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Sydney CBD | |||||||||||||
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 Sydney CBD from the air, 2014 | |||||||||||||
  Sydney CBD Location in metropolitanSydney | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates:33°52′8″S151°12′30″E / 33.86889°S 151.20833°E /-33.86889; 151.20833 | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | New South Wales | ||||||||||||
| City | Sydney | ||||||||||||
| LGA | |||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 2.94 km2 (1.14 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Elevation | 58 m (190 ft) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 16,667 (SAL2021)[2] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 5,669/km2 (14,680/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Postcode | 2000 | ||||||||||||
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TheSydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and maincommercial centre ofSydney. The CBD is Sydney'scity centre, orSydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or city centre is often referred to simply as "Town" or "the City".
The Sydney CBD is Australia's main financial and economic centre,[3] as well as a leading hub of economic activity for the Asia Pacific region.[4] 40.7% of businesses in the CBD fall within the ‘Finance andFinancial Services’ or ‘Professional and Business services’ category.[5] It is ranked overall #16[6] in the 2024 Oxford'sGlobal Cities Index and amongst the top 10 cities in the Human Capital category.[7] Approximately 15% of Sydney's total workforce is employed within the CBD.[8] In 2012, the number of workers operating in the city was 226,972.[9] Based on industry mix and relative occupational wage levels it is estimated that economic activity (GDP) generated in the city in 2023/24 was approximately $142 billion.[10]
Culturally, the city centre is Sydney's focal point fornightlife and entertainment, and is also home to some of the city's most culturally significantbuildings and structures.[11]
Sydney's history begins inprehistoric times with the occupation of the district byAustralian Aboriginals, whose ancestors came to Sydney in theUpper Paleolithic period.[12]Radiocarbon dating suggests that they lived in and around Sydney for at least 30,000 years.[13] Sydney Cove fromPort Jackson toPetersham was inhabited by theCadigal clan. The principal language groups wereDarug,Guringai, andDharawal.[14] The modern history of the city began with the arrival of aFirst Fleet of British ships in 1788 and the foundation of a penal colony by Great Britain. The area surroundingPort Jackson (Sydney Harbour) was home to severalAboriginal tribes. The "Eora people" are the coastal Aboriginal people of the Sydney district. The nameEora simply means "here" or "from this place", and was used by Local Aboriginal people to describe to the British where they came from.[15]
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After arriving toBotany Bay, CaptainArthur Phillip decided that the area was not suitable since it had poor soil, no secure anchorage and no reliable water source.[16] Thus, the fleet moved to the more suitablePort Jackson where a settlement was established atSydney Cove on 26 January 1788.[17] This date later became Australia's national day,Australia Day. The colony was formally proclaimed by Governor Phillip on 7 February 1788 at Sydney. Sydney Cove offered a fresh water supply and Port Jackson a safe harbour, which Phillip described as: "being without exception the finest Harbour in the World".[18] With the expansion of European settlement large amounts of land was cleared for farming, which resulted in the destruction of Aboriginal food sources. This, combined with the introduction of new diseases such assmallpox, caused resentment within the Aboriginal clans against the British and resulted in violent confrontations.[19]
The oldest legislative body in Australia, theNew South Wales Legislative Council, was created in Sydney in 1825 as an appointed body to advise theGovernor of New South Wales. The northern wing ofMacquarie Street's'sRum Hospital was requisitioned and converted to accommodate the first Parliament House in 1829, as it was the largest building available in Sydney at the time.[20] In 1840 theSydney City Council was established. Australia's first parliamentary elections were conducted for theNew South Wales Legislative Council in 1843.[21]
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Macquarie set aside a large portion of land for an Anglican Cathedral and laid the foundation stone for the firstSt Mary's Catholic Cathedral in 1821.St Andrew's Anglican Cathedral, though more modest in size than Macquarie's original vision, later began construction and, after fire and setbacks, the present St Mary's Catholic Cathedral foundation stone was laid in 1868, from which rose a towering gothic-revival landmark.[22] Religious groups were also responsible for many of the philanthropic activities in Sydney. One of these was theSydney Female Refuge Society set up to care for prostitutes in 1848.[23] An academy of art formed in 1870 and the presentArt Gallery of New South Wales building began construction in 1896.[24] Inspired by the works of Frenchimpressionism,artists camps formed around the foreshores of Sydney Harbour in the 1880s.[25] TheRomanesque landmarkQueen Victoria Building (QVB), designed byGeorge McRae, was completed in 1898 on the site of the old Sydney markets.[26]
In the midst ofWorld War I, on Valentine's Day, riots racked the CBD, in what has come to be known as the Central Station Riots of 1916.[27] A substantial segment of the violence was concentrated in the Central area. These riots involved five thousand military recruits who refused to comply with extraneous parade orders. During the riots, they caused significant damage to buildings. People with "foreign" names were especially targeted. The recruits clashed with soldiers, resulting in the death of Private Ernest William Keefe. Eight people sustained injuries. Because this incident occurred in the middle of the Great War the state discouraged media coverage. Only a fifth of the rioters were court-marshalled. These riots spurred the introduction of lockout laws for pubs after 6 pm. This law was only lifted in 1955.[28]
The early 1960s onwards saw the construction of new modern high-rise skyscrapers in the Sydney CBD, in styles of concrete and glass structures.
The Sydney CBD is an area of very densely concentrated skyscrapers and other buildings, interspersed by several parks such asHyde Park,The Domain,Royal Botanic Garden andWynyard Park.
Geographically, its north–south axis runs fromCircular Quay in the north toCentral railway station in the south. Its east–west axis runs from a chain of parkland that includesHyde Park,The Domain,Royal Botanic Garden andFarm Cove onSydney Harbour in the east; toDarling Harbour and theWestern Distributor in the west.
The CBD runs along two ridge lines below Macquarie Street and York Streets. Between these ridges is Pitt Street, running close to the course of the originalTank Stream (now tunneled).George Street is the Sydney CBD's main north–south thoroughfare.Bridge Street took its name from the bridge running east–west that once crossed this stream.Martin Place is the banking and commercial heart of Sydney[29] whereasPitt Street is the retail heart of the city and includes thePitt Street Mall as well as theSydney Tower.Macquarie Street is a historic precinct that houses such buildings as the StateParliament House and theSupreme Court of New South Wales.[30]
TheGeographical Names Board defines the area covering the central business district as the suburb named "Sydney".[31] The formal boundaries of the suburb "Sydney" covers most of the peninsula formed by Cockle Bay in the west andWoolloomooloo Bay in the east. It extends north toCircular Quay,Bennelong Point andMrs Macquarie's Chair, east to Woolloomooloo Bay and the eastern boundary of the Domain and Hyde Park, south to Goulburn Street just north of Sydney's Chinatown (Haymarket), and west to cover theDarling Harbour area on the western shore of Cockle Bay. However, it does not include the northwestern portion of the peninsula which includes theBarangaroo,The Rocks,Millers Point,Dawes Point andWalsh Bay area, which are formally separate suburbs grouped by the City of Sydney into the "small area" called "The Rocks - Miller's Point - Dawe's Point".[32][33]
TheCity of Sydney defines the CBD as comprising two of its ten "villages" –CBD and Harbour Village &Chinatown and CBD South Village.[34]
The postcode zone 2000 is also roughly correlative with the city centre.
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Administratively, the Sydney CBD falls under the authority of thelocal government area of theCity of Sydney.[35] TheNew South Wales state government also has authority over some aspects of the CBD, in particular throughProperty NSW.[36]
In the New South Wales state parliament, the seat of "Sydney" covers the city centre together with inner western, southern and eastern suburbs.IndependentAlex Greenwich has represented the state seat of Sydney since the2012 by-election, triggered by the resignation of previous independentClover Moore, who was theLord Mayor of Sydney, due to introduced state laws preventing dual membership of state parliament and local council.[37]
In the federal parliament, the seat of "Sydney" covers the city centre together with a larger set of inner western, southern and eastern suburbs, as well as islands in the Sydney Harbour andLord Howe Island.Australian Labor Party memberTanya Plibersek has represented the federal seat of Sydney since the1998 Australian federal election.[38]
Sydney's cultural centre is compacted within its central business district and inner city ring, due to its nightlife, pedestrian traffic and centrality of notable attractions.[39] There is a large concentration of cultural institutions within the CBD including: theMuseum of Sydney, theState Library of New South Wales, theCustoms House branch of theCity of Sydney Library, theTheatre Royal, theCity Recital Hall and theJapan Foundation. There are a total of 19 churches located in the Sydney city centre.[40]
Many other cultural institutions are located at the surrounds of the CBD, such as: theSydney Opera House and theMuseum of Contemporary Art to the north, theAustralian Museum and theArt Gallery of New South Wales to the east, thePowerhouse Museum to the west,White Rabbit Gallery and the Haymarket branch of the City of Sydney Library to the south. Thelanes and alleyways of Sydney exhibit the culture and arts of the CBD.[41]
Every January during the summer, the city celebrates with theSydney Festival. Australian and International theatre during the month is also featured, includingAboriginal, and Contemporary.
TheSydney Film Festival is an international event organised every year in June at various venues across the CBD. The festival opened on 11 June 1954 and was held over four days, with screenings at Sydney University. Attendance was at full capacity with 1,200 tickets sold at one guinea each.[42]
Sydney has a lively café culture, as well as a club and bar scene distributed throughout the CBD and concentrated in a couple of locations such asDarling Harbour.[43] AlthoughKings Cross is not technically located within the Sydney CBD, it is accessible via William Street, which runs through Hyde Park and is part of the inner-city region.Oxford Street hosts Sydney's gay scene.[44]
Macquarie Street is a historic precinct and where many local as well as federal governmental institutions reside. "Macquarie Street" is often used as a metonym for the New South Wales government (the way Whitehall, for example, is a metonym for the British government). Parliament House, Government House, and the Law Courts Building (which houses the Supreme Court of New South Wales) are all located along the street. Federal Government institutions located along this street include theFederal Court of Australia andHigh Court of Australia, and the headquarters of theReserve Bank of Australia.
The primary legal precinct of Sydney is located inQueens Square, Sydney where theJoint Law Courts Building onPhillip Street accommodates theHigh Court of Australia,Federal Court of Australia and theSupreme Court of New South Wales. Also located in this precient are theUNESCOWorld Heritage ListedHyde Park Barracks[45][46] and theSydney Law School.
Pitt Street Mall is the pedestrianised section of Pitt Street in the Sydney CBD running one block long betweenMarket Street andKing Street. It is one of Australias busiest and most cosmopolitan shopping precincts with many flagship chain stores and more than 500 specialty stores. As one of Sydneys main shopping streets, rents are correspondingly the highest in Australia, and the fourth highest in the world in terms of city streets withCBRE Group rating Pitt Street Mall as the second most expensive street for retail rents in the world, second only to New York City's Fifth Avenue.
The Sydney CBD is home to some of the largest Australian companies, as well as serving as an Asia-Pacific headquarters for many large international companies.[47]Martin Place is considered to be the financial hub of the CBD[48] and is also where theAustralian Securities Exchange is located.[49] Martin Place has also been dubbed 'Silicon Place' once global tech giantsAmazon,Microsoft,LinkedIn,Expedia andAtlassian.[50][51]
The financial services industry in particular occupies much of the available office space in the CBD, with companies such as theWestpac,Commonwealth Bank,Citibank,Deutsche Bank,Macquarie Bank,AMP,Insurance Australia Group,Aon,Marsh McLennan,Allianz,HSBC,Axa,ABN Amro,[52]Royal Bank of Canada andBloomsbury Publishing all having offices.[53]
Sydney's CBD is serviced byinterstate rail,suburban rail,urban rail,light rail,bus andferry transportation systems.
Sydney's main commuter rail hub isCentral railway station, which is located to the south of the CBD inHaymarket: it connects services for almost all of the lines in theSydney Trains network, as well as being the terminus forNSW TrainLink country and inter-urban rail services. From Central, there is a largely-underground CBD rail loop, accessed in both directions via Central, which services five CBD stations (Town Hall,Wynyard,Circular Quay,St James andMuseum). This is known as theCity Circle. In addition, aseparate underground line toBondi Junction services an additional underground station,Martin Place.[54]
TheInner West Light Rail passes immediately to the south of the CBD, connecting Central to nearby suburbs of Sydney'sInner West. TheCBD and South East Light Rail runs north–south through the CBD, connectingCircular Quay with Central and the Eastern Suburbs.[citation needed]
Buses service the CBD along several dozen routes to both inner and more remote suburbs.NightRide is an after-hours bus service that operates between midnight and 5:00 am, with most services running from George Street outside the Sydney Town Hall.[55]
Additionally,the Sydney Metro rapid transit line services the CBD area with four stations (Barangaroo,Martin Place,Gadigal andCentral). The inner-city stations were constructed as part of theSydney Metro City & Southwest project that opened on 19 August 2024[56] and extended the existing line from Chatswood to Sydenham via the CBD. As of December 2024 construction is underway on aseparate rapid transit line to connect the CBD with the secondary centre ofParramatta with a targeted opening date of 2032.[57]
Sydney Ferries operate largely fromCircular Quay, on the northern edge of the CBD. There are several wharves (directly beneath the elevated Circular Quay commuter rail station), with Wharf 3 operating exclusively toManly.
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The Sydney CBD contains many of Australia's tallest skyscrapers, includingGovernor Phillip Tower,25 Martin Place andWorld Tower, the latter consisting predominantly of apartments. It is also home to theAustralia Square tower building on George Street, which was the city's tallest building until 1976. As of 2017, the tallest structure isSydney Tower at 309 m (1,014 ft) which has dominated the city skyline since it was topped out in 1981. In 2016, height limits for buildings were lifted from 235 m (771 ft) to 310 m (1,017 ft).[58]
Heritage conservation has been an ongoing issue for Sydney's city centre since the introduction ofgreen bans in the 1970s and the increasing need for office or living space.[59] Since then, a number of prominent buildings in the CBD have been lost:Anthony Hordern & Sons on George Street, theRegent Theatre also on George Street, Commercial Travelers' Club and Hotel Australia atMartin Place all attracted the ire of Sydneysiders–Sydney Mayor Clover Moore, then the MP for Bligh, even addressed a crowd in Martin Place in 1988 in a futile attempt to save the Regent Theatre from its imminent fate.
At the2021 census, the population of the Sydney CBD was recorded as 27,936. Australia-born individuals make up 22.3% of the CBD's population. The most common countries of birth other than Australia were China 12.7%, Thailand 12.6%, Indonesia 11.1%, India 2.9% and South Korea 2.8%. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.3% of the population.[60] International students account for 32% of Sydney CBD residents.[61]
Culturally, residents in the CBD have diverse ancestries, with the most common being Chinese 30.8%, English 13.6%, Thai 11.9%, Australian 7.1%, and Indonesian 7.1%. Religious affiliations are equally diverse, with the largest group reporting No Religion 38.0%), followed by Buddhism 21.3%, Catholic 12.9% and Anglican 3.5%. 97.0% of dwellings were flats or apartments. 71.1% were rented and 25.1% were owned outright or with a mortgage in 2021.[60]
Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) underCC BY 4.0licence.
Media related toCentral Business District, Sydney at Wikimedia Commons