The town was founded by British colonists in 1788 and is named "Sydney" in honor of British Colony Minister Lord Thomas Sydney. In the same year 1788, but a few months earlier, a nearby Port Jackson was laid, soon absorbed by Sydney. Therefore, in the historical and geographical literature of the late XVIII-early XIX centuries, it is not uncommon to find combinations of Port Jackson (now Sydney) or Sydney (former Port Jackson).

Modern research based on radioisotope analysis shows that indigenous Australians, Aboriginal, first entered the area that Sydney now occupies, about 30,000 years ago. The aborigines inhabiting the area belonged to the Kadigal group. Before the arrival of the Europeans, they belonged to the territory south of the Gulf of Port Jackson, which is now the central part of the city. Although the exact number of Aboriginal people who lived in the area before the arrival of Europeans is difficult to identify, it is estimated that there were 4,000 to 8,000.

The first map of Sydney published on July 24, 1789

In 1770, James Cook, on his first round-the-world expedition, sailed from New Zealand to the west, discovered a new land he called New South Wales. Moving along the coast to the north, he landed on the Carnell Peninsula in the Bay of Botani, named after the botanists of Banks and Solander of his expedition. The expedition spent eight days here, examining flora, fauna and mapping these places, and then moved along the coast to the north.

After the war for US independence began in 1776, Americans refused to accept UK-based caregivers, and British prisons began to overflow. Parliament and the Minister of Colony Sydney (who was a friend of Banks' nerd) decided to send prison settlers to Botani Bay to establish a new British colony there.

Sydney, 1932

First fleet organized by the British Navy, of 11 ships and vessels (2 warships - flagship HMS Sirius, 10-cannon armed merchant ship, 511 tons, and armed tender HMS Supply 175 tons for messenger service, 6 transport The prisoners, from 278 to 452 tons, and 3 vessels with supplies, from 272 to 378 tons) headed by Captain Arthur Phillip arrived in Botani Bay in January 1788. A closer examination of the coast of Botani Bay found the site insufficiently suitable for the establishment of the new colony, primarily due to the lack of fresh water, salt and wind exposure. Arthur Phillip personally examined the HMS Supply located just 12 km north of the Gulf of Port Jackson, which James Cook had mapped, but did not examine in detail. When entering Port Jackson, HMS Supply discovered that it was a large three-sleeve bay. After examining the small Northern sleeve (now North Harbour), he then walked into the wide curved and inaccessible ocean winds and waves of the southern sleeve of the Gulf (now: Sydney Harbour), where found a very comfortable round bay.

On January 26, 1788, the entire First Fleet moved from Botani to Port Jackson, and anchored in this small circular bay, later named Sydney cove, located in the middle of the stretch The 20-kilometer bay of Sydney (English: Sydney Harbour) is the sprawling bay of Port Jackson. Captain Arthur Phillip announced that he had joined the UK in New South Wales, that the first settlement had been established there, and that he was now the first governor of New South Wales. This day is now Australia's national holiday. Originally the new settlement Albion was supposed to be, but at the last moment Arthur Phillip decided to name it after Lord Sydney, then the British Secretary for Colony Affairs.

The First Fleet was soon followed by the Second Fleet and then the Third Fleet. In essence, they were no different from the First, as the main purpose of these expeditions was, as in the first case, to transport prisoners from British prisons to a newly formed colony (the Second Fleet, however, was marked by the fact that many people died on the way from zingi and other diseases).

Sydney has long been the main exile point of British prisoners. Although since 1815, following the end of the Napoleonic wars, free immigration began to gain momentum, in 1820 approximately 40% of the population were prisoners.

Shortly after 1789, a severe smallpox epidemic erupted among Aboriginal people living in the area directly adjacent to Sydney, killing thousands of them.

Political cartoon. On it, Governor Blye is portrayed as a coward hiding under the bed

In 1808, the so-called Romanesque riot took place in Sydney. It was triggered by the attempt by the Governor of New South Wales, William Bly, who became famous as one of the main participants in the rebellion on the Bounty, to break the alcohol monopoly of NSW Corps officers. Taking advantage of the unlimited power in the colony, officers turned the inhabitants practically into slaves, using alcohol instead of money in payments for goods and services. After much debate and negotiation, the confrontation turned into an open confrontation that led to the arrest and removal of Governor Bly. This rebellion was the only successful example of an armed power grab in Australia. Upon the arrival of new military contingents in Sydney, the Corps was disbanded and officers involved in the riot were punished. Governor Bly, however, was also removed from office and replaced with a more liberal Laklan McQuori.

Topography

The urban areas of Sydney are located in the coastal valley, which is bordered from the east of the Pacific Ocean, the Blue Mountains from the west, the Hocksbury River in the north and the Royal National Park in the south. The coastline is carved out of numerous gulfs and bays that have been created by the fact that as the climate warms at the end of the glacial period and the level of the world's oceans rises, water has flooded the coastal river valleys and gorges of low mountains. Port Jackson Bay, which includes Sydney Harbor Bay, is precisely that formation and is the world's largest natural bay. There are approximately 70 small bays and beaches in the residential areas of the city, including the famous Bondai Beach south of the city and the beaches of Manley in the north. The area of residential areas of the city was 1,687 km² in 2001. However, the Sydney Bureau of Statistics uses a much larger area in its estimates, including the Blue Mountains, the Central Coast Region and the national parks adjacent to the city. Thus, the total area of large Sydney is 12,145 km².

• Harbor Bridge

• Central part of the city

• Sydney photo from space. At the top right of the image you can see the long and winding bay of Port Jackson. The southern part is the Bay of Botani

Panorama of Port Jackson Bay and Sydney from cruise liner

Geographically Sydney lies between two regions: the Cumberland Plain, a relatively flat area to the south and west of the Gulf and the Hornsby Plateau, located to the north of the city. The oldest historical areas of the city are located on the south coast of the Port Jackson Bay. The northern coast started to develop much later due to its more mountainous terrain and lack of easy access during the initial period of development of the city. The main message with the northern coast of Sydney Harbor and remote points of Port Jackson Bay was (and is still) carried by ferries from the city's central marina. It's called Surkular-Ki — translated as "Circular Wharf" or "Circular Wharf" and located on the shore of the historical Sydney Bay, from which the development of the city began. The development of the northern part of the city changed dramatically only after 1932, when the Harbor Bridge was completed.

Panorama from the Sydney Tower

Sydney is located in a subtropical ocean climate with its temperate hot summer and mildly warm winter. The amount of rainfall in the city is distributed during the year, with an advantage during the winter months. The climate is more level in areas of the city that are directly adjacent to the ocean, but the western part of the city, which is more deep in continental Australia, often has more extreme heat waves. The warmest month is January with an average air temperature of 16.6-25.8°C and an average number of days with an air temperature of more than 30°C - 14.6. The absolute temperature record was recorded on January 18, 2013, during a wave of severe heat in Australia, the air temperature was 45.8 °C, in suburbs up to 47 °C. The heavy heat for several hours was brought by a strong hot Western wind which, together with the sun, warmed the city by 24°C in a few hours. The next day, however, the wind turned back and the temperature above 22°C no longer rose. Winter temperatures rarely fall below 5°C in coastal areas. The coldest month is July with an average daily temperature of 8-16.2°C. Sydney had a record low temperature of 2.1°C.

• Sydney Botanical Garden

• Pond in the park

• Pyramid

• Prud

• Flying foxes in the park

The rainfall is more or less evenly distributed during the year, with some dominance in the first months of the year, when the weather in the city determines the eastern winds. The average annual rainfall in Sydney is 1,217 mm, with an average annual rainfall of 138 days. Snow was recorded in the central part of the city for the last time in 1836. However, the 2008 snowstorms that sometimes mistakenly resemble snow make one think that the 1836 phenomenon could have been the same and did not have snow. In 1947, a hail in Sydney affected more than 1,000 people.

Ice fragments fell in Sydney during the hail on 14 April 1999

Although Sydney is not heavily affected by cyclones, El Niño is playing a major role in shaping the city's climate. Depending on the phase, this phenomenon may cause droughts and forest fires, on the one hand, and may cause storms and floods, on the other. Many urban areas, which are close to the forest and bush, are directly exposed to forest fires. Fires were particularly severe near the city in 1994 and in 2001-2002. Spring and summer are especially dangerous seasons. In the city quite often there is strong hail and strong storm winds. One of the strongest hailstones fell on the city territory in 1999. It has caused significant damage to the central and eastern areas of Sydney. During this storm, individual ice falling from the sky was about 9 centimeters in diameter. This resulted in damage estimated by insurance companies at around $1.7 billion.

Sydney is vulnerable to flooding caused by heavy rains that hit the city mainly in winter and spring. The heavy precipitation during this period, in turn, is caused by the passing of low-pressure areas over the territories of eastern Australia. In addition to heavy rainfall, the weather during this period is characterized by strong winds and frequent storms at sea. The worst flooding occurred in Sydney on August 6, 1986, when the city received 327.6 millimeters of rain within 24 hours. The flooding has paralyzed transport in some parts of the city and damaged many buildings.

According to the Australian Meteorological Bureau, the period between 2002 and 2005 was the hottest summer months since the start of the observations in 1859. In 2004, the average maximum daily temperature was 23.39°C, in 2005 it was 23.35°C, in 2002 it was 22.91°C, in 2003 it was 22.65 C. Between 1859 and 2004, the average daily maximum temperature was 21.6°C. Since November 2003, Sydney has had only two months, when the average maximum daily temperature was below the average for the period: March 2005 (1°C below average) and June 2006 (0.7°C). However, according to the Bureau, the summer of 2007/08 was one of the coldest on record. According to these data, the summer of 2009/10 was the coldest in 11 years, and the rarest in six years. It was only the third summer in history, when the daily temperature did not rise above 31°C.

Sydney is architecturally combining multi-story buildings in the center and a vast private sector with colonial houses with verandas around him.

There are many religious buildings in the city. Christian Anglican churches (St. Peter, St. Philip and others), Orthodox Church of Hagia Sophia and Peter and Paul Cathedral, Catholic Cathedral of the Virgin Mary, large mosques (Lakemba Mosque and Ober Mosque n-Gallipoli) and the Great Synagogue.

The Sydney Opera House is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

New South Wales Parliament Building. State Government controls Sydney

Sydney has never had a general city government body, but the city is divided into local government areas (prefecture districts)councils, which are subordinate to the local government areas. The electoral councils of these districts are vested with powers from the New South Wales government and have a wide range of responsibilities, ranging from garbage collection to local planning. The districts, in turn, are divided into districts — suburbs. Each district chooses its own mayor.

Sydney City Hall — City Hall of Sydney

The mayor of Sydney, one of the oldest districts of the city, the City of Sydney, is called Lord Mayor of Sydney, but is responsible only for his district. True, in some cases, the Lord Mayor can represent the whole of Sydney, for example, during the Olympic Games.

Most of the city's life is controlled by the state government. This includes public transport, major roads, traffic management, police, education above kindergarten level, planning of major infrastructure projects.

Because the majority of New South Wales' population resides in Sydney, the state government has always been reluctant to share power with local governments and even to change the boundaries of districts. For example, since 1945 the borders of the City of Sydney have been changed by the state government at least four times.

Sydney currently has 38 districts:

Sydney Local Government

According to the 2006 census, there were 4,119,190 inhabitants in Sydney and its surroundings, with 3,641,422 in Sydney itself. Most often Sydney men noted that they were Australian, English, Irish, Scottish and Chinese. The census also showed that Sydney was home to 1.1% of the Aboriginal population and 37.7% of the population was born outside Australia. 18.1% of the city's inhabitants are from Asia. The three main sources of immigration are the United Kingdom, China, and New Zealand. They are followed by Vietnam, Lebanon, India, Italy, and the Philippines. Many people speak at least one other language besides English, most often Chinese (Cantonese or North Chinese), Arabic, Greek, and Vietnamese. There were 13,220 people speaking Russian, 156 of whom did not answer the question about their level of English proficiency. Sydney ranks seventh in the world as a percentage of foreign-born residents. The average age of the population is 36 years, 15.4% - over 65, 15.2% have at least a bachelor's degree.

According to the 2011 census, 15,431 people speak Russian, 181 of them did not answer the question about English. There were 4,391,674 residents in the city. 60.9% of them considered themselves Christians, 17.6% did not follow any religion, 7.6% did not answer the question, 4.7% were Muslims, 4.1% were Buddhists, 2.6% were Hindus, 0.9% were Jews and 1, 6% - representatives of other religions.

The most important sectors of the Sydney economy, measured by the number of employees employed, are services, trade, production, health care and public services. Since the 1980’s, the overall labor market has been changing so that more jobs are shifting from manufacturing to service and information technology. Sydney's economy is about 25 percent of Australia's. The city houses the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and the Reserve Bank of Australia, as well as the headquarters of 90 banks and more than half of the country's largest companies. Sydney is Australia's main hub, home to some 500 regional offices of international companies. Of the ten largest Australian companies, four have head offices in Sydney (Caltex Australia, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and Woolworth). Fox Studios Australia has a large film studio in the city. The Sydney Futures Exchange (SFE) is one of the largest such exchanges in the Australian-Pacific region. It is the 12th largest futures exchange in the world and the 19th largest, if you count the turnover of options. According to a Forbes study, in 2014 Sydney was ranked eighth among the world's most influential cities in terms of the number of foreign investments attracted, as well as the state of the economy as a whole.

The city's residents have the highest average per capita income in Australia, at US$ 42,599 per person. As of 2004, the unemployment rate was 4.9 per cent in the city. Sydney is ranked 16th in the world's most expensive cities, according to a study by The Economist. Other studies show that the city is in 15th place in terms of the income level of its residents. As of 20 September 2007, the average price of houses in Sydney was the highest of Australia's largest cities, at A$ 559,000. Sydney also has the highest average annuity in Australia: it is A$450 a week.

In addition to a large number of offices, the central part of the city has a large number of shopping centers, shops and shops. Visits to shops, numerous cultural and sporting events, architecture, historical sites and the beautiful nature of the city attract numerous tourists from Australia and around the world. According to statistics, in 2004 the city was visited by 7.8 million Australian tourists and 2.5 million guests from abroad.

Anzac Bridge, stretching over Johnson Bay between the Pewmont area and the island of Glib, in the immediate vicinity of the City

Sydney has a well-developed road network, as the city's residents rely heavily on cars for transportation. There is a motorway system, some of which are tollway, some of which are freeway. The major roads are combined into 10 Metroads, which include a 110-kilometer orbital network (Sydney Orbital Network).

Sydney has a well-developed network of public transport - bus routes, taxis and trains. Passenger ferries run through the Gulf of Sydney and the Parramatta River, which flows into the bay.

From January 2, 2012 the one-time cost of bus travel in the central part of the city (Multi-1 zone) is equal to: AUD 3.5 (6.1 - "back") for adults and 1.7 and 3.0 respectively for children. A one-week ticket in the same zone for all modes of transport (bus, train, ferry) costs AUD 43 and 21.5 respectively without limiting the number of trips.

In December 2012, the paper ticket system was abolished and the last ticket vending machines were dismantled at the end of 2016. Opal Contactless Travel Card System introduced covered all modes of transport. It is now available for bus, tram, metro and ferry trips.

Trains

Two-story train at the main railway station Central Station

The first railway line was opened in 1855 between Sydney and Parramatta. Currently, trains run 20 hours a day over the network, stretching 2080 km with 306 stations (including country stations). The train time is approximately 15 minutes during peak hours, the rest time is 30 minutes. In the City and East, trains run underground. The switch to electric locomotives began in 1926. At present, the entire city railway park is electrified, the supply voltage is 1500 V DC. Trains are used by approximately 270 million passengers a year.

Metro

On May 26, 2019, the first and only Australian metro with one line of 36 km with 13 stations opened in Sydney. It connects the suburbs of Rose Hill and Chatswood, as well as the Sydney business center and port.

Buses

Sydney's bus network is roughly the same as the tram network that has now been abolished. The bus number is usually a three-digit number, the first digit of which usually refers to the area of the city where the route operates. For example, 3XX buses run in the eastern part of Sydney and 8XX in the southwest. State Transit Authority (STA), owned by the New South Wales government, manages the bus networks of Sydney and Newcastle, as well as passenger ferries. The bus park of both cities is more than 2100 cars, based in 13 depots.

Ferries

Di Wai Dee Why, early 1930s. In the background, the Harbor Bridge under construction

The history of the first Sydney ferries can be traced back to the time of the first Fleet's arrival, when as early as 1789 a ferry from the Gulf of Sydney went up the river to the farmland of Parramatta. The first official ferry was built by prisoners and walked under sails and vines. It took about a week to travel to Parramatta. By 1899 Sydney Ferry Company became the largest ferry company in the world. But after the opening of Harbor Bridge on March 19, 1932, the number of passengers fell sharply from 30 million to 13 million a year.

Ferries in the parking lot near Circular Quay

Nowadays, ferries carry about 14 million passengers a year, many of whom travel not only on business, but just for pleasure, especially on weekends. In 2009-2010, for example, routes to the Manley area, known for its beaches and aquarium, with the world's longest 110-meter underwater tunnel. The most recent one-day ticket sales record was on January 2, 2011, when 94,918 tickets were sold, almost half of them on the route to Manley. Today the fleet consists of 28 ferries connecting to the network of 38 marinas, the length of the network — 37 km.

Tram

Trams in Sydney in 1920 near the House of Queen Victoria on the corner of the street of Drouitt and George

The now-defunct Sydney Tram Network was once the second longest after London in the British Empire and one of the largest in the world. The first horse existed from 1861 to 1866. In 1879, trams with steam traction appeared. The electrification of the tracks began in 1898 and was largely completed in 1910. The maximum length of the network reached in 1923 - 291 km (181 mile). By 1930 the park was about 1600 cars, the maximum number of passengers was transported in 1945 - 405 million. Increased competition from private cars and buses, as well as traffic jams, has led to a gradual closure of the routes. The last tram passed through Sydney in 1961. In some places, there are still tracks, but the old trams run only a short 3.5-kilometer journey from the tram museum to the depth of the Royal National Park.

More than 30 years after the closing of the last tram route, in 1997, a new light-rail tram route Metro Light Rail (not to be confused with the metro) was opened. In 2000 and 2014, it was extended and now runs from Central Station to Dulwich Hill. The length of the route is 12.8 km with 23 stops, approximately 3.9 million passengers use this route annually. There is a project to build a new branch from Central Station through the City to Circular Quay, a central ferry station located a short walk from the Opera House, Royal Botanic Gardens and other tourist attractions. Construction began in 2015. There is also the idea of building branches to Sydney University and the University of New South Wales.

Sydney Opera House. Night view from Harbor Bridge

Salute on Harbor Bridge to mark the closing of the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney

• Sydney Opera House
• The Australian Museum is one of Australia's oldest museums, previously known as The Sydney Museum.
• Powerhouse Museum, Museum of Science.
• Australian National Maritime Museum (Australian National Maritime Museum ).
• Sydney Town Hall.
• Sydney Aquarium
• Sydney Tower
• Centennial Parklands is a park in Sydney.
• House on Elizabeth Bay.
• Elizaveta Farm.
• Justice & Police Museum
• House of Rous Sidler.
• House Rouse Hill
• Meroogal House
• Susannah Place Museum
• Sydney mint
• Vaucluse House
• Hyde Park Barracks
• Government House
• Harbor Bridge
• Cathedral of the Virgin Mary
• Vullumulu Bay Marina
• Darling Harbour Waterfront
• Bondi Beach
• Tarong Zoo.

• New Year Salute in Sydney

Sydney has six sister cities:

• San Francisco, CA, USA
• Nagoya, Japan
• Wellington, New Zealand
• Portsmouth, United Kingdom
• Guangzhou, China
• Florence, Italy

• Pospelov E. M. Geographic names of the world. Toponymic Dictionary / ed. P. A. Ageyeva. — 2nd edition, stereotype. — M.: Russian dictionaries, Astral, ACT, 2002. 512 p. — 3000 ex. — ISBN 5-17-001389-2.

• Dictionary of Sydney - the history of Sydney
• Sydney Official History Archives
• State Records New South Wales
• National Archives of Australia
• Understanding Society Through its Records - John Curtin Library (neo-r.) (not available link). Archived May 2, 2015.
• Directory of Archives in Australia