Sydney is the most populous city in Australia with a metropolitan area population of over 4.2 million people. It is the state capital of New South Wales and is located on the country’s southeast coast. The first European colony in Australia, Sydney was established in 1788 at Sydney Cove by Arthur Phillip who led the First Fleet from Britain. Built around Port Jackson, which includes Sydney Harbour, the city of Sydney has been nicknamed the “Harbour City.” Sydney is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Blue Mountains to the west, the Hawkesbury River to the north and the Woronora Plateau to the south. It lies on a submerged coastline, where the ocean level has risen to flood deep river valleys carved in the sandstone. One of these valleys, Port Jackson, better known as Sydney Harbour, is the largest natural harbor in the world. The Sydney region has been populated by indigenous Australians for at least 30,000 years. At the time of the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, 4000 - 8000 Aboriginal people lived in the region, with three language groups refined into dialects spoken by smaller clans. Urbanization has destroyed most evidence of these early settlements, however, Sydney and its environs are well known for numerous rock drawings and carvings in the sandstone. Several gold rushes, starting in 1851, brought waves of people arriving from around the world and the rapid suburban development that began in the last quarter of the 19th century continues today, giving Sydney its cosmopolitan flair.
Sydney Highlights
Bondi Beach is the grand dame of Sydney's beaches. The foreshore is an eclectic mix of ice-cream parlors, designer cafés, and surf fashion stores. Circular Quay is the focal point of the city and is built around Sydney Cove, combining ferry quays, a railway station and harbor walkways, restaurants, buskers and parks. Darling Harbour, once a thriving industrial port, is a leisure park including the Sydney Aquarium and Powerhouse Museum, the Australian National Maritime Museum, and Segaworld amusement park.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge carries rail, vehicular, and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. In combination with the Sydney Opera House, the vista of these two landmarks has long been the iconic image of Sydney known all over the world. The bridge was the city's tallest structure until 1967. According to Guinness World Records, it is the widest long-span bridge in the world, the highest steel arch bridge with the top of the bridge standing 429.6 feet (134 meters) above the harbor, and the fourth-longest spanning-arch bridge in the world. In 1815, it was proposed that a bridge be built across the harbor but nothing came of this. In 1890, a royal commission determined that there was a heavy level of ferry traffic in the Sydney Harbour area, best relieved with the construction of a bridge. Pre-construction began in 1923 with the demolition of 800 homes and construction of the bridge itself began in December of 1928. Construction of the arch of the bridge began in 1929, and once the arch halves were completed the cables used to hold them up were slowly released to bring the two halves of the arch together. On August19, 1930 they were joined and have remained joined since then. The road and the two sets of tram and railway tracks were completed in 1931, along with power and telephone lines, and water, gas and drainage pipes. On January 19, 1932 the first test train safely crossed the bridge.
posted by Hills @ 2:05 PM
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