Sydney is Australia's largest and oldest city. Its area is 12144 kilometers, and 4.5 million people live in it. Sydney is the capital of New South Wales, and it was founded relatively recently. In 1788, Arthur Phillip arrived at the head of the First Fleet. Sydney became the site of Australia's first colonial European settlement. The city received its name in honor of Lord Sydney, who at that time was Minister of the British Colonies.
City location
Sydney - in which country? And this is in faraway Australia. A city formed around a small bay on the southeast coast. This cove was called Sydney and was part of the southern portion of Port Jackson Bay, where Sydney Harbor stretches. The city began to expand southward. Perhaps this location gave Sydney a second name - "City Near the Bay." The area grew and developed, and after some time, the buildings captured the bay, which consisted of three bays - Sydney Harbor, Northern and Middle. The modern city of Sydney in Australia occupies an even larger territory and includes not only Port Jackson Bay, but also the Botanical Bay of the Tasman Sea, which goes south. On the northern shore of the bay is located C. Smith International Airport.
International status
Australia is a country with Sydney and its attractions that are known around the world. The Loubro University classification, which was proposed back in 1999, classifies Sydney as beta-class cities. This fairly high status has contributed to the fact that many international events were held in the city. These were the Games of the British Empire in 1938, the Olympic Games in 2000, and the Rugby World Cup in 2003.
Political events related to international development were also held. For example, in 2008, a meeting of leaders of APEC countries took place in Sydney, and International Youth Day followed. Today, Sydney is one of the most multicultural and multinational cities on the planet. Immigrants who come to Australia go there. Attractive to people is the fact that Sydney ranks first in terms of living in Australia and 66 in the world.
History
According to research, the first inhabitants in the territory of modern Sydney appeared approximately 30,000 years ago. Before the Europeans came to Australia, this area belonged to the natives, of whom about 8,000 lived on the territory of Port Jackson Bay, but these are only approximate data. The real story of the city begins in 1770, when the famous English explorer traveler James Cook set off on his first expedition, as a result of which he discovered a new land, which he called New South Wales, the capital of this state and became Sydney.
Cook and his expeditionary team spent a little more than a week on the coast, exploring the local flora and fauna, and also plotting the graphically found territory on a map. The difficult times came when the war for the independence of the United States of America began in 1776. The Americans did not accept the convicts who were sent to the United States from England, which caused British prisons to become crowded. Soon the moment came when people simply did not have enough space, and the parliament and the Minister of the Colonies Sydney sent prisoners to Sydney to establish another British colony there.
UK influence
The first fleet, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, arrived on the shores of Botany Bay, where the British colony was to be founded. But after some research, it was decided to go in search of another place, because the lack of fresh water and strong wind are not the best conditions for life. Phillip went to Port Jackson Bay, where he found the sleeve of the bay, curved and inaccessible to oceanic strong winds and waves, where the famous small round bay, which was later called Sydney, was located.
Soon captain Phillip announced the accession of New South Wales to England. He became the first governor, and the day was declared a national holiday in Australia. There was controversy over the name, initially the new settlement was to be called Albion, but literally at the last moment the newly-made governor changed his mind and named the area in honor of Lord Sydney, the British Secretary for Colony Affairs. Many mistakenly believe that Sydney is the capital of Australia, but this is not so for everyone. The capital of the country is Canberra.
Soon, Sydney was filled with prisoners from British prisons, and the city remained for a long time the main place of exile for criminals. Only in the period from 1815 to 1820 their number began to decrease, since after the end of the Napoleonic wars, free immigration was gaining momentum, and by the end of 1820 only 40% of the population were British prisoners. The most difficult year for the natives was 1789, when thousands of people died from the smallpox epidemic that captured the area.
Rum Riot
The next important event in Sydney’s history occurred in 1808, when the Governor of New South Wales attempted to break the officers' monopoly on alcohol. At that time, officers of the New South Wales corps had virtually unlimited power and turned the locals into slaves. They used alcoholic drinks instead of money when buying almost all goods and services. The event was called the Rum Riot, which became the only example in Australia's history of a successful armed seizure of power. Soon the officer corps was disbanded, and the rioters were punished. Later, the governor was first arrested, and the note was removed from his post. He was replaced by a more liberal candidate in the person of Laclan Macquarie.
sights
Sydney is rich in memorable places. The Opera House, Harbor Bridge, beaches and national parks that surround residential neighborhoods all set the atmosphere for the city. The uneven coastline attracts with beautiful bays, distinctive bays, islands and beaches. The tourist here has a place to roam. Places that attract foreigners are literally in every nook and cranny. That is why, in order to explore the whole city, you will have to forget about walking excursions and give preference to transport. Otherwise, visiting all the famous sights simply will not succeed. For these purposes, a tourist sightseeing bus is intended, which takes tourists along a long route through most of Sydney's most impressive sights. Boat trips are also very popular. Sights of Sydney - these are the places that every person has repeatedly seen in the pictures. Which of them are the most important?
Opera theatre
To visit Sydney and not go to the Opera House is a crime. This building is one of the top most beautiful buildings in the world, there is something to see. The theater is so huge that it housed not only concert halls, but also numerous shops, bars, restaurants and cinemas. You can walk along this part of the building for free, but you will have to pay for the entrance to the main theater area.
Wojtek gurak
The next point on the traveler’s map is the Harbor Bridge, which we so often see in the pictures. It is one of the largest arched steel bridges in the world, which is why this place is considered one of the most visited by tourists. The total length exceeds a kilometer, and the width reaches 50 meters. If you climb the very top arch, you will have a stunning view of the whole of Sydney, but this activity is unsafe.
Alessandro casagrande
You can not get past the Royal Botanic Gardens - this is a favorite vacation spot with locals. Nature is fascinating, and you can do anything in the park - walk on the lawns, feed numerous birds and even climb trees if you so desire.
Bryan garnett-law
If time permits, do not be too lazy to go outside the city to the Pigeon Mountains park. It is located about a hundred kilometers from Sydney, but it's worth it. Rare eucalyptus forests shrouded in a smokescreen will not leave anyone indifferent, here the heart will beat faster even among the most indifferent. The grandeur of the park amazes to the core.
Remaining Attractions
But this, of course, does not end the list of Sydney's attractions, every tourist must visit the local aquarium, a country reserve where exotic animals live in natural conditions; Neo-Gothic Cathedral of the Virgin Mary, whose greatness is striking: it is considered the most spacious in the country. Do not forget about the Chinese Garden, which is recognized as one of the best in the world, as well as the places of the first European settlements - this is the Rocks quarter, where the houses that have been preserved since then have been restored.