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New South Wales
New South Wales (abbreviated as '''NSW''') is Australia's oldest and most populous States and territories of Australia|state, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria (Australia)|Victoria and south of Queensland. It was founded in 1788 and originally comprised much of the Australian mainland, as well as Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. New Zealand was not initially part of the colony, although when Britain annexed New Zealand in 1840 it was briefly a part of New South Wales.[A.H. McLintock (ed), ''An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand', 3 vols, Wellington, NZ:R.E. Owen, Government Printer, 1966, vol 3 p.526. '] During the 19th century large areas were successively separated to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British colonies of Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, and New Zealand.
Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as being ''New South Welsh'' or ''New South Welshmen''. New South Wales's largest city and capital is Sydney.
History
Aborigines
The original inhabitants of the area were Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal tribes who arrived in Australia approximately forty to sixty thousand years ago.
European settlement
The European discovery of New South Wales was made by James Cook|Captain James Cook during his voyage along the east coast of Australia in 1770.
In the journal covering his survey of the eastern coast of the Australian continent, Cook first named the east coast of Australia "New Wales", which he later corrected in his journal to "New South Wales".[See Captain W.J.L. Wharton's preface to his 1893 transcription of Cook's journal. Available online in the University of Adelaide Library's Electronic Texts Collection.]
The first British settlement was made by what is known in History of Australia|Australian history as the First Fleet led by Captain Arthur Phillip who assumed the role of governor of the settlement on arrival in 1788 until 1792.Gold rush
A gold rush in the mid 19th century created a huge influx in the New South Wales population. Soon after the gold rush, settlers demanded a responsible government that could govern itself. The result was the New South Wales Constitution Act of 1855, steered through the British Parliament by the veteran radical John Russell, 1st Earl Russell|Lord John Russell, who wanted a constitution which balanced democratic elements against the interests of property, as did the Parliamentary system in Britain at this time. The Act created a bicameral Parliament of New South Wales, with a lower house, the New South Wales Legislative Assembly|Legislative Assembly, consisting of 54 members.
As the population continued to rise, separate colonies were split off from greater NSW. Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia, and Queensland were formed as self-governing colonies reducing NSW to its present area.
Federation
At the end of the 19th century, the movement toward federation between the Australian colonies gathered momentum. Conventions and forums involving colony leaders were held on a regular basis. Proponents of NSW as a free trade state were in dispute with the other leading colony Victoria who had a protectionist economy. At this time customs posts were common on borders, even on the Murray River. Travelling from NSW to Victoria in those days would have been very similar to travelling from NSW to New Zealand today. Supporters of federation included the NSW premier Sir Henry Parkes whose 1889 speech in Tenterfield, New South Wales|Tenterfield was pivotal in gathering support for NSW involvement. Edmund Barton later to become Australia's first Prime Minister was another strong advocate for federation and a meeting held in Corowa in 1893 drafted an initial constitution.
In 1898 popular referendums on the proposed federation were held in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. All votes resulted in a majority in favour, but the NSW government under Premier George Reid (Australian politician)|George Reid (popularly known as "yes-no Reid" because of his constant changes of opinion on the issue) had set a requirement for a higher "yes" vote than just a simple majority which was not met.
In 1899 further referendums were held in the same states as well as Queensland (but not Western Australia). All resulted in yes votes with majorities increased from the previous year. NSW met the conditions its government had set for a yes vote. As a compromise to the question on where the capital was to be located, an agreement was made that the site was to be within NSW but not closer than 100 miles (161 km) from Sydney. Eventually the area that now forms the Australian Capital Territory was ceded by NSW when Canberra was selected.
Early 20th century
In the years after World War I, the high prices enjoyed during the war fell with the resumption of international trade, and farmers became increasingly discontented with the fixed prices paid by the compulsory marketing authorities set up as a wartime measure by the Billy Hughes|Hughes government. In 1919 the farmers formed the National Party of Australia|Country Party, led at national level by Earle Page, a doctor from Grafton, New South Wales|Grafton, and at state level by Michael Bruxner, a small farmer from Tenterfield.
The Great Depression which began in 1929 ushered a period of political and class conflict in New South Wales. The mass unemployment and collapse of commodity prices brought ruin to both city workers and to farmers. The beneficiary of the resultant discontent was not the Communist Party of Australia|Communist Party, which remained small and weak, but Jack Lang (Australian politician)|Jack Lang's Australian Labor Party|Labor populism. Lang's second government was elected in November 1930 on a policy of repudiating New South Wales' debt to British bondholders and using the money instead to help the unemployed through public works. This was denounced as illegal by conservatives, and also by James Scullin's federal Labor government. The result was that Lang's supporters in the federal Caucus brought down Scullin's government, causing a second bitter split in the Labor Party. In May 1932 the Governor, Sir Philip Game dismissed his government. The subsequent election was won by the conservative opposition.
By the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the differences between New South Wales and the other states that had emerged in the 19th century had faded as a result of federation and economic development behind a wall of protective tariffs. New South Wales continued to outstrip Victoria as the centre of industry, and increasingly of finance and trade as well. Labor returned to office under the moderate leadership of William McKell in 1941 and stayed in power for 24 years. World War II saw another surge in industrial development to meet the needs of a war economy, and also the elimination of unemployment.
Postwar New South Wales
Labor stayed in power until 1965. Towards the end of its term in power it announced a plan for the construction of an opera/arts facility on Bennelong Point, New South Wales|Bennelong Point. The design competition was won by Jørn Utzon. Controversy over the cost of what would eventually become the Sydney Opera House became a political issue and was a factor in the eventual defeat of Labor in 1965 by the conservative Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal Party led by Robert Askin|Sir Robert Askin. Sir Robert remains a controversial figure with supporters claiming him to be reformist especially in terms of reshaping the NSW economy. Others though regard the Askin era has synonymous with corruption with Askin the head of a network involving NSW police and SP bookmaking (Goot).
In the late 1960s, a New England New State Movement|secessionist movement in the New England (Australia)|New England region of the state led to a referendum on the issue. The new state would have consisted of much of northern NSW including Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle. The referendum was narrowly defeated and there are no active or organised campaigns for new states in NSW beyond individuals.
Askin's resignation in 1975 was followed by a number of short lived premierships by Liberal Party leaders. When a general election came in 1976 the ALP under Neville Wran were returned to power. Wran was able to transform this narrow one seat victory into landslide wins (known as Wranslide) in 1978 and 1981.
After winning a comfortable though reduced majority in 1984, Wran resigned as premier and left parliament. His replacement Barry Unsworth struggled to emerge from Wran's shadow and lost a 1988 election against a resurgent Liberal Party led by Nick Greiner. Unsworth was replaced as ALP leader by Bob Carr. Initially Greiner was a popular leader instigating reform such as the creation of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). Greiner called a snap election in 1991 which the Liberals were expected to win. However the ALP polled extremely well and the Liberals lost their majority and needed the support of independents to retain power.
Greiner was accused (by ICAC) of corrupt actions involving an allegation that a government position was offered to tempt an independent (who had defected from the Liberals) to resign his seat so that the Liberal party could regain it and shore up its numbers. Greiner resigned but was later cleared of corruption. His replacement as Liberal leader and Premier was John Fahey (politician)|John Fahey. Although personally popular, Fahey's government suffered from a series of scandals including tax evasion, illegal recording of customer conversations, sexual harassment, and death threats. In the 1995 election, Fahey's government lost narrowly and the ALP under Bob Carr returned to power.
Like Wran before him Carr was able to turn a narrow majority into landslide wins at the next two elections (1999 and 2003). During this era, NSW hosted the 2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Sydney Olympics which were internationally regarded as very successful and helped boost Carr's popularity. Carr surprised most people by resigning from office in 2005. He was replaced by Morris Iemma who remained Premier, was re-elected in the New South Wales state election, 2007|March 2007, until he resigned from parliament in September, 2008.
Government
Executive authority is vested in the Governor of New South Wales, who represents and is appointed by Queen Elizabeth II. The current Governor is Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir (Lady Shehadie). The Governor commissions as Premier the leader of the parliamentary political party that can command a simple majority of votes in the Legislative Assembly. The Premier then recommends the appointment of other Members of the two Houses to the Ministry, under the principle of responsible or Westminster system|Westminster government. It should be noted, however, that as in other Westminster systems, there is no constitutional requirement in NSW for the Government to be formed from the Parliament - merely convention. The Premier is Nathan Rees of the Australian Labor Party.Constitution
The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then. Since 1901 New South Wales has been a state of the Australia|Commonwealth of Australia, and the Australian Constitution regulates its relationship with the Commonwealth.
Under the Australian Constitution, New South Wales ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained independence in all other areas. The New South Wales Constitution says: "The Legislature shall, subject to the provisions of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, have power to make laws for the peace, welfare, and good government of New South Wales in all cases whatsoever." In practice, however, the independence of the Australian states has been greatly eroded by the increasing financial domination of the Commonwealth.
Parliament
Education
Primary and Secondary
The NSW school system comprises a kindergarten to year twelve system with primary schooling up to year 6 and secondary schooling between year 7 and 12. Schooling is compulsory until age 15.[Education Act 1990 (NSW), Section 22] However, almost all students remain at school until completion of the School Certificate at the end of Year 10.
Primary and secondary schools include government and non-government schools. Government schools are further classified as comprehensive and Selective school (New South Wales)|selective schools. Non-government schools include Catholic schools, other denominational schools, and non-denominational independent schools.
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. College|Secondary colleges are secondary schools which only cater for years 11 and 12.
The government classifies the 12 years of primary and secondary schooling into six stages, beginning with stage 1 (years 1 and 2) and ending with stage 6 (years 11 and 12).
School Certificate
The School Certificate is awarded by the Board of Studies to students at the end of Year 10. Typically, students in secondary schools will have completed a course of study in accordance with the Board's requirements, and sit for the tests at the end of year 10.
The Board administers five external tests in English-literacy, Mathematics, Science, Australian History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship. Students are not given a "pass" or "fail" result. The tests are designed to grade a student on their ability. The results of this test are categorised into bands 1 through to 6 with band 1 as the lowest and band 6 as the highest.[Introduction to the School Certificate - Board of Studies NSW]
Higher School Certificate
The Higher School Certificate (HSC) is the usual Year 12 leaving certificate in NSW. Most students complete the HSC prior to entering the workforce or going on to study at college, university or TAFE (although the HSC itself can be completed at TAFE).
The HSC must be completed for a student to get a University Admissions Index, which determines the students rank against fellow students who completed the Higher School Certificate.
Tertiary
Eleven universities primarily operate in New South Wales. Sydney is home to Australia's first university, the University of Sydney, founded in 1850, as well as the University of New South Wales, Macquarie University, the University of Technology, Sydney and the University of Western Sydney. The Australian Catholic University has two of its six campuses in Sydney, and the private University of Notre Dame Australia also operates a secondary campus in the city.
Outside Sydney, the leading universities are the University of Newcastle, Australia|University of Newcastle and the University of Wollongong. Armidale is home to the University of New England, Australia|University of New England, and Charles Sturt University and Southern Cross University have campuses spread across cities in the state's south-west and north coast respectively.
The public universities are state government agencies, however they are largely regulated by the federal government, which also administers their public funding. Admission to NSW universities is arranged together with universities in the Australian Capital Territory by another government agency, the Universities Admission Centre.
Primarily vocational training is provided up the level of advanced diplomas is provided by the state government's ten Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutes. These institutes run courses in over 130 campuses throughout the state.
Geography
New South Wales is bordered on the north by Queensland, on the west by South Australia, on the south by Victoria and on the east by the Tasman Sea. The Australian Capital Territory and the Jervis Bay Territory are Federal enclaves of New South Wales.
The state can be divided geographically into four areas. New South Wales' three largest cities, Sydney, Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle and Wollongong, New South Wales|Wollongong, lie near the centre of a narrow coastal strip extending from cool temperate areas on the far south coast to subtropical areas near the Queensland border. The Illawarra region is centred on the city of Wollongong, with the Shoalhaven, Eurobodalla and the Sapphire Coast to the south. The Central Coast, New South Wales|Central Coast lies between Sydney and Newcastle, with the North Coast, New South Wales|North Coast and Northern Rivers regions reaching northwards to the Queensland border. Tourism is important to the economies of coastal towns such as Coffs Harbour, New South Wales|Coffs Harbour, Lismore, New South Wales|Lismore, Nowra, New South Wales|Nowra and Port Macquarie, New South Wales|Port Macquarie, but the region also produces seafood, beef, dairy, fruit, sugar cane and timber.
The Great Dividing Range extends from Victoria in the south through New South Wales to Queensland, parallel to the narrow coastal plain. This area includes the Snowy Mountains, the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales|Northern, Central Tablelands|Central and Southern Tablelands, the Southern Highlands (New South Wales)|Southern Highlands and the South West Slopes (New South Wales)|South West Slopes. Whilst not particularly steep, many peaks of the range rise above 1,000 metres (3,280 ft), with the highest Mount Kosciuszko at 2,229 metres (7,308 ft). The relatively short ski season underwrites the tourist industry in the Snowy Mountains. Agriculture, particularly the wool industry, is important throughout the highlands. Major centres include Armidale, New South Wales|Armidale, Bathurst, New South Wales|Bathurst, Bowral, New South Wales|Bowral, Goulburn, New South Wales|Goulburn, Inverell, New South Wales|Inverell, Orange, New South Wales|Orange, Queanbeyan, New South Wales|Queanbeyan and Tamworth, New South Wales|Tamworth.
The western slopes fill a significant portion of the state's area and have a much sparser population than areas nearer the coast. Agriculture is the central to the economy of the western slopes, particularly the Riverina region and Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area in the state's south-west. Towns such as Albury, New South Wales|Albury, Dubbo, New South Wales|Dubbo, Griffith, New South Wales|Griffith, Leeton, New South Wales|Leeton and Wagga Wagga, New South Wales|Wagga Wagga exist primarily to service these agricultural regions. The western slopes decend slowly to the western plains that comprise almost two-thirds of the state and are largely arid or semi-arid. The mining town of Broken Hill, New South Wales|Broken Hill is the largest centre in this area.[Australian Encyclopaedia, Vol. 7, Grolier Society]
The highest maximum temperature recorded was 50.0 °C (122.0 °F) at Wilcannia, New South Wales|Wilcannia in the state's west on 11 January 1939. The lowest minimum temperature was -23.0 °C (-9.4 °F) at Charlotte Pass, New South Wales|Charlotte Pass on 29 June 1994 in the Snowy Mountains. This is also the lowest temperature recorded in whole of Australia excluding the Antarctic Territory.Economy
Since the 1970s, New South Wales has undergone an increasingly rapid economic and social transformation. Old industries such as steel and shipbuilding have largely disappeared, and although agriculture remains important its share of the state's income is smaller than ever before. New industries such as information technology and financial services are largely centred in Sydney and have risen to take their place with many companies having their Australian headquarters in Sydney central business district|Sydney CBD. In addition, the Macquarie Park area of Sydney has attracted the Australian Macquarie Park#Commerce and Business|headquarters of many information technology firms.
Coal and related products are the state's biggest export. Its value to the state's economy is over A billion accounting for about 19% of all exports from NSW.[http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/PDF/Trade%20and%20Investment-B3_top10_merch_exports.pdf]
Tourism has also become important, with Sydney as its centre but also stimulating growth on the North Coast, around Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay. Tourism is worth over billion to the New South Wales economy and employs over 8% of the workforce.[http://corporate.tourism.nsw.gov.au/scripts/runisa.dll?CORPORATELIVE.590808:HOMEPAGE:790544129:pp=UPPER,pc=HOME]
New South Wales had a Gross State Product in 2006 (equivalent to Gross Domestic Product) of Australian dollar|A$310 billion which equalled A,584 per capita.[1338.1 - New South Wales in Focus, 2007]
On 9 October 2007, NSW announced plans to build a 1,000 MW (megawatt) bank of wind powered turbines. The output of these is anticipated to be able to power up to 400,000 homes. The cost of this project will be .8 billion for 500 turbines.[Australia to get 1,000 megawatt wind farm]
On 28 August 2008, the New South Wales cabinet voted to privatise electricity retail, causing 1,500 electrical workers to strike after a large anti-privatisation campaign.Sport
Throughout Australian history, NSW sporting teams have been very successful in both winning domestic competitions and providing players to the Australian national teams. The NSW Blues play in the Ford Ranger Cup and Sheffield Shield cricket competitions, the NSW Waratahs in the Super 14 rugby union competition and New South Wales state rugby league team|The 'Blues' represent NSW in the annual Rugby League State of Origin series.
As well as the State of Origin, the headquarters of the Australian Rugby League and National Rugby League (NRL) are in Sydney, which is home to 8 of the 16 National Rugby League (NRL) teams. (South Sydney Rabbitohs, Sydney Roosters, Parramatta Eels, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Wests Tigers, Penrith Panthers, Canterbury Bulldogs and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles), as well as being the northern home of the St George Illawarra Dragons, which is half-based in Wollongong, NSW|Wollongong. A tenth team, the Newcastle Knights is located in Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle. The main summer sport is cricket.
The state is represented by three teams in football (soccer)|association football's A-League: Sydney FC (the inaugural champions in 2005-06), the Central Coast Mariners FC|Central Coast Mariners, based at Gosford and the Newcastle United Jets (2007-08 A League Champions). Football has the highest number of registered players in New South Wales of any football code.[4177.0 - Participation in Sports and Physical Recreation, Australia, 2005-06] Australian rules football has historically not been strong in New South Wales outside the Riverina region. However, the Sydney Swans relocated from South Melbourne, Victoria|South Melbourne in 1982 and their presence and success since the late 1990s has raised the profile of Australian rules football, especially after their AFL premiership in 2005. Other teams in national competitions include basketball's Sydney Spirit(formerly the West Sydney Razorbacks) and the defunct team Sydney Kings and Sydney Uni Flames, and netball's Sydney Swifts.
Sydney was the host of the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 1938 British Empire Games. The Olympic Stadium, now known as ANZ Stadium is the scene of the annual NRL Grand Final. It also regularly hosts rugby league State of Origin games and rugby union internationals, and has recently hosted the final of the 2003 Rugby World Cup and the football Football World Cup 2006|World Cup Football World Cup 2006 - Oceania-South America Qualification Playoff|qualifier between Australia national football team|Australia and Uruguay national football team|Uruguay.
The Sydney Cricket Ground hosts the 'New Year' cricket test match from 2-6 January each year, and is also one of the sites for the finals of the One Day International series. The annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race begins in Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day. The climax of Australia's touring car racing series is the Bathurst 1000, held near the city of Bathurst, New South Wales|Bathurst.
Culture
As Australia's most populous state, New South Wales is home to a number of cultural institutions of importance to the nation.
In music, New South Wales is home to the Sydney 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 the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Sydney is host to the Australian Ballet for its Sydney season (the ballet is headquartered in Melbourne). Apart from the Sydney Opera House, major musical performance venues include the City Recital Hall, Angel Place and the Sydney Town Hall.
New South Wales is home to a number of major art galleries. The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), houses a significant collection of Australian art, while the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney focuses on contemporary art.
Major museums include the natural history-focussed Australian Museum, the technology and arts-and-crafts focussed Powerhouse Museum, and the history-focussed Museum of Sydney. Other museums include the Sydney Jewish Museum.
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 National Institute of Dramatic Art|(NIDA), the Australian School of Film, Radio and Television and the Conservatorium of Music (now part of the University of Sydney).
See also
- States and territories of Australia
- Territorial evolution of Australia
References
External links
- Australia - Map of South East Australia from Geoscience Australia
- NSW Official State Website
- NSW Parliament
- NSW Police
- NSW State Law
- NSW State Library - History of Our Nation
- NSW Weather and Sydney Weather
- NSW Directory - from the Open Directory Project
Category:New South Wales|
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Category:Former British colonies
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Related Images- New South Wales in 1916
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