the mining town of Broken Hill. The state has also attracted international productions, both as a setting, such as inMission: Impossible 2, and as a stand-in for other locations, as seen inThe Matrix franchise,The Great Gatsby andUnbroken.[137][138]20th Century Fox operatesFox Studios Australia in Sydney.Screen NSW, which controls the state film industry, generates approximately $100 million into the New South Wales economy each year.[139]
New South Wales in recent history has pursued bilateral partnerships with other federated states/provinces and metropolises through establishing a network ofsister state relationships.The state currently has 7 sister states:[140]
^Does not includeNorfolk Island or other Australian External Territories.
^The percentages include those who did not answer the question or who gave an unclear answer.
^The Australian Bureau of Statistics has stated that most who nominate "Australian" as their ancestry are part of theAnglo-Celtic group.[88]
^Includes those identifying as havingAboriginal Australians orTorres Strait Islanders ancestry. Indigenous identification is separate from the ancestry question on the Australian Census and persons identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander may identify any ancestry.
^6.0% of people did not state where their parents were born.
^Of any ancestry. Includes those identifying asAboriginal Australians orTorres Strait Islanders. Indigenous identification is separate from the ancestry question on the Australian Census and persons identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander may identify any ancestry.
^The only significant attempt to change the State's name occurred in 1887, when a bill introduced by then PremierHenry Parkes to change the colony's name to "Australia" reached itsfirst reading.[15] The bill was allowed to lapse due to objections from the other colonies in the lead up toFederation.[16]
^Beagleole, J. C. (1974).The Life of Captain James Cook. London: Adam and Charles Black. p. 249.ISBN9780713613827.
^Blainey, Geoffrey (2020).Captain Cook's Epic Voyage: the Strange Quest for a Missing Continent. Melbourne and Sydney: Viking. pp. 238–239.ISBN9781760895099.
^Karskens, Grace (2013). "The early colonial presence, 1788-1822". In Bashford, Alison; MacIntyre, Stuart (eds.).The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume 1, Indigenous and Colonial Australia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 91.ISBN9781107011533.
^Peter Hill (2008) p.141-150; Andrew Tink,Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend, Melbourne, Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2011.
^Karskens, Grace (2013). "The early colonial presence, 1788-1822". In Bashford, Alison; MacIntyre, Stuart (eds.).The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume I, Indigenous and colonial Australia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 90–114.ISBN9781107011533.
^Uren, Malcolm John Leggoe (1948).Land Looking West: The Story of Governor James Stirling in Western Australia. London: Oxford University Press. p. 24.
^Godden, Judith,"Pottie, Eliza (1837–1907)",Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved27 February 2021
^Irving, Helen (2013). "Making the federal Commonwealth".The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume I. pp. 249–51.
^abc"Stormy Weather"(PDF). Bureau of Meteorology.Archived(PDF) from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved16 May 2014.
^Sharples, J.J. Mills, G.A., McRae, R.H.D., Weber, R.O. (2010)Elevated fire danger conditions associated with foehn-like winds in southeastern Australia. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology.
^"Cropping, cotton".NSW Department of Primary Industry. 2021.Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved8 September 2022.
^"From paddock to plate".Tourism New South Wales. New South Wales Government. 1 July 2003. Archived fromthe original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved7 March 2009.
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