Sydney (/ˈsɪdni/ⓘSID-nee) is thecapital city of thestate ofNew South Wales and themost populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surroundsSydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean in the east to theBlue Mountains in the west, and about 80 km (50 mi) fromKu-ring-gai Chase National Park and theHawkesbury River in the north and north-west, to theRoyal National Park andMacarthur in the south and south-west.[5] Greater Sydney consists of 658 suburbs, spread across 33 local government areas. Residents of the city are colloquially known as "Sydneysiders".[6] The estimated population in June 2024 was 5,557,233,[1] which is about 66% of the state's population.[7] The city's nicknames include theEmerald City and theHarbour City.[8]
There is evidence thatAboriginal Australians inhabited theGreater Sydney region at least 30,000 years ago, andtheir engravings and cultural sites are common. Thetraditional custodians of the land on which modern Sydney stands are the clans of theDarug,Dharawal andEora.[9] During hisfirst Pacific voyage in 1770,James Cook charted the eastern coast of Australia, making landfall atBotany Bay. In 1788, theFirst Fleet ofconvicts, led byArthur Phillip, founded Sydney as a Britishpenal colony, the first European settlement in Australia.[10] AfterWorld War II, Sydney experienced mass migration and by 2021 over 40 per cent of the population was born overseas. Foreign countries of birth with the greatest representation are mainland China, India, the United Kingdom, Vietnam and the Philippines.[11]
In 1788, CaptainArthur Phillip, the first governor of New South Wales, named the cove where the first British settlement was establishedSydney Cove after Home SecretaryThomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney.[27] The cove was calledWarrane by the Aboriginal inhabitants.[28] Phillip considered naming the settlementAlbion, but this name was never officially used.[27] By 1790 Phillip and other officials were regularly calling the township Sydney.[29] Sydney was declared a city in 1842.[30]
TheGadigal (Cadigal) clan, whose territory stretches along the southern shore ofPort Jackson fromSouth Head toDarling Harbour, are the traditional owners of the land on which the British settlement was initially established, and call their territoryGadi (Cadi). Aboriginal clan names within the Sydney region were often formed by adding the suffix "-gal" to a word denoting the name for their territory, a specific place in their territory, a food source, or totem. Greater Sydney covers the traditional lands of 28 known Aboriginal clans.[31]
The first people to inhabit the area now known as Sydney wereAboriginal Australians who had migrated from southeast Asia via northern Australia.[32] Flaked pebbles found in Western Sydney's gravel sediments might indicate human occupation from 45,000 to 50,000 years ago,[33] whileradiocarbon dating has shown evidence of human activity in the region from around 30,000 years ago.[34] Prior to the arrival of the British, there were 4,000 to 8,000 Aboriginal people in the greater Sydney region.[35][9]
The inhabitants subsisted on fishing, hunting, and gathering plants and shellfish. The diet of the coastal clans was more reliant on seafood whereas hinterland clans ate more forest animals and plants. The clans had distinctive equipment and weapons mostly made of stone, wood, plant materials, bone and shell. They also differed in their body decorations, hairstyles, songs and dances. Aboriginal clans had a rich ceremonial life, part of a belief system centring on ancestral, totemic and supernatural beings. People from different clans and language groups came together to participate in initiation and other ceremonies. These occasions fostered trade, marriages and clan alliances.[36]
The earliest British settlers recorded the word 'Eora' as an Aboriginal term meaning either 'people' or 'from this place'.[37][9] The clans of the Sydney area occupied land with traditional boundaries. There is debate, however, about which group or nation these clans belonged to, and the extent of differences in language and rites. The major groups were the coastal Eora people, the Dharug (Darug) occupying the inland area fromParramatta to the Blue Mountains, and the Dharawal people south of Botany Bay.[9] Darginung and Gundungurra languages were spoken on the fringes of the Sydney area.[38]
Aboriginal clans of Sydney area, as recorded by early British settlers
South side of Port Jackson, from Darling Harbour to Rose Hill
Clans of the Sydney region whose territory wasn't reliably recorded are: the Domaragal, Doogagal, Gannalgal, Gomerigal, Gooneeowlgal, Goorunggurregal, Gorualgal, Murrooredial, Noronggerragal, Oryangsoora and Wandeandegal.
Note:The names and territory boundaries do not always correspond with those usedby contemporary Aboriginal groups of the greater Sydney area.[38][39][40]
The first meeting between Aboriginals and British explorers occurred on 29 April 1770 when Lieutenant James Cook landed atBotany Bay (Kamay[41]) and encountered theGweagal clan.[42] Two Gweagal men opposed the landing party and one was shot and wounded.[43][44] Cook and his crew stayed at Botany Bay for a week, collecting water, timber, fodder and botanical specimens and exploring the surrounding area. Cook sought to establish relations with the Aboriginal population without success.[45]
Britain had been sending convicts to its American colonies for most of the eighteenth century, and the loss of these colonies in 1783 was the impetus to establish a penal colony at Botany Bay. Proponents of colonisation also pointed to the strategic importance of a new base in the Asia-Pacific region and its potential to provide much-needed timber and flax for the navy.[46]
TheFirst Fleet of 11 ships under the command of CaptainArthur Phillip arrived in Botany Bay in January 1788. It comprised more than a thousand settlers, including 736 convicts.[47] The fleet soon moved to the more suitablePort Jackson where a settlement was established atSydney Cove on 26 January 1788.[48] The colony of New South Wales was formally proclaimed by Governor Phillip on 7 February 1788. Sydney Cove offered a fresh water supply and a safe harbour, which Philip described as "the finest Harbour in the World ... Here a Thousand Sail of the Line may ride in the most perfect Security".[49]
The settlement was planned to be a self-sufficient penal colony based on subsistence agriculture. Trade and shipbuilding were banned in order to keep the convicts isolated. However, the soil around the settlement proved poor and the first crops failed, leading to several years of hunger and strict rationing. The food crisis was relieved with the arrival of theSecond Fleet in mid-1790 and theThird Fleet in 1791.[50] Former convicts received small grants of land, and government and private farms spread to the more fertile lands aroundParramatta,Windsor andCamden on theCumberland Plain. By 1804, the colony was self-sufficient in food.[51]
A smallpox epidemic in April 1789 killed about half the region's Indigenous population.[9][52] In November 1790Bennelong led a group of survivors of the Sydney clans into the settlement, establishing a continuous presence of Aboriginal Australians in settled Sydney.[53]
Phillip had been given no instructions for urban development, but in July 1788 submitted a plan for the new town atSydney Cove. It included a wide central avenue, a permanent Government House, law courts, hospital and other public buildings, but no provision for warehouses, shops, or other commercial buildings. Phillip promptly ignored his own plan, and unplanned development became a feature of Sydney's topography.[54][55]
After Phillip's departure in December 1792, the colony's military officers began acquiring land and importing consumer goods from visiting ships. Former convicts engaged in trade and opened small businesses. Soldiers and former convicts built houses on Crown land, with or without official permission, in what was now commonly called Sydney town. GovernorWilliam Bligh (1806–08) imposed restrictions on commerce and ordered the demolition of buildings erected on Crown land, including some owned by past and serving military officers. The resulting conflict culminated in theRum Rebellion of 1808, in which Bligh was deposed by theNew South Wales Corps.[56][57]
GovernorLachlan Macquarie (1810–1821) played a leading role in the development of Sydney and New South Wales, establishing a bank, a currency and a hospital. He employed a planner to design the street layout of Sydney and commissioned the construction of roads, wharves, churches, and public buildings.Parramatta Road, linking Sydney and Parramatta, was opened in 1811,[58] and a road across theBlue Mountains was completed in 1815, opening the way for large-scale farming and grazing west of theGreat Dividing Range.[59][60]
Following the departure of Macquarie, official policy encouraged the emigration of free British settlers to New South Wales. Immigration to the colony increased from 900 free settlers in 1826–30 to 29,000 in 1836–40, many of whom settled in Sydney.[61][62] By the 1840s Sydney exhibited a geographic divide between poor and working-class residents living west of theTank Stream in areas such asThe Rocks, and the more affluent residents living to its east.[62] Free settlers, free-born residents and former convicts now represented the vast majority of the population of Sydney, leading to increasing public agitation for responsible government and an end to transportation. Transportation to New South Wales ceased in 1840.[63]
In 1804, Irish convicts led around 300 rebels in theCastle Hill Rebellion, an attempt to march on Sydney, commandeer a ship, and sail to freedom.[64] Poorly armed, and with their leader Philip Cunningham captured, the main body of insurgents were routed by about 100 troops and volunteers atRouse Hill. At least 39 convicts were killed in the uprising and subsequent executions.[65][66]
As the colony spread to the more fertile lands around theHawkesbury River, north-west of Sydney, conflict between the settlers and theDarug people intensified, reaching a peak from 1794 to 1810. Bands of Darug people, led byPemulwuy and later by his sonTedbury, burned crops, killed livestock and raided settler stores in a pattern of resistance that was to be repeated as thecolonial frontier expanded. A military garrison was established on the Hawkesbury in 1795. The death toll from 1794 to 1800 was 26 settlers and up to 200 Darug.[67][68]
Conflict again erupted from 1814 to 1816 with the expansion of the colony into Dharawal country in the Nepean region south-west of Sydney. Following the deaths of several settlers, Governor Macquarie dispatched three military detachments into Dharawal lands, culminating in theAppin massacre (April 1816) in which at least 14 Aboriginal people were killed.[69][70]
The New South Wales Legislative Council became a semi-elected body in 1842. Sydney was declared a city the same year, and a governing council established, elected on a restrictive property franchise.[63]
Aerial illustration of Sydney, 1888
The discovery of gold in New South Wales and Victoria in 1851 initially caused economic disruption as men moved to the goldfields. Melbourne soon overtook Sydney as Australia's largest city, leading to an enduring rivalry between the two. However, increased immigration from overseas and wealth from gold exports increased demand for housing, consumer goods, services and urban amenities.[71] The New South Wales government also stimulated growth by investing heavily in railways, trams, roads, ports, telegraph, schools and urban services.[72] The population of Sydney and its suburbs grew from 95,600 in 1861 to 386,900 in 1891.[73] The city developed many of its characteristic features. The growing population packed into rows of terrace houses in narrow streets. New public buildings of sandstone abounded, including at theUniversity of Sydney (1854–61),[74] theAustralian Museum (1858–66),[75] the Town Hall (1868–88),[76] and theGeneral Post Office (1866–92).[77] Elaboratecoffee palaces and hotels were erected.[78] Daylight bathing at Sydney's beaches was banned, but segregated bathing at designated ocean baths was popular.[79]
Drought, the winding down of public works and a financial crisis led to economic depression in Sydney throughout most of the 1890s. Meanwhile, the Sydney-based premier of New South Wales,George Reid, became a key figure in the process of federation.[80]
Atramcar on George Street in 1920. Sydney once had one of the largesttram networks in the British Empire.
When the six colonies federated on 1 January 1901, Sydney became the capital of the State of New South Wales. The spread ofbubonic plague in 1900 prompted the state government to modernise the wharves and demolish inner-city slums. The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 saw more Sydney males volunteer for the armed forces than the Commonwealth authorities could process, and helped reduce unemployment. Those returning from the war in 1918 were promised "homes fit for heroes" in new suburbs such as Daceyville and Matraville. "Garden suburbs" and mixed industrial and residential developments also grew along the rail and tram corridors.[62] The population reached one million in 1926, after Sydney had regained its position as the most populous city in Australia.[81] The government created jobs with massive public projects such as the electrification of theSydney rail network and building the Sydney Harbour Bridge.[82]
Sydney Harbour Bridge opening day, 19 March 1932The Sydney skyline at night in 1938.
Sydney was more severely affected by theGreat Depression of the 1930s than regional New South Wales or Melbourne.[83] New building almost came to a standstill, and by 1933 the unemployment rate for male workers was 28 per cent, but over 40 per cent in working class areas such as Alexandria and Redfern. Many families were evicted from their homes and shanty towns grew along coastal Sydney and Botany Bay, the largest being "Happy Valley" atLa Perouse.[84] The Depression also exacerbated political divisions. In March 1932, when populist Labor premierJack Lang attempted to open the Sydney Harbour Bridge he was upstaged byFrancis de Groot of the far-rightNew Guard, who slashed the ribbon with a sabre.[85]
In January 1938, Sydney celebrated theEmpire Games and the sesquicentenary of European settlement in Australia. One journalist wrote, "Golden beaches. Sun tanned men and maidens...Red-roofed villas terraced above the blue waters of the harbour...EvenMelbourne seems like some grey and stately city of Northern Europe compared with Sydney's sub-tropical splendours." A congress of the "Aborigines of Australia" declared 26 January "ADay of Mourning" for "the whiteman's seizure of our country."[86]
A post-war immigration and baby boom saw a rapid increase in Sydney's population and the spread of low-density housing in suburbs throughout the Cumberland Plain. Immigrants—mostly from Britain and continental Europe—and their children accounted for over three-quarters of Sydney's population growth between 1947 and 1971.[89] The newly created Cumberland County Council oversaw low-density residential developments, the largest atGreen Valley andMount Druitt. Older residential centres such as Parramatta,Bankstown andLiverpool became suburbs of the metropolis.[90] Manufacturing, protected by high tariffs, employed over a third of the workforce from 1945 to the 1960s. However, as the long post-war economic boom progressed, retail and other service industries became the main source of new jobs.[91]
An estimated one million onlookers, most of the city's population, watchedQueen Elizabeth II land in 1954 at Farm Cove where Captain Phillip had raised the Union Jack 165 years earlier, commencing herAustralian Royal Tour. It was the first time a reigning monarch stepped onto Australian soil.[92]
Increasing high-rise development in Sydney and the expansion of suburbs beyond the "green belt" envisaged by the planners of the 1950s resulted in community protests. In the early 1970s, trade unions and resident action groups imposedgreen bans on development projects in historic areas such as The Rocks. Federal, State and local governments introduced heritage and environmental legislation.[62] The Sydney Opera House was also controversial for its cost and disputes between architectJørn Utzon and government officials. However, soon after it opened in 1973 it became a major tourist attraction and symbol of the city.[93] The progressive reduction in tariff protection from 1974 began the transformation of Sydney from a manufacturing centre to a "world city".[94] From the 1980s,overseas immigration grew rapidly, with Asia, the Middle East and Africa becoming major sources. By 2021, the population of Sydney was over 5.2 million, with 40% of the population born overseas. China and India overtook England as the largest source countries for overseas-born residents.[95]
Sydney is a coastal basin with theTasman Sea to the east, theBlue Mountains to the west, the Hawkesbury River to the north, and theWoronora Plateau to the south.
Sydney spans two geographic regions. TheCumberland Plain lies to the south and west of the Harbour and is relatively flat. TheHornsby Plateau is located to the north and is dissected by steep valleys. The flat areas of the south were the first to be developed; it was not until the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge that the northern reaches became more heavily populated.Seventy surf beaches can be found along its coastline, with Bondi Beach being the most famous.
TheNepean River wraps around the western edge of the city and becomes the Hawkesbury River before reachingBroken Bay. Most of Sydney's water storages can be found on tributaries of the Nepean River. TheParramatta River is mostly industrial and drains a large area of Sydney's western suburbs into Port Jackson. The southern parts of the city are drained by theGeorges River and theCooks River into Botany Bay.
There is no single definition of the boundaries of Sydney. The Australian Statistical Geography Standard definition of Greater Sydney covers 12,369 km2 (4,776 sq mi) and includes the local government areas ofCentral Coast in the north,Hawkesbury in the north-west,Blue Mountains in the west,Sutherland Shire in the south, andWollondilly in the south-west.[96] The local government area of theCity of Sydney covers about 26 square kilometres fromGarden island in the east to Bicentennial Park in the west, and south to the suburbs of Alexandria andRosebery.[97]
TheSydney Basin bioregion includes coastal features of cliffs, beaches, and estuaries. Deep river valleys known asrias were carved during the Triassic period in theHawkesbury sandstone of the coastal region. The rising sea level between 18,000 and 6,000 years ago flooded the rias to form estuaries and deep harbours.[99] Port Jackson, better known as Sydney Harbour, is one suchria.[102] Sydney features two major soil types:sandy soils (which originate from the Hawkesbury sandstone) andclay (which are from shales andvolcanic rocks), though some soils may be a mixture of the two.[103]
At Sydney's primary weather station atObservatory Hill, extreme temperatures have ranged from 45.8 °C (114.4 °F) on 18January 2013 to 2.1 °C (35.8 °F) on 22 June 1932.[131][132][133] An average of 14.9 days a year have temperatures at or above 30 °C (86 °F) in the central business district (CBD).[130] In contrast, the metropolitan area averages between 35 and 65 days, depending on the suburb.[134] The hottest day in the metropolitan area occurred inPenrith on 4 January 2020, where a high of 48.9 °C (120.0 °F) was recorded.[135] The average annual temperature of the sea ranges from 18.5 °C (65.3 °F) in September to 23.7 °C (74.7 °F) in February.[136] Sydney has an average of 7.2 hours of sunshine per day[137] and 109.5 clear days annually.[4] Due to the inland location,frost is recorded early in the morning inWestern Sydney a few times in winter. Autumn and spring are the transitional seasons, with spring showing a larger temperature variation than autumn.[138]
Rainfall has a moderate to low variability and has historically been fairly uniform throughout the year, although in recent years it has been more summer-dominant and erratic.[150][151][152][153] Precipitation is usually higher in summer through to autumn,[124] and lower in late winter to early spring.[127][154][130][155] In late autumn and winter,east coast lows may bring large amounts of rainfall, especially in the CBD.[156] In the warm seasonblack nor'easters are usually the cause of heavy rain events, though other forms oflow-pressure areas, including remnants ofex-cyclones, may also bring heavy deluge and afternoon thunderstorms.[157][158] 'Snow' was last alleged in 1836, more than likely a fall ofgraupel, or soft hail; and in July 2008 theUpper North Shore saw a fall of graupel that was mistaken by many for 'snow'.[159] In 2009, dry conditions brought a severedust storm towards the city.[160][161]
Sydney area at night, facing west.Wollongong is bottom left, and theCentral Coast is at the far right.
TheGreater Sydney Commission divides Sydney into three "cities" and five "districts" based on the 33 LGAs in the metropolitan area. The "metropolis of three cities" comprisesEastern Harbour City,Central River City andWestern Parkland City.[167] The Australian Bureau of Statistics also includes City of Central Coast (the former Gosford City and Wyong Shire) as part of Greater Sydney for population counts,[168] adding 330,000 people.[169]
Several localities, distinct from suburbs, exist throughout Sydney's inner reaches.Central andCircular Quay are transport hubs with ferry, rail, and bus interchanges.Chinatown, Darling Harbour, andKings Cross are important locations for culture, tourism, and recreation. TheStrand Arcade, located betweenPitt Street Mall andGeorge Street, is a historicalVictorian-style shoppingarcade. Opened on 1 April 1892, its shop fronts are an exact replica of the original internal shopping facades.[171]Westfield Sydney, located beneath theSydney Tower, is the largest shopping centre by area in Sydney.[172]
Since the late 20th century, there has been a trend ofgentrification amongst Sydney's inner suburbs. Pyrmont, located on the harbour, was redeveloped from a centre of shipping and international trade to an area ofhigh density housing, tourist accommodation, and gambling.[173] Originally located well outside of the city, Darlinghurst is the location of the historicDarlinghurst Gaol, manufacturing, and mixed housing. For a period it was known as an area of prostitution. The terrace-style housing has largely been retained and Darlinghurst has undergone significant gentrification since the 1980s.[174][175][176]
Green Square is a former industrial area ofWaterloo which is undergoing urban renewal worth $8 billion. On the city harbour edge, the historic suburb and wharves of Millers Point are being built up as the new area ofBarangaroo.[177][178] The suburb ofPaddington is known for its restoredterrace houses,Victoria Barracks, and shopping including the weekly Oxford Street markets.[179]
Newtown, one of the most "Inner West" parts of the Inner West (culturally), is one of the most completeVictorian andEdwardian era commercial precincts in Australia.
TheInner West generally includes theInner West Council,Municipality of Burwood,Municipality of Strathfield, andCity of Canada Bay. These span up to about 11 km west of the CBD. Historically, especially prior to the building of the Harbour Bridge,[180] the outer suburbs of the Inner West such asStrathfield were the location of "country" estates for the colony's elites. By contrast, the inner suburbs in the Inner West, being close to transport and industry, have historically housed working-class industrial workers. These areas have undergone gentrification in the late 20th century, and many parts are now highly valued residential suburbs.[181] As of 2021, an Inner West suburb (Strathfield) remained one of the 20 most expensive postcodes in Australia by median house price (the others were all in metropolitan Sydney, all in Northern Sydney or the Eastern Suburbs).[182] TheUniversity of Sydney is located in this area, as well as theUniversity of Technology, Sydney and a campus of theAustralian Catholic University. The Anzac Bridge spans Johnstons Bay and connectsRozelle toPyrmont and the city, forming part of theWestern Distributor.
The Inner West is today well known as the location of village commercial centres with cosmopolitan flavours, such as the "Little Italy" commercial centres of Leichhardt, Five Dock and Haberfield,[183] "Little Portugal" in Petersham,[184] "Little Korea" in Strathfield[185] or "Little Shanghai" in Ashfield.[186] Large-scale shopping centres in the area includeWestfield Burwood,DFO Homebush andBirkenhead Point Outlet Centre. There is a large cosmopolitan community and nightlife hub onKing Street, Newtown.
Residences inBellevue Hill. Sydney's eastern suburbs are made up of some of the most expensive real estate in the country[190]
The Eastern Suburbs encompass theMunicipality of Woollahra, theCity of Randwick, theWaverley Municipal Council, and parts of theBayside Council. They include some of the most affluent and advantaged areas in the country, with some streets being amongst the most expensive in the world. As at 2014,Wolseley Road,Point Piper, had a top price of $20,900 per square metre, making it the ninth-most expensive street in the world.[191] More than 75% of neighbourhoods in theElectoral District of Wentworth fall under the top decile of SEIFA advantage, making it the least disadvantaged area in the country.[192] As of 2021, of the 20 most expensive postcodes in Australia by median house price, nine were in the Eastern Suburbs.[182]
Construction of theCBD and South East Light Rail was completed in April 2020.[196] The project aims to provide reliable and high-capacity tram services to residents in the City and South-East.
The suburb ofCronulla insouthern Sydney is close to Royal National Park, Australia's oldest national park. Hurstville, a large suburb with commercial and high-rise residential buildings dominating the skyline, has become a CBD for the southern suburbs.[197]
The North Shore includes the commercial centres ofNorth Sydney and Chatswood. North Sydney itself consists of a large commercial centre, which contains the second largest concentration of high-rise buildings in Sydney after the CBD. North Sydney is dominated by advertising, marketing and associated trades, with many large corporations holding offices.
The Northern Beaches area includesManly, one of Sydney's most popular holiday destinations. The region also featuresSydney Heads, a series ofheadlands which form the entrance to Sydney Harbour. The Northern Beaches area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west toMiddle Harbour and north to the entrance ofBroken Bay.[198] The 2021 Australian census found the Northern Beaches to have, in comparison with the rest of Sydney, a large British diaspora and high concentration of people with European ancestry.[199]
As of the end of 2021, half of the 20 most expensive postcodes in Australia (by median house price) were in Northern Sydney, including four on the Northern Beaches, two on the Lower North Shore, three on the Upper North Shore, and one straddlingHunters Hill andWoolwich.[182]
TheHills district generally refers to the suburbs in north-western Sydney including the local government areas ofThe Hills Shire, parts of theCity of Parramatta Council andHornsby Shire. Actual suburbs and localities that are considered to be in the Hills District can be somewhat amorphous. For example, the Hills District Historical Society restricts its definition to the Hills Shire local government area, yet its study area extends from Parramatta to the Hawkesbury. The region is so named for its characteristically comparatively hilly topography as the Cumberland Plain lifts up, joining the Hornsby Plateau.Windsor andOld Windsor Roads are the second and third roads, respectively, laid in Australia.[200]
On 26 May 2019, TheSydney Metro Northwest, which went from Chatswood to Tallawong, opened, with a large portion running through the Hills District, which meant the Hills District, for the first time, started having heavy rail.[201]Before this, The Hills was served byBus Rapid Transit.
The greater western suburbs encompasses the areas of Parramatta, the sixth largest business district in Australia, settled the same year as the harbour-side colony,[202]Bankstown, Liverpool,Penrith, andFairfield. Covering 5,800 km2 (2,200 sq mi) and having an estimated population as at 2017 of 2,288,554, western Sydney has the mostmulticultural suburbs in the country –Cabramatta has earned the nickname "Little Saigon" due to itsVietnamese population, Fairfield has been named "LittleAssyria" for its predominantAssyrian population andHarris Park is known as "Little India" with its plurality ofIndian andHindu population.[203][204][205][206] The population is predominantly of a working class background, with major employment in theheavy industries andvocational trade.[207] Toongabbie is noted for being the third mainland settlement (after Sydney and Parramatta) set up after British colonisation began in 1788, although the site of the settlement is actually in the separate suburb ofOld Toongabbie.[208]
Further to the southwest is the region of Macarthur and the city ofCampbelltown, a significant population centre until the 1990s considered a region separate to Sydney proper.Macarthur Square, a shopping complex in Campbelltown, has become one of the largest shopping complexes in Sydney.[218] The southwest also featuresBankstown Reservoir, the oldest elevated reservoir constructed inreinforced concrete that is still in use and is listed on the State Heritage Register.[219] The southwest is home to one of Sydney's oldest trees, theBland Oak, which was planted in the 1840s byWilliam Bland inCarramar.[220]
The earliest structures in the colony were built to the bare minimum of standards. Governor Macquarie set ambitious targets for the design of new construction projects. The city now has a world heritage listed building, several national heritage listed buildings, and dozens of Commonwealth heritage listed buildings as evidence of the survival of Macquarie's ideals.[222][223][224]
York Street is an example of a city street in Sydney with an array of intact Victorian heritage architecture.
As the wealth of the settlement increased and Sydney developed into a metropolis after Federation in 1901, its buildings became taller. Sydney's first tower was Culwulla Chambers which topped out at 50 m (160 ft) making 12 floors. The Commercial Traveller's Club, built in 1908, was of similar height at 10 floors. It was built in a brick stone veneer and demolished in 1972.[241] This heralded a change in Sydney's cityscape and with the lifting of height restrictions in the 1960s there came a surge of high-rise construction.[242]
The Great Depression had a tangible influence on Sydney's architecture. New structures became more restrained with far less ornamentation. The most notable architectural feat of this period is the Harbour Bridge. Its steel arch was designed byJohn Bradfield and completed in 1932. A total of 39,000 tonnes of structural steel span the 503 m (1,650 ft) between Milsons Point andDawes Point.[243][244]
Modern andInternational architecture came to Sydney from the 1940s. Since its completion in 1973 the city's Opera House has become a World Heritage Site and one of the world's most renowned pieces of Modern design.Jørn Utzon was awarded thePritzker Prize in 2003 for his work on the Opera House.[245] Sydney is home to Australia's first building by renowned Canadian-American architectFrank Gehry, theDr Chau Chak Wing Building (2015). An entrance fromThe Goods Line–a pedestrian pathway and former railway line–is located on the eastern border of the site.
Sydney surpasses both New York City and Paris real estate prices, having some of the most expensive in the world.[257][258] The city remains Australia's most expensive housing market, with the median house price at $1,595,310 as of December 2023.[259]
There were 1.83 million dwellings in Sydney in 2021 including 900,000 (54%) detached houses, 218,000 (13%) semi-detached terrace houses and 550,000 (33%) units and apartments.[260] Whilst terrace houses are common in the inner city areas, detached houses dominate the landscape in the outer suburbs. Due to environmental and economic pressures, there has been a noted trend towards denser housing, with a 30% increase in the number of apartments between 1996 and 2006.[261] Public housing in Sydney is managed by theGovernment of New South Wales.[262] Suburbs with large concentrations of public housing includeClaymore,Macquarie Fields,Waterloo, andMount Druitt.
A range of heritage housing styles can be found throughout Sydney. Terrace houses are found in the inner suburbs such asPaddington,The Rocks,Potts Point andBalmain, many of which have been the subject ofgentrification.[263][264] These terraces, particularly those in suburbs such as The Rocks, were historically home to Sydney's miners and labourers. In the present day, terrace houses now make up some of the most valuable real estate in the city.[265] Surviving large mansions from the Victorian era are mostly found in the oldest suburbs, such asDouble Bay,Darling Point,Rose Bay andStrathfield.[266]
TheRoyal Botanic Garden is the most iconic green space in the region, hosting both scientific and leisure activities.[268] There are 15 separate parks under the City administration.[269] Parks within the city centre includeHyde Park,The Domain and Prince Alfred Park.
TheCentennial Parklands is the largest park in the City of Sydney, comprising 189 ha (470 acres).[270]
TheCentennial Parklands is the largest park in the City of Sydney, comprising 189 ha (470 acres).
Hyde Park is the oldest parkland in the country.[273] The largest park in the Sydney metropolitan area is Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, established in 1894 with an area of 15,400 ha (59 sq mi).[274] It is regarded for its well-preserved records of indigenous habitation – more than 800 rock engravings, cave drawings and middens.[275]
The area now known as The Domain was set aside by Governor Arthur Phillip in 1788 as his private reserve.[276] Under the orders of Macquarie the land to the immediate north of The Domain became the Royal Botanic Garden in 1816. This makes them the oldest botanic garden in Australia.[276] The Gardens host scientific research with herbarium collections, a library and laboratories.[277] The two parks have a total area of 64 ha (0.2 sq mi) with 8,900 individual plant species and receive over 3.5 million annual visits.[278]
To the south of The Domain is Hyde Park, the oldest public parkland in Australia which measures 16.2 ha (0.1 sq mi).[279] Its location was used for both relaxation andgrazing of animals from the earliest days of the colony.[280] Macquarie dedicated it in 1810 for the "recreation and amusement of the inhabitants of the town" and named it in honour ofHyde Park in London.
Thecentral business district. Sydney is the financial and economic centre of Australia, having the largest economy and contributing a quarter of Australia's totalGDP.[281]
Researchers fromLoughborough University have ranked Sydney amongst the top ten world cities that are highly integrated into the global economy.[282] The Global Economic Power Index ranks Sydney eleventh in the world.[283] The Global Cities Index recognises it as fourteenth in the world based on global engagement.[284] There is a significant concentration of foreign banks and multinational corporations in Sydney and the city is promoted as Australia's financial capital and one of theAsia–Pacific's leading financial hubs.[285][286]
The prevailing economic theory during early colonial days wasmercantilism, as it was throughout most of Western Europe.[287] The economy struggled at first due to difficulties in cultivating the land and the lack of a stable monetary system. Governor Macquarie createdtwo coins from everySpanish silver dollar in circulation.[287] The economy wascapitalist in nature by the 1840s as the proportion of free settlers increased, the maritime and wool industries flourished, and the powers of theEast India Company were curtailed.[287]
Wheat, gold, and other minerals became export industries towards the end of the 1800s.[287] Significant capital began to flow into the city from the 1870s to finance roads, railways, bridges, docks, courthouses, schools and hospitals.Protectionist policies afterfederation allowed for the creation of a manufacturing industry which became the city's largest employer by the 1920s.[287] These same policies helped to relieve the effects of the Great Depression during which the unemployment rate in New South Wales reached as high as 32%.[287] From the 1960s onwards Parramatta gained recognition as the city's second CBD and finance and tourism became major industries and sources of employment.[287]
Sydney's nominal gross domestic product was AU$400.9 billion and AU$80,000 per capita[288] in 2015.[289][286] Its gross domestic product was AU$337 billion in 2013, the largest in Australia.[289] The financial and insurance services industry accounts for 18.1% of gross product, ahead of professional services with 9% and manufacturing with 7.2%. The creative and technology sectors are also focus industries for the City of Sydney and represented 9% and 11% of its economic output in 2012.[290][291]
There were 451,000 businesses based in Sydney in 2011, including 48% of the top 500 companies in Australia and two-thirds of the regional headquarters of multinational corporations.[292] Global companies are attracted to the city in part because its time zone spans the closing of business in North America and the opening of business in Europe. Most foreign companies in Sydney maintain significant sales and service functions but comparably less production, research, and development capabilities.[293] There are 283 multinational companies with regional offices in Sydney.[294]
Sydney has been ranked between the fifteenth and the fifth most expensive city in the world and is the most expensive city in Australia.[296] Of the 15 categories only measured by UBS in 2012, workers receive the seventh highest wage levels of 77 cities in the world.[296] Working residents of Sydney work an average of 1,846 hours per annum with 15 days of leave.[296]
The labour force of Greater Sydney Region in 2016 was 2,272,722 with a participation rate of 61.6%.[297] It comprised 61.2% full-time workers, 30.9% part-time workers, and 6.0% unemployed individuals.[260][298] The largest reported occupations are professionals, clerical and administrative workers, managers, technicians and trades workers, and community and personal service workers.[260] The largest industries by employment across Greater Sydney are Health Care and Social Assistance (11.6%), Professional Services (9.8%), Retail Trade (9.3%), Construction (8.2%), Education and Training (8.0%), Accommodation and Food Services (6.7%), and Financial and Insurance Services (6.6%).[2] The Professional Services and Financial and Insurance Services industries account for 25.4% of employment within the City of Sydney.[299]
In 2016, 57.6% of working-age residents had a weekly income of less than $1,000 and 14.4% had a weekly income of $1,750 or more.[300] The median weekly income for the same period was $719 for individuals, $1,988 for families, and $1,750 for households.[301]
Unemployment in the City of Sydney averaged 4.6% for the decade to 2013, much lower than the current rate of unemployment in Western Sydney of 7.3%.[286][302] Western Sydney continues to struggle to create jobs to meet its population growth despite the development of commercial centres like Parramatta. Each day about 200,000 commuters travel from Western Sydney to the CBD and suburbs in the east and north of the city.[302]
Home ownership in Sydney was less common than renting prior to the Second World War but this trend has since reversed.[261] Median house prices have increased by an average of 8.6% per annum since 1970.[303][304] The median house price in March 2014 was $630,000.[305] The primary cause of rising prices is the increasing cost of land and scarcity.[306] 31.6% of dwellings in Sydney are rented, 30.4% are owned outright and 34.8% are owned with a mortgage.[260] 11.8% of mortgagees in 2011 had monthly loan repayments of less than $1,000 and 82.9% had monthly repayments of $1,000 or more.[2] 44.9% of renters for the same period had weekly rent of less than $350 whilst 51.7% had weekly rent of $350 or more. The median weekly rent in Sydney in 2011 was $450.[2]
Macquarie gave a charter in 1817 to form the first bank in Australia, theBank of New South Wales.[307] New private banks opened throughout the 1800s but the financial system was unstable. Bank collapses were frequent and a crisis point was reached in 1893 when 12 banks failed.[307]
The Bank of New South Wales exists to this day asWestpac.[308] TheCommonwealth Bank of Australia was formed in Sydney in 1911 and began to issue notes backed by the resources of the nation. It was replaced in this role in 1959 by theReserve Bank of Australia, also based in Sydney.[307] TheAustralian Securities Exchange began operating in 1987 and with a market capitalisation of $1.6 trillion is now one of the ten largest exchanges in the world.[309]
The Financial and Insurance Services industry now constitutes 43% of the economic product of the City of Sydney.[285] Sydney makes up half of Australia's finance sector and has been promoted by consecutive Commonwealth Governments as theAsia–Pacific's leading financial centre.[20][21][310] In the 2017Global Financial Centres Index, Sydney was ranked as having the eighth most competitive financial centre in the world.[311]
Sydney has been a manufacturing city since the 1920s. By 1961 the industry accounted for 39% of all employment and by 1970 over 30% of all Australian manufacturing jobs were in Sydney.[314] Its status has declined in recent decades, making up 12.6% of employment in 2001 and 8.5% in 2011.[2][314] Between 1970 and 1985 there was a loss of 180,000 manufacturing jobs.[314] Despite this, Sydney still overtook Melbourne as the largest manufacturing centre in Australia in the 2010s,[315] with a manufacturing output of $21.7 billion in 2013.[316] Observers have credited Sydney's focus on the domestic market and high-tech manufacturing for its resilience against the high Australian dollar of the early 2010s.[316] TheSmithfield-Wetherill Park Industrial Estate inWestern Sydney is the largestindustrial estate in the Southern Hemisphere and is the centre of manufacturing and distribution in the region.[317]
Darling Harbour is a major entertainment and tourism precinct.
Sydney is a gateway to Australia for many international visitors and ranks among the top sixty most visited cities in the world.[318] It has hosted over 2.8 million international visitors in 2013, or nearly half of all international visits to Australia. These visitors spent 59 million nights in the city and a total of $5.9 billion.[24] The countries of origin in descending order were China, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong, and India.[319]
The city also received 8.3 million domestic overnight visitors in 2013 who spent a total of $6 billion.[319] 26,700 workers in the City of Sydney were directly employed by tourism in 2011.[320] There were 480,000 visitors and 27,500 people staying overnight each day in 2012.[320] On average, the tourism industry contributes $36 million to the city's economy per day.[320]
Sydney is the highest-ranking city in the world for international students. More than 50,000 international students study at the city's universities and a further 50,000 study at itsvocational and English language schools.[284][325] International education contributes $1.6 billion to the local economy and creates demand for 4,000 local jobs each year.[326]
In 2023, Sydney was ranked the least affordable city to buy a house in Australia and the second least affordable city in the world, after Hong Kong,[327] with the average Sydney house price in late 2023 costing A$1.59 million, and the average unit price costing A$795,000.[328] As of early 2024, Sydney is often described in the media as having a housing shortage, or suffering a housing crisis.[329][330]
The population of Sydney in 1788 was less than 1,000.[332] With convict transportation it almost tripled in ten years to 2,953.[333] For each decade since 1961 the population has increased by more than 250,000.[334] The 2021 census recorded the population of Greater Sydney as 5,231,150.[1] The Australian Treasury expects the population will grow to 6.5 million in 2033–34.[335] The four most densely populated suburbs in Australia are located in Sydney with each having more than 13,000 residents per square kilometre (33,700 residents per square mile).[336] Between 1971 and 2018, Sydney experienced a net loss of 716,832 people to the rest of Australia, but its population grew due to overseas arrivals and a healthy birth rate.[337]
The median age of Sydney residents is 37 and 14.8% of people are 65 or older.[260] 48.6% of Sydney's population is married whilst 36.7% have never been married.[260] 49.0% of families are couples with children, 34.4% are couples without children, and 14.8% are single-parent families.[260]
At the 2021 census, 40.5% of Sydney's population was born overseas. Foreign countries of birth with the greatest representation are mainland China, India, England, Vietnam, Philippines and New Zealand.[11]
42% of households in Sydney use a language other than English, with the most common being Mandarin (5%), Arabic (4.2%), Cantonese (2.8%), Vietnamese (2.2%) andHindi (1.5%).[340]
In 2021, Christianity was the largest religious affiliation at 46%, the largest denominations of which wereCatholicism at 23.1% andAnglicanism at 9.2%. 30.3% of Sydney residents identified as having no religion. The most common non-Christian religious affiliations wereIslam (6.3%),Hinduism (4.8%),Buddhism (3.8%),Sikhism (0.7%), and Judaism (0.7%). About 500 people identified with traditional Aboriginal religions.[11]
TheChurch of England was the only recognised church before Governor Macquarie appointed official Catholic chaplains in 1820.[341] Macquarie also ordered the construction of churches such as St Matthew's, St Luke's, St James's, and St Andrew's. Religious groups, alongside secular institutions, have played a significant role in education, health and charitable services throughout Sydney's history.[342]
Crime in Sydney is low, withThe Independent ranking Sydney as the fifth safest city in the world in 2019.[343] However, drug use is a significant problem. Methamphetamine is heavily consumed compared to other countries, while heroin is less common.[344] One of the biggest crime-related issues in recent times was the introduction oflockout laws in February 2014,[345] in an attempt to curb alcohol-fuelled violence. Patrons could not enter clubs or bars in the inner-city after 1:30am, and last drinks were called at 3am. The lockout laws were removed in January 2020.[346]
Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is rich inIndigenous Australian heritage, containing around 1,500 pieces ofAboriginal rock art – the largest cluster of Indigenous sites in Australia. The park's indigenous sites includepetroglyphs, art sites,burial sites, caves, marriage areas, birthing areas,midden sites, and tool manufacturing locations, which are dated to be around 5,000 years old. The inhabitants of the area were theGarigal people.[347][348] Otherrock art sites exist in the Sydney region, such as inTerrey Hills andBondi, although the locations of most are not publicised to prevent damage by vandalism, and to retain their quality, as they are still regarded as sacred sites by Indigenous Australians.[349]
Sydney's first commercial theatre opened in 1832 and nine more had commenced performances by the late 1920s. The live medium lost much of its popularity to the cinema during the Great Depression before experiencing a revival after World War II.[360] Prominent theatres in the city today includeState Theatre,Theatre Royal,Sydney Theatre,The Wharf Theatre, andCapitol Theatre.Sydney Theatre Company maintains a roster of local, classical, and international plays. It occasionally features Australian theatre icons such asDavid Williamson,Hugo Weaving, andGeoffrey Rush. The city's other prominent theatre companies areNew Theatre,Belvoir, andGriffin Theatre Company. Sydney is also home toEvent Cinemas' first theatre, which opened onGeorge St in 1913, under its former Greater Union brand; the theatre currently operates, and is regarded as one of Australia's busiest cinema locations.
Many writers have originated in and set their work in Sydney. Others have visited the city and commented on it. Some of them are commemorated in theSydney Writers Walk at Circular Quay. The city was the headquarters for Australia's first published newspaper, theSydney Gazette.[362] Watkin Tench'sA Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay (1789) andA Complete Account of the Settlement at Port Jackson in New South Wales (1793) have remained the best-known accounts of life in early Sydney.[363] Since the infancy of the establishment, much of the literature set in Sydney were concerned with life in the city's slums and working-class communities, notablyWilliam Lane'sThe Working Man's Paradise (1892),Christina Stead'sSeven Poor Men of Sydney (1934) andRuth Park'sThe Harp in the South (1948).[364] The first Australian-born female novelist,Louisa Atkinson, set several novels in Sydney.[365] Contemporary writers, such asElizabeth Harrower, were born in the city and set most of their work there–Harrower's debut novelDown in the City (1957) was mostly set in aKing's Cross apartment.[366][367][368] Well known contemporary novels set in the city includeMelina Marchetta'sLooking for Alibrandi (1992),Peter Carey's30 Days in Sydney: A Wildly Distorted Account (1999),J. M. Coetzee'sDiary of a Bad Year (2007) andKate Grenville'sThe Secret River (2010). TheSydney Writers' Festival is held annually between April and May.[369]
Sydney'sChinatown has had numerous locations since the 1850s. It moved fromGeorge Street to Campbell Street to its current setting in Dixon Street in 1980.[376] Little Italy is located in Stanley Street.[287]
Australia's national broadcaster, theABC, is headquartered inUltimo.
TheSydney Morning Herald is Australia's oldest newspaper still in print; it has been published continuously since 1831.[380] Its competitor isThe Daily Telegraph, in print since 1879.[381] Both papers have Sunday tabloid editions calledThe Sun-Herald andThe Sunday Telegraph respectively.The Bulletin was founded in Sydney in 1880 and became Australia's longest running magazine. It closed after 128 years of continuous publication.[382] Sydney heralded Australia's first newspaper, theSydney Gazette, published until 1842.
Sydney's earliest migrants brought with them a passion for sport but were restricted by the lack of facilities and equipment. The first organised sports wereboxing,wrestling, and horse racing from 1810 inHyde Park.[392] Horse racing remains popular and events such as theGolden Slipper Stakes attract widespread attention. The first cricket club was formed in 1826 and matches were played within Hyde Park throughout the 1830s and 1840s.[392] Cricket is a favoured sport in summer and big matches have been held at theSydney Cricket Ground since 1878. TheNew South Wales Blues compete in theSheffield Shield league and theSydney Sixers andSydney Thunder contest the nationalBig Bash Twenty20 competition.
Women were first allowed to participate in recreational swimming when separate baths were opened atWoolloomooloo Bay in the 1830s. From being illegal at the beginning of the century, sea bathing gained immense popularity during the early 1900s and the firstsurf lifesaving club was established atBondi Beach.[392][393]Disputes about appropriate clothing for surf bathing surfaced occasionally and concerned men as well as women. TheCity2Surf is an annual 14 km (8.7 mi) running race from the CBD to Bondi Beach and has been held since 1971. In 2010, 80,000 runners participated which made it the largest run of its kind in the world.[394]
Sailing races have been held onSydney Harbour since 1827.[395] Yachting has been popular amongst wealthier residents since the 1840s and theRoyal Sydney Yacht Squadron was founded in 1862. TheSydney to Hobart Yacht Race is a 1,170 km (727 mi) event that starts from Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day.[396] Since its inception in 1945 it has been recognised as one of the most difficult yacht races in the world.[397] Six sailors died and 71 vessels of 115 failed to finish in the 1998 edition.[398]
Sydney benefitted from the construction of significant sporting infrastructure in preparation for its hosting of the 2000 Summer Olympics. The Sydney Olympic Park accommodates athletics, aquatics, tennis, hockey, archery, baseball, cycling, equestrian, and rowing facilities. It also includes the high capacityStadium Australia used for rugby, soccer, and Australian rules football. TheSydney Football Stadium was completed in 1988 and was used for rugby and soccer matches. Sydney Cricket Ground was opened in 1878 and is used for both cricket and Australian rules football fixtures.[392]
Sydney was one of the host cities during the2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. Sydney Football Stadium and Stadium Australia were selected as venues, with the later hosting thefinal.[400]
The first five governors had near autocratic power in the colony of New South Wales, subject only to the laws of England and the supervision of the Colonial Office in London. Sydney was the seat of government for the colony which encompassed over half the Australian continent.[401] The first Legislative Council met in 1826,[402] and in 1842, the imperial parliament expanded and reformed the council, making it partly elected.[403] In the same year, the town of Sydney officially became a city and an elected municipal council was established.[404][405] The council had limited powers, mostly relating to services such as street lighting and drainage.[406] Its boundaries were restricted to an area of 11.6 square kilometres, taking in the city centre and the modern suburbs ofWoolloomooloo,Surry Hills,Chippendale, andPyrmont.[63] As Sydney grew, other municipal councils were formed to provide local administration.[407]
In 1856, New South Wales achieved responsible government with the introduction of a bicameral parliament, based in Sydney, comprising a directly electedLegislative Assembly and a nominatedLegislative Council.[408] With the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901, Sydney became the capital of the state of New South Wales and its administration was divided between the Commonwealth, State and constituent local governments.[408]
In common with other Australian capital cities, Sydney has no single local government covering its whole area.Local government areas have responsibilities such as local roads, libraries, child care, community services and waste collection, whereas the state government retains responsibility for main roads, traffic control, public transport, policing, education, and major infrastructure project.[409] There are 33 local government areas which are wholly or mostly within Greater Sydney as defined by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard.[96][410]
In the past, the state has tended to resist amalgamating Sydney's more populated local government areas as merged councils could pose a threat to its governmental power.[417] Established in 1842, the City of Sydney is one such local government area and includes the CBD and some adjoining inner suburbs.[418] It is responsible for fostering development in the local area, providing local services (waste collection and recycling, libraries, parks, sporting facilities), promoting the interests of residents, supporting organisations that target the local community, and attracting and providing infrastructure for commerce, tourism, and industry.[419] The City of Sydney is led by an elected Council andLord Mayor.[420]
Education became a focus for the colony from the 1870s when public schools began to form and schooling became compulsory.[422] By 2011, 90% of working age residents had completed some schooling and 57% had completed the highest level of school.[2] 1,390,703 people were enrolled in an educational institution in 2011 with 45.1% of these attending school and 16.5% studying at a university.[260] Undergraduate or postgraduate qualifications are held by 22.5% of working age Sydney residents and 40.2% of working age residents of the City of Sydney.[2][423] The most common fields of tertiary qualification are commerce (22.8%), engineering (13.4%), society and culture (10.8%), health (7.8%), and education (6.6%).[2]
The first hospital in the new colony was a collection of tents atThe Rocks. Many of the convicts that survived the trip suffered fromdysentery, smallpox,scurvy, andtyphoid. Healthcare facilities remained inadequate despite the arrival of a prefabricated hospital with theSecond Fleet and the construction of new hospitals at Parramatta,Windsor, andLiverpool in the 1790s.[429]
Governor Macquarie arranged for the construction ofSydney Hospital, completed in 1816.[429] Parts of the facility have been repurposed for use asParliament House but the hospital itself still operates. The city's first emergency department was established at Sydney Hospital in 1870. Demand for emergency medical care increased from 1895 with the introduction of an ambulance service.[429] The Sydney Hospital also housed Australia's first teaching facility for nurses, the Nightingale Wing, established with the input ofFlorence Nightingale in 1868.[430]
The motor vehicle, more than any other factor, has determined the pattern of Sydney's urban development sinceWorld War II.[440] The growth of low-density housing in the city's outer suburbs has made car ownership necessary for hundreds of thousands of households. The percentage of trips taken by car has increased from 13% in 1947 to 50% in 1960 and 70% in 1971.[440] The most important roads in Sydney were the nineMetroads, including the 110 km (68 mi)Sydney Orbital Network. Sydney's reliance on motor vehicles and its sprawling road network has been criticised by proponents of mass public transport and high-density housing.[441][442][443] TheLight Horse Interchange in western Sydney is the largest in the southern hemisphere.[444]
There can be up to 350,000 cars using Sydney's roads simultaneously during peak hour, leading to significant traffic congestion.[440] 84.9% of Sydney households own a motor vehicle and 46.5% own two or more.[260] With a rate of 26.3% in 2014, Sydney has the highest utilisation of public transport for travel to work of any Australian capital.[445] In contrast, in 2014 only 25.2% of working residents in the City of Sydney use a car, whilst 15.8% take a train, 13.3% use a bus, and 25.3% walk.[446] Several significant infrastructure projects have been completed since. The CBD features aseries of alleyways and lanes that provideoff-street vehicular access to city buildings and as well as pedestrian routes through city buildings.[447]
Central station is the busiest railway station in Australia, and the city's main public transport hub.
Sydney has the largest public transport network in Australia, with 67% of residents having access to adequate public transport services.[448] Sydney's rail network began with the construction of a rail line to present-day Granville in 1855. Afterwards, the network grew with European settlement in the 19th century.[449] The first electric trains were introduced in 1926, by which point electric trams were also running. By 1991, all lines within Sydney were electrified.[450] The rail network, as well as all public transport within Sydney, is ticketed throughOpal cards, reusable and contactless cards that are used to automatically calculate and collect transport fares.
Established in 1906,Central station is the largest and busiest railway station in the state and is the main hub of the city'srail network.[451]Sydney Trains is thesuburban rail service. Its tracks form part of the New South Wales railway network. It serves 168 stations across the city and had an annual ridership of 302 million passenger journeys in 2023–24.[452] Sydney's railway was first constructed in 1854 with progressive extension to the network to serve both freight and passengers. The main station is theCentral railway station in the southern part of the CBD. In the 1850s and 1860s, the railway reached areas that are now outer suburbs of Sydney.[440]
TheSydney Metro is adriverlessrapid transit network separate from the suburban rail network, with connections at major interchange stations. Currently, the network consists of a single line extending fromTallawong in the north-west to the city andSydenham. This line, designated as the M1, will be extended to Bankstown in 2025 with suburbs previously on theBankstown railway line currently closed for conversion to the metro. A new line through the inner west to Parramatta is planned to be built by 2030.[453][454] It currently serves 21 stations. A line to serve the greater west is planned for 2026 and will include a station for thesecond international airport. Sydney metro operates with much higher frequency than the suburban rail network, with service intervals of 3-4 minutes compared to Sydney Trains' 10-15 minutes. The scheme is intended to increase Sydney's public transport capacity by 60%.[455][456]
Sydney once had one of thelargest tram networks in the British Empire after London.[457] It served routes covering 291 km (181 mi). The internal combustion engine made buses more flexible than trams and consequently more popular, leading to the progressive closure of the network with the final tram operating in 1961.[440] From 1930 there were 612 buses across Sydney carrying 90 million passengers per annum.[458]
Bus services are conducted by private operators under contract toTransport for NSW. Integrated tickets calledOpal cards operate on bus routes. In total, nearly 225 million boardings were recorded across the bus network.[463]NightRide is a nightly bus service that operate between midnight and 5am.
Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport is located inMascot. It services 46 international and 23 domestic destinations.[26] As the busiest airport in Australia, it handled 37.9 million passengers in 2013 and 530,000 tonnes of freight in 2011.[26]A second airport,Western Sydney International Airport, is under construction atBadgerys Creek and will open in late 2026,[465] at a cost of $2.5 billion.[466] Notably, it will not feature acurfew, unlike Sydney Kingsford-Smith Airport, which imposes a suspension of all aircraft operations between 11pm and 6am.Bankstown Airport is Sydney's second busiest airport, and serves general aviation, charter and some scheduled cargo flights. Bankstown is also the fourth busiest airport in Australia by number of aircraft movements.[467] Other airports includeCamden Airport,The Oaks Airfield, and Menangle Airfield, which are mostly used forgeneral aviation, flight training[468] and by private operators. Seaplane terminals are located atRose Bay andPalm Beach, and military airports atHolsworthy andRichmond.Port Botany has surpassed Port Jackson as the city's major shipping port. Cruise ship terminals are located atSydney Cove andWhite Bay.
Obtaining sufficient fresh water was difficult during early colonial times. A catchment called theTank Stream sourced water from what is now the CBD but was little more than an open sewer by the end of the 1700s.[469] The Botany Swamps Scheme was one of several ventures during the mid-1800s that saw the construction of wells, tunnels, steam pumping stations, and small dams to service Sydney's growing population.[469]
TheUpper Nepean Scheme came into operation in 1886. It transports water 100 km (62 mi) from theNepean,Cataract, andCordeaux rivers and continues to service about 15% of Sydney's water needs.[469] Dams were built on these three rivers between 1907 and 1935.[469] In 1977 theShoalhaven Scheme brought several more dams into service.[470]
Asclimate change,greenhouse gas emissions and pollution have become a major issue for Australia, Sydney has in the past been criticised for its lack of focus on reducing pollution and emissions and maintainingwater quality.[478] The release of the Metropolitan Air Quality Scheme (MAQS) led to a broader understanding of the causation of pollution in Sydney, allowing the government to form appropriate responses.[479]
The City of Sydney became the first council in Australia to achieve formal certification ascarbon-neutral in 2008.[490][491] The city has reduced its 2007 carbon emissions by 6% and since 2006 has reduced carbon emissions from city buildings by up to 20%.[492][493] TheSustainable Sydney 2030 program presented a guide to reducing energy in homes and offices by 30%.[492][494] Reductions in energy consumption have slashed energy bills by $30 million a year.[495]Solar panels have been established on many CBD buildings to minimise carbon pollution by around 3,000 tonnes a year.[496]
The city also has an "urban forest growth strategy", in which it aims to regularly increase thetree coverage in the city by frequently planting trees with strong leaf density and vegetation to provide cleaner air and create moisture during hot weather, thus lowering city temperatures.[497] Sydney has also become a leader in the development ofgreen office buildings and enforcing the requirement of all building proposals to be energy-efficient. TheOne Central Park development, completed in 2013, is an example of this implementation.[498][499][500][501]
Australian cities are some of the mostcar-dependent cities in the world,[502] especially by world city standards, although Sydney's is the lowest of Australia's major cities at 66%.[503] Sydney also has thehighest usage of public transport in an Australian city, at 27%–comparable with New York City, Shanghai and Berlin. Despite its high ranking for an Australian city, Sydney has a low level of public transport services, with a historically low-density layout and significanturban sprawl, thus increasing the likelihood of car dependency.[504][505]
Strategies have been implemented to reduce privatevehicle pollution by encouraging public transport,[506] initiating the development of high density housing and introducing a fleet of 10 newelectric cars, the largest order of the pollution-free vehicle in Australia.[507] Electric cars do not produce carbon monoxide andnitrous oxide, which contribute to climate change.[508][509]Cycling trips increased by 113% across Sydney's inner-city from 2010 to 2015, at which point about 2,000 bikes were passing through top peak-hour intersections on an average weekday.[492] Transport developments in thenorth-west and east of the city have been designed to encourage use of the expanding public transportation system.
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^Indigenous identification is separate to the ancestry question on the Australian Census and persons identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander may identify any ancestry.
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