SYDNEY
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AUSTRALIA |
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Sydney is the capital city of the
Australian state of New South Wales and Australia's largest and
oldest city, founded in 1788. With a population exceeding 4 million,
the Sydney metropolis is the larger - and arguably the more
influential - of the two main financial, transport, trade and
cultural centres of Australia (the other being Melbourne, Sydney's
long term rival to the title of pre-eminent Australian city). Sydney
is a significant global and domestic tourist destination and is
regularly declared to be one of the most beautiful and livable
cities in the world, admired for its harbour, beaches and
cosmopolitan culture. Sydney significantly raised its global profile
in recent years as the host city of the 2000 Summer Olympics. |
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Politics
Sydney has always been a focus for the politics of both State and Federal
Parliaments. The electoral boundaries of the local council area (mayoralty)
have been significantly altered by state governments on at least four
occasions since 1945, with advantageous effect to the governing party in the
New South Wales Parliament at the time. Successive State governments of both
major parties, the Labor Party and the Liberal Party, have re-drawn the
electoral boundaries to include inner suburbs that are traditionally
supportive of them, and to exclude suburbs that are traditionally hostile.
A 1987 Liberal re-organisation saw Sydney Council split, with southern
suburbs forming a new South Sydney council. This was thought to advantage
the Liberal government of the day, as the southern suburbs had traditionally
voted Labor.
In 2004, the Labor State Government undid this change, again merging the
councils of the City of Sydney and the City of South Sydney. Critics claimed
that this was performed with the intention of creating a "super-council"
which would be under the control of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), which
also controlled the State Government. Subsequent to this merger, an election
took place on 27 March 2004 which resulted in the independent candidate
Clover Moore taking the position of Lord Mayor from the ALP incumbent.
Critics of the merger claimed that this was a result of a voter backlash
against the party for attempting to create the "super-council".
Landmarks
The city's most famous landmarks are the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the
Sydney Opera House, both of which are located on Sydney Harbour. Sydney's
principal river is the Parramatta River, which enters Sydney Harbour from
the west. While the Harbour is famous for its racing yachts, the Boxing Day
start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and 18ft skiffs, the river is used
for dinghy sailing and rowing as well as recreational boating, racing small
yachts, recreational fishing, and occasional Dragon Boat racing. Another
famous landmark is the Sydney Tower (also known as Centrepoint Tower or the
AMP Tower) which is the second tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere.
Darling Harbour is also a popular tourist attraction. Sydney also has an
interesting underground railway system (see also CityRail), one of only two
in the country (Melbourne has the other). The Sydney Cricket Ground, which
retains several beautiful 1920s-era grandstands, hosts several international
cricket matches and the Sydney Swans football team. Sydney Olympic Park,
after holding a large proportion of the major events in the 2000 Olympic
Games, now regularly hosts sporting and cultural events, especially at
Telstra Stadium. Sydney is also known for the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian
Mardi Gras.
Bondi beachSydney is the home of the Australian Stock Exchange. It also has
6 universities: the University of Sydney, the University of New South Wales,
Macquarie University, the University of Technology, Sydney, the University
of Western Sydney, and two of the campuses of the Australian Catholic
University.
Tourist attractions
Sydney is noted for its tourist attractions, including:
Bondi Beach
Darling Harbour
Chinatown, Sydney
King Street Wharf
Oceanworld, Manly.
Powerhouse Museum, a museum of science and technology
Sydney Aquarium, Darling Harbour.
Sydney Harbour, more correctly known as Port Jackson
Sydney Tower (aka Centrepoint Tower or AMP Tower), CBD.
Taronga Zoo, Mosman.
The Rocks
Culture
Sydney (like Melbourne) boasts a full roster of musical, theatrical and
artistic activity throughout the year, from the formal - including the
Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney Theatre Company, the Sydney Dance
Company, and the Archibald Prize - to festivals, including the Sydney
Festival, a celebration of free performances throughout January. Many
internationally known Australian rock bands have had their conception in
Sydney, from Midnight Oil to INXS. Sydney also has been home to many visual
artists, from the lush pastoralism of Lloyd Rees's depictions of Sydney
Harbour to Jeffrey Smart's portraits of bleak urban alienation. Sydney is
also home to several large ethnic communities throughout the greater
metropolitan area, and a significant gay community who host the Sydney Gay
and Lesbian Mardi Gras along Oxford Street.
To encourage sharing of cultural, trade and tourist links, the City of
Sydney Council maintains sister city relations with the cities San
Francisco, Nagoya, Wellington, Portsmouth, Guangzhou, and Florence.
Regions and suburbs
Regions of Sydney
The extensive area covered by metropolitan Sydney is formally divided into
more than 300 suburbs (for addressing and postal purposes), and formally
administered by about 38 separate local government areas (in addition to the
extensive responsibilities of the New South Wales State government and its
agencies). In addition, there are a number of regional descriptions which
are used informally to conveniently describe large sections of the
metropolitan area. However it should be noted that there are many suburbs
which are not conveniently described by any of the following informal
regional categories.
Eastern Suburbs
Inner West
Northern Beaches
North Shore
Southern Sydney
Western Sydney
Sydney suburbs and satellite cities
Metropolitan Sydney cover about 2000 square kilometers, has 4 million
inhabitants and about 300 suburbs. There are about 38 local government areas
in the Sydney region, each containing several suburbs. See Local Government
Areas of New South Wales. The City of Sydney covers a fairly small area
comprising downtown Sydney and neighbouring inner-city neighbourhoods.
This is a partial list of Sydney suburbs and satellite cities. For a
complete suburbs listing see List of Sydney suburbs.
Local Government Areas
the City of Sydney, as well as:
Ashfield
Auburn
Bankstown
Baulkham Hills
Blacktown
Burwood
Camden
Campbelltown
Canada Bay
Canterbury
Fairfield
Hawkesbury
Holroyd
Hornsby
Hunter's Hill
Hurstville
Kogarah
Ku-ring-gai
Lane Cove
Leichhardt
Liverpool
Manly
Marrickville
Mosman
North Sydney
Parramatta
Penrith
Pittwater
Randwick
Rockdale
Ryde
Strathfield
Sutherland
Warringah
Waverley
Willoughby
Woollahra
Selected suburbs
Balgowlah
Bondi Junction
Cabramatta
Camperdown
Castle Hill
Darlinghurst
Granville
Mascot
Newtown
Parramatta
Redfern
Rhodes
Sydney localities
Goat Island
Kings Cross
Voyager Point
Rookwood Cemetery
Chinatown, Sydney |
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