2. • Capital of New
South Wales.
• Most populous city.
• Bordered by the Pacific
Ocean to the east, the Blue
Mountains to the west, the
Hawkesbury River to the
north and the Royal
National Park to the south.
3. • The urban area, which
is 1.687 km2 (651 sq
mi), is surrounded by
approximately 70
harbors and beaches.
One of it’s most famous
• It sits on a
is the Bondi Beach.
submergent
coastline.
4. • Sydney covers
two regions: the
Cumberland Plain
- a mostly flat
region to the
south and west of
the harbor, and
the Hornsby
Plateau - a
sandstone plateau
to the north of
the harbor and
full of steep
valleys.
5. • Sydney has a temperate climate and due to
proximity of the ocean the weather is moderated,
while the more extreme temperatures occur in
the inland western suburbs.
• Sydney is in
the rain-
shadow of
the Blue
Mountains.
6. Climate
• Due to being located in the southern hemisphere,
summers and winters are reversed.
• January is the warmest month, with an average
temperature range of 18.6-25.8°C (65-78°F).
• July is the coldest month, with an average temperature
range of 8.0-16.2°C (46-61°F).
• Only about fifteen days a year have temperatures of more
than 30°C (86.0°F).
• Winter temperatures rarely drop below 5°C (41°F) in the
coastal areas.
• Rainfall occurs pretty evenly throughout the year, with an
average annual rainfall of 1,217 mm (48 in).
• The last reported snowfall in Sydney was in 1836.
• The ocean is 19°C (66°F) in July to 24°C (75°F) in
January.
7. Climate, cont.
• The El Niño Southern Oscillation is an important part of
Sydney’s weather patterns. Resulting in drought and
bushfires or storms and flooding on opposite phases of the
oscillation.
• Much like here, bushfires tend to occur during spring and
summer - affecting areas of the city that border bushland.
• Sydney is also prone to severe hail storms and wind storms.
Such as the 1999 hailstorm – which damaged eastern
suburbs with hailstones of at least 9 cm (3.5 in) diameter. In
February 2010 Sydney had the some of the highest rainfall
recorded in 25 years that resulted in flash flooding.
• In 2002-2005 Sydney had the warmest summers since
records began in 1859, the following summer of 2007-08
was one of the coolest on record. 2009 and 2010 saw
warmer and drier conditions with above average
temperatures. These dry conditions of 2009 brought a severe
dust storm towards eastern Australia. 2011 had above
average rainfall.
8. • First settled by
the British, then
later by the
French.
• Main spoken
language is English.
Slang is somewhere
between Queen’s
English (Britain) and
American English.
9. History
• Radio carbon dating suggests the region of Sydney has been
inhabited by indigenous Australians for at least 30,000 years.
• The Cadigal people are the traditional indigenous inhabitants
of Sydney Cove. Though population estimates prior to the
First Fleet arrival in 1788 are suspect, ~4,000-8,000
Aboriginal people lived in the Sydney region prior to contact
with the British.
• Aboriginal people were called “Eora” by the British settlers
because when asked where they came from they answered
“eora,” meaning “from this place.”
• There were three main language groups that were then
divided into dialects spoken by smaller clans. Darug (a
coastal dialect spoken by the Cadigal), Dharawal and
Guringai.
• Due to urbanization most of the evidence of these indigenous
settlements was destroyed. However a number of rock
engravings, carvings and rock art are still visible in the
Hawkesbury sandstone of the Sydney basin.
10. History, cont.
• James Cook landed in Botany Bay on the Kurnell Peninsula in
1770. This was the first contact with the Aboriginals
(specifically the Gweagal) in this region.
• A convict settlement was founded by Arthur Phillip at Sydney
Cove on Port Jackson on 26 January 1788.
• A catastrophic epidemic disease spread through the region in
April 1789 and decimated the indigenous populations. This
disease was thought to be smallpox and widely believed to be
caused by the British settlers, as the indigenous population had
no previous exposure to European diseases. Leading to a
population reduction of an estimated 500-1000 Aboriginal
people in the early 1880s.
• There was violent resistance to British settlement in the area
around Botany Bay and the area surrounding the Hawkesbury
River.
• Governor Macquarie, the first governor, improved Sydney with
the construction of roads, bridges, wharves and public
buildings, built by British and Irish convicts. He also began a
campaign to “civilize, Christianize and educate” the Aborigines
by removing them from their clans.
11. History, cont.
• By 1822 Sydney had banks, markets, well-established
thoroughfares and an organized constabulary.
• The 1830-40s saw urban development, with the first
suburbs, due to rapid growth by immigrants from Britain and
Ireland.
• On 20 July 1842 Sydney was the declared the first city in
Australia, with John Hosking the first elected mayor.
• In 1851 the first of several gold rushes began. These lead to
Sydney overtaking Melbourne in population and financial
growth.
• Due to the introduction of steam-powered tramways and
railways rapid suburban development began in the late 19th
century. By the beginning of the 20th century the population
had reached more than a million.
• Following World War II, Sydney continued to expand due to
immigration by Europeans and Asians in the metropolitan
area. Sydney is still expanding today.
13. • Approximate
population of 4.6
million people
(June 2010).
• Urban area is full
of skyscrapers,
while the
suburban areas
are typically 2-3
story houses.
14. Statistics!
From 2006 census
• 4,119,190 people are residents of Sydney.
• 3,641,422 of them live in Sydney’s Urban Centre.
• Inner Sydney is the most densely populated place in
Australia, with 4,023 people per square kilometer
(10,420/sqmi).
• The most common self-identified ancestries for Sydney
residents were: Australian, English, Irish, Scottish and
Chinese. Only 1.1% identified as being of indigenous origin,
while 31.7% were born overseas.
• 75% of Sydney’s annual population growth are immigrants.
Mainly from the United Kingdom, China, New Zealand,
Vietnam, Lebanon, India, Italy and the Philippines.
• The median age of residents is 34.
• 12% of the population is over 65 years old.
• 64% identified as Christian, 14.1% no religion, 10.4% left
the question blank, 4.4% as Muslim, 3.7% as Buddhist,
1.7% as Hindu and 0.9% as Jewish.
15. Statistics!
Economics
• Sydney is the financial and economic hub of Australia.
• Beating out Melbourne, which had been the financial hub
before, due mostly to the gold rushes.
• Since the 1980s jobs have moved from manufacturing to the
services and information sectors.
• Provides approximately 25% of Australia’s total GDP.
• Houses more than half of the country’s top companies, the
regional headquarters for about 500 multinational
corporations and the headquarters of 90 different banks. As
well as the Australian Securities Exchange and the reserve
bank of Australia. Fox Studios Australia also has a large film
studios in the city.
• The unemployment rate was 4.9% as of 2004.
• The 16th most expensive city in the world to live in.
• Also ranks as the 15th in the world for net earnings.
• 12% (~$1billion per annum) of the total agricultural
production of NSW comes from the Sydney region.
17. Government
• Australia was a colony of Britain, and has a
government modeled after the British government.
Still accepts the Queen of England as their queen,
she’s even on their money.
• The Sydney metropolitan area has no overall
governing body. The Cumberland County Council
from 1945-1964 had a limited role, but failed.
• The metropolitan area is divided into local
government areas, much like the boroughs in cities
such as London and New York.
• Elected councils are responsible for functions
delegated to them by the New South Wales State
Government.
19. Food
• Lamb is a staple
• With a high food, and can be
immigrant found in
population, everything from a
Australia’s hamburger to
food has lamb steaks to
changed curry.
over the
years.
• The most famous, and certainly
most popular, food is the meat pie.
20. Food,
cont.
• Barbeques (better know as
• Being right “barbie”) are a common practice,
next to the both for family weekend gatherings
ocean, the and as community events.
seafood • A “Sausage Sizzler” is a popular
selection is barbeque meal, where sausages
varied and and onions are served on white
extensive. bread with tomato sauce or
barbeque sauce. These are
common at fund raising for schools
and local communities.
Pictures: Australian flag (top right), Sydney Harbor skyline (bottom left).
Pictures: map of Australian states and capitals (top left), map of Sydney Inner city (bottom right).
Pictures: Bondi Beach (top left), Sydney Harbor (bottom left), Georges River (bottom right) – a flooded river valley.
Pictures: Chinese Temple in Sydney (top left), sandstone cliffs in Blue Mountains (bottom left).
Pictures: Bondi Beach (top left), The Three Sisters, Blue Mountains – very popular among tourists for hikes and tours (top right), Hunter Valley (bottom left).
A fall of graupel (soft hail), which is often mistaken as snow, in July 2008 has raised the question if that was snowfall in 1836 or simply graupel. The Pacific Ocean along California in summer months is typically in the low 70s.
Australia is currently undergoing a change in their weather patterns.
Pictures: Sydney Harbor in 1932 (top right), A Direct North General View of Sydney Cove painted by convict and artist Thomas Watling in 1794 (bottom left). Like the British they spell things differently: “ou” instead of “o” - such as in “colour”, “s” instead of “z” – such as “realise.” They also list their dates differently, in the Day/Month/Year pattern instead of Month/Day/Year.
Australia is the home of the oldest rock paintings in the world.
Most of the population is along the coasts, as the center of Australia is a giant desert, separated into 10 smaller deserts: Great Victoria Desert, Great Sandy Desert, Tanami Desert, Simpson Desert, Gibson Desert, Little Sandy Desert, Strzelecki Desert, Sturt Stony Desert, Tirari Desert (South Australia), Pedirka Desert (South Australia).
Pictures: Sydney Opera House at night (top left), Sydney (bottom right).
As of 2011, the 2006 census is the only public easily obtained census of Sydney.
[NSW: New South Wales]
Pictures: Sydney at night (top left), Australian money – bills (top right), Australian money – coins (bottom left), New South Wales Parliament House (bottom right). Australian money is made of plastic, unlike our linen based mix, and are of different sizes and colors to allow for easier identification.
Pictures: Sydney Opera House, Sydney’s most famous land mark (top left), entrance gate of Luna Park, an amusement park (top right), Walker House (bottom left), Sydney Central Station (bottom right). Trains are the most popular and common form of transportation in Sydney, cars are usually reserved for use outside of the city.
Pictures: Food flags from Sydney International Food Festival (top left), lamb ribs (top right), meat pie (bottom center).
Pictures: octopus (top left), family barbeque (top right).
Pictures: Sydney Harbor Bridge (all). The Sydney Harbor Bridge was built and finished during the Great Depression. It links the north shore of Sydney to the main part of the city.
Pictures: Sydney Opera House at night (top), Sydney Opera House interior (bottom left), Sydney Opera House (bottom right).
Pictures: Sydney north shore (top left), Sydney skyline (top right), panoramic skyline of Sydney (bottom).
Pictures: Martin Place Sydney (top), Royal Botanical Gardens (bottom left), One Bligh Street Sydney (bottom right).
In no particular order. The one with the star is a pdf file and will take forever to load.