Sydney

[38] The first meeting between Aboriginals and British explorers occurred on 29 April 1770 when Lieutenant James Cook landed at Botany Bay (Kamay[41]) and encountered the Gweagal clan.

Governor William Bligh (1806–08) imposed restrictions on commerce and ordered the demolition of buildings erected on Crown land, including some owned by past and serving military officers.

[62] Free settlers, free-born residents and former convicts now represented the vast majority of the population of Sydney, leading to increasing public agitation for responsible government and an end to transportation.

Bands of Darug people, led by Pemulwuy and later by his son Tedbury, burned crops, killed livestock and raided settler stores in a pattern of resistance that was to be repeated as the colonial frontier expanded.

Following the deaths of several settlers, Governor Macquarie dispatched three military detachments into Dharawal lands, culminating in the Appin massacre (April 1816) in which at least 14 Aboriginal people were killed.

Many families were evicted from their homes and shanty towns grew along coastal Sydney and Botany Bay, the largest being "Happy Valley" at La Perouse.

In March 1932, when populist Labor premier Jack Lang attempted to open the Sydney Harbour Bridge he was upstaged by Francis de Groot of the far-right New Guard, who slashed the ribbon with a sabre.

Sun tanned men and maidens...Red-roofed villas terraced above the blue waters of the harbour...Even Melbourne seems like some grey and stately city of Northern Europe compared with Sydney's sub-tropical splendours."

[91] An estimated one million onlookers, most of the city's population, watched Queen Elizabeth II land in 1954 at Farm Cove where Captain Phillip had raised the Union Jack 165 years earlier, commencing her Australian Royal Tour.

The Australian Statistical Geography Standard definition of Greater Sydney covers 12,369 km2 (4,776 sq mi) and includes the local government areas of Central Coast in the north, Hawkesbury in the north-west, Blue Mountains in the west, Sutherland Shire in the south, and Wollondilly in the south-west.

[96] The local government area of the City of Sydney covers about 26 square kilometres from Garden island in the east to Bicentennial Park in the west, and south to the suburbs of Alexandria and Rosebery.

[103] Directly overlying the older Hawkesbury sandstone is the Wianamatta shale, a geological feature found in western Sydney that was deposited in connection with a large river delta during the Middle Triassic.

[105] The most prevalent plant communities in the Sydney region are grassy woodlands (i.e. savannas)[106] and some pockets of dry sclerophyll forests,[107] which consist of eucalyptus trees, casuarinas, melaleucas, corymbias and angophoras, with shrubs (typically wattles, callistemons, grevilleas and banksias), and a semi-continuous grass in the understory.

[143] Since Sydney is downwind of the Great Dividing Range, it occasionally experiences dry, westerly foehn winds typically in winter and early spring (which are the reason for its warm maximum temperatures).

[144][145][146] Westerly winds are intense when the Roaring Forties (or the Southern Annular Mode) shift towards southeastern Australia,[147] where they may damage homes and affect flights, in addition to making the temperature seem colder than it actually is.

[198] The 2021 Australian census found the Northern Beaches to have, in comparison with the rest of Sydney, a large British diaspora and high concentration of people with European ancestry.

The greater western suburbs encompasses the areas of Parramatta, the sixth largest business district in Australia, settled the same year as the harbour-side colony,[202] Bankstown, Liverpool, Penrith, and Fairfield.

[321] Major developmental projects designed to increase Sydney's tourism sector include a casino and hotel at Barangaroo and the redevelopment of East Darling Harbour, which involves a new exhibition and convention centre, now Australia's largest.

[366][367][368] Well known contemporary novels set in the city include Melina Marchetta's Looking for Alibrandi (1992), Peter Carey's 30 Days in Sydney: A Wildly Distorted Account (1999), J. M. Coetzee's Diary of a Bad Year (2007) and Kate Grenville's The Secret River (2010).

[370] The Australian New Wave saw a resurgence in film production, with many notable features shot in the city between the 1970s and 80s, helmed by directors such as Bruce Beresford, Peter Weir and Gillian Armstrong.

Successful films shot in Sydney since then include The Matrix, Lantana, Mission: Impossible 2, Moulin Rouge!, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Australia, Superman Returns, The Great Gatsby and Anyone but You.

The National Institute of Dramatic Art is based in Sydney and has several famous alumni such as Mel Gibson, Judy Davis, Baz Luhrmann, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving and Jacqueline Mckenzie.

From being illegal at the beginning of the century, sea bathing gained immense popularity during the early 1900s and the first surf lifesaving club was established at Bondi Beach.

[416] In the past, the state has tended to resist amalgamating Sydney's more populated local government areas as merged councils could pose a threat to its governmental power.

[440] Sydney Metro, a driverless rapid transit system separate from the suburban commuter network, commenced operation in May 2019 and was extended through the city to Sydenham on 19 August 2024.

[461] The Botany Swamps Scheme was one of several ventures during the mid-1800s that saw the construction of wells, tunnels, steam pumping stations, and small dams to service Sydney's growing population.

[470] The release of the Metropolitan Air Quality Scheme (MAQS) led to a broader understanding of the causation of pollution in Sydney, allowing the government to form appropriate responses.

[471] The 2019–20 Australian bushfire season significantly impacted outer Sydney and dramatically reduced air quality, leading to a smoky haze that lingered for days.

The air quality was 11 times the hazardous level in some days,[472][473] worse than New Delhi's;[474] it was compared to "smoking 32 cigarettes" by Brian Oliver, a respiratory diseases scientist at the University of Technology Sydney.

Despite its high ranking for an Australian city, Sydney has a low level of mass-transit services, with a historically low-density layout and significant urban sprawl, thus increasing the likelihood of car dependency.

Charcoal drawing of kangaroos in Heathcote National Park
The Founding of Australia, 26 January 1788, by Captain Arthur Phillip R.N., Sydney Cove. Painting by Algernon Talmage .
Thomas Watling 's View of Sydney Cove , c. 1794 –1796
The Castle Hill convict rebellion of 1804
Aerial illustration of Sydney, 1888
A tramcar on George Street in 1920. Sydney once had one of the largest tram networks in the British Empire.
Sydney Harbour Bridge opening day, 19 March 1932
The Sydney skyline at night in 1986
Sydney lies on a submergent coastline where the ocean level has risen to flood deep rias .
Almost all of the exposed rocks around Sydney are Sydney sandstone .
Typical grassy woodland in the Sydney metropolitan area
A lightning storm over Potts Point in 1991
Sydney area at night, facing west. Wollongong is bottom left, and the Central Coast is at the far right.
Historical buildings in Millers Point , an inner suburb north of the CBD
Newtown , one of the inner-most parts of the Inner West, is one of the most complete Victorian and Edwardian era commercial precincts in Australia.
Residences in Bellevue Hill . Sydney's eastern suburbs are made up of some of the most expensive real estate in the country [ 190 ]
Kurnell , La Perouse , and Cronulla , along with various other suburbs, face Botany Bay.
Chatswood is a major commercial district.
Parramatta , a major commercial centre of Greater Western Sydney , is often referred to as Sydney's "second CBD "
York Street is an example of a city street in Sydney with an array of intact Victorian heritage architecture.
General Post Office
Frank Gehry 's Dr Chau Chak Wing Building
Terraces in Kirribilli
The Centennial Parklands is the largest park in the City of Sydney, comprising 189 ha (470 acres). [ 270 ]
The Anzac War Memorial in Hyde Park is a public memorial dedicated to the achievement of the Australian Imperial Force of World War I . [ 272 ]
The central business district . Sydney is the financial and economic centre of Australia, having the largest economy and contributing a quarter of Australia's total GDP. [ 281 ]
Pitt Street , a major street in the CBD , runs from Circular Quay in the north to Waterloo in the south, and is home to many large high-end retailers. [ 295 ]
State Savings Bank
Darling Harbour is a major entertainment and tourism precinct.
Chinese New Year celebrations in Chinatown . Sydney is home to the nation's largest population of Chinese Australians . [ 331 ]
St Mary's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney .
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain , is the fourth largest public gallery in Australia.
The State Library of New South Wales holds the oldest library collections in Australia.
The State Theatre on Market Street was opened in 1929.
A concert at the Sydney Opera House
Australia's national broadcaster, the ABC , is headquartered in Ultimo .
Sailing on Sydney Harbour
Sydney Olympic Park was built for the 2000 Olympics and has become a major sporting and recreational precinct.
Parliament House holds the Government of New South Wales and is the oldest public building in Australia.
The Sydney Town Hall is the seat of the City of Sydney ; the oldest local government in the city
Government House is the official residence of the Governor of New South Wales
The University of Sydney
The University of Technology Sydney
The Sydney Hospital , completed in 1816
Light Horse Interchange , the largest of its kind in Australia
Central station is the busiest railway station in Australia, and the city's main public transport hub.
Victoria Cross Station on the Sydney Metro
The CBD and South East Light Rail connects Sydney's CBD with the Eastern Suburbs.
A Freshwater -class ferry Departing Circular Quay to Manly
Warragamba Dam is Sydney's largest water supply dam.
George Street and bushfire smoke in December 2019
Traffic congestion on the Warringah Freeway , Milsons Point