|
 Image of Sydney taken by NASA. The city centre is about a third of the way in on the south shore of the upper inlet. Click on the image and then scroll down for an annotated version.
Image of Sydney taken by NASA. The city centre is about a third of the way in on the south shore of the upper inlet. Click on the image and then scroll down for an annotated version.
 A view of the Sydney CBD from the Harbour Bridge, the Circular Quay is in the foreground
A view of the Sydney CBD from the Harbour Bridge, the Circular Quay is in the foreground
Sydney is located in a coastal basin between the Blue Mountains to the west. The city features the largest natural harbour in the world, Port Jackson, and more than 70 harbour and ocean beaches, including the famous Bondi Beach. Sydney's urban area of 1,687 km² (651 mi²) is similar to that of Greater London, although it has less than half of that city's population. The metropolitan area (Sydney Statistical Division) is 12,145 km² (4,689 mi²); a significant portion of this area is national park and other unsettled land.
Sydney occupies two geographical regions: the Cumberland Plain, a relatively flat or rolling region lying to the south and west of the harbour, and the Hornsby Plateau, a plateau north of the harbour, up to 200 metres (656 ft) in elevation, dissected by forested valleys. The oldest parts of the city are located in the flat areas; the Hornsby Plateau, known as the North Shore, was slower to develop because of its hilly topography, and was mostly a quiet backwater until the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened in 1932, linking it to the rest of the city.
Climate
Sydney has a subtropical climate with warm summers and cool winters, with rainfall spread throughout the year. The weather is moderated by proximity to the ocean, and more extreme temperatures are recorded in the inland western suburbs. The warmest month is January, with an average temperature range on the coast of 18.6 °C - 25.8 °C and an average of 14.6 days a year over 30 °C. The highest recorded temperature is 45.3 °C on 1939-01-14 at the end of a 4 day nationwide heatwave. The winter is mild, with temperatures rarely dropping below 5 °C in coastal areas. The coldest month is June, with an average range of 8.0 °C - 16.2 °C. The lowest recorded minimum is 2.1 °C. Rainfall is fairly evenly divided between summer and winter, but is slight higher during the first half of the year, when easterly winds dominate. The average annual rainfall, with moderate to low variability, is 1217.0 mm, falling on an average 138.0 days a year.[4][5]
Although the city does not suffer from cyclones or significant earthquakes, the El Niño Southern Oscillation plays an important role in determining Sydney's weather patterns: drought and bushfire on the one hand, and storms and flooding on the other, associated with the opposite phases of the oscillation. Many areas of the city bordering bushland have experienced bushfires, notably in 1994 and 2002 – these tend to occur during the spring and summer. The city is subject to infrequent severe hail storms and wind storms.
Urban structure
 The Sydney Opera House and Sydney skyline
The Sydney Opera House and Sydney skyline
The extensive area covered by urban 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 Government of New South Wales and its agencies). The City of Sydney itself covers a fairly small area comprising the central business district and neighbouring inner-city suburbs. In addition, there are a number of regional descriptions which are used informally to conveniently describe large sections of the urban area. However it should be noted that there are many suburbs which are not conveniently covered by any of the following informal regional categories. The regions are Eastern Suburbs, Hills District, Inner West, Lower North Shore, Northern Beaches, North Shore, Southern Sydney, South-eastern Sydney, South-western Sydney, Sutherland Shire and Western Sydney
 Darling Harbour at night, a precinct on the western edge of Sydney.
Darling Harbour at night, a precinct on the western edge of Sydney.
Sydney's central business district (CBD) extends southwards for about 2 kilometres (1.25 mi) from Sydney Cove, the point of the first European settlement. Densely concentrated skyscrapers and other buildings including historic sandstone buildings such as the Sydney Town Hall and Queen Victoria Building are interspersed by several parks such as Wynyard and Hyde Park. The CBD is bounded on the east side by a chain of parkland that extends from Hyde Park through the Domain and Royal Botanic Gardens to Farm Cove on the harbour. The west side is bounded by Darling Harbour, a popular tourist precinct. Central Station marks the southern end of the CBD. George Street is the Sydney CBDs main north-south thoroughfare.
Although the CBD dominated the city's business and cultural life in the early days, other business/cultural districts have developed in a radial pattern since Liverpool in the southwest, Chatswood to the north, and Hurstville in the south.
|
 Port Jackson from a helicopter
Port Jackson from a helicopter
As of September 2003, the unemployment rate in Sydney was 5.3%.Australia as a country has by far the most overvalued houses in the Western world, with prices 52 per cent higher than justified by rental values, says OECD in a report published in November 2005. [8]
The economy of Sydney is large and diverse, the sectors with the largest percentage of employed persons include property and business services, retail, manufacturing and health and community services.Australia and is also an important financial centre in the Asia-Pacific.[10] Sydney is home to the Australian Stock Exchange and the Reserve Bank of Australia, a number of major Australian banks, and many major Australian corporations, it also serves as the regional headquarters for numerous multinational corporations. 20th Century Fox has large Sydney studios.
|
 The University of Sydney has been operating since 1850 and is the oldest university in Australia.
The University of Sydney has been operating since 1850 and is the oldest university in Australia.
Sydney is the site of Australia's first university: the University of Sydney was established in Sydney in 1850 and remains one of Australia's most prestigious universities. There are five other public universities operating primarily in Sydney: the University of New South Wales, Macquarie University, the University of Technology, Sydney, the University of Western Sydney, and the Australian Catholic University (two of whose five campuses are in Sydney). Other universities which operate secondary campuses in Sydney include the University of Notre Dame Australia and the University of Wollongong.
There are four multi-campus government funded North Sydney Institute of TAFE, Western Sydney Institute of TAFE and South Western Sydney Institute of TAFE.
Sydney has numerous public, denominational, and independent schools. Public schools, including pre-schools, primary and secondary schools, and special schools are administered by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training. There are four state administered education areas in Sydney, which coordinate 919 schools. Selective schools are high schools which admit students on the basis of certain criteria, usually academic testing.
|
Health
The Government of New South Wales operates numerous public hospitals, management of these hospitals is coordinated by 4 health services. Sydney South West Health, Sydney West Area, Northern Sydney and Central Coast and the South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area each manage a number of hospitals and specialist health facilities. There are also a number of private hospitals in the city.
Transport
 Sydney Monorail above Market Street, Sydney
Sydney Monorail above Market Street, Sydney
 Sydneys focal point, Circular Quay wharf and railway station as seen from an approaching Rivercat ferry.
Sydneys focal point, Circular Quay wharf and railway station as seen from an approaching Rivercat ferry.
Most transport in Sydney is by automobiles, and there is an extensive network of freeways and tollways (known as motorways) and roads across Sydney. The most important trunk routes in the urban area form the Metroad system. Sydney is also served by extensive train, bus and ferry networks. Sydney trains are run by CityRail, a corporation of the New South Wales State Government. Trains run as suburban commuter rail services in the outer suburbs, then converge in an underground city loop service in the CBD. In the years following the 2000 Olympics, CityRail's performance declined significantly. Public anger resulted in the introduction of a new timetable, the employment of more drivers and a large infrastructure project which is scheduled to be completed by 2010.[13][14][15]
Sydney has one privately operated light rail line, the Metro Light Rail, running from Central Station to Lilyfield along a former goods train line. There is also a monorail which runs in a loop around the main shopping district and Darling Harbour. Sydney was formerly served by an extensive tram network, which was progressively closed in the 1950s and 1960s. Most parts of the metropolitan area are served by buses, many of which follow the pre-1963 tram routes. In the city and inner suburbs the state-owned Sydney Buses has a monopoly. In the outer suburbs, service is divided between many private bus companies. Sydney Ferries, another State government-owned organisation, runs numerous commuter and tourist ferry services on Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River.
Kingsford Smith International Airport, located in the suburb of Mascot, is Sydney's main airport, and the oldest continuously operating commercial airport in the world. The smaller Bankstown Airport mainly serves private and general aviation. There are light aviation airfields at Hoxton Park and Camden. RAAF Base Richmond lies to the north-west of the city.
Utilites
Water storage and supply for Sydney is managed by the Blue Mountains, Woronora Dam, Warragamba Dam and the Shoalhaven Scheme. [16] Historically low water levels in the catchment have led to water use restrictions and the NSW government is investigating alternative water supply options, including grey water recycling and the construction of a seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant at Kurnell.[17] Sydney Water also collects the wastewater and sewerage produced by the city.
Three companies supply natural gas and electricity to Sydney, they are Integral Energy. Numerous telecommunications companies operate in Sydney providing terrestrial and mobile telecommunications services.
|
^ Kohen, J. L. 2000. First and last people: Aboriginal Sydney. In J. Connell (Ed.). Sydney the emergence of a global city. pp 76-95. Oxford University Press ISBN 0195507487, pp 76-78
^ Ibid, pp 81-82
^ Ibid, pp 83
^ Australian Bureau of Meterology. 2005. Climate averages.
^ Ellyard, D. 1994. Droughts and Flooding Rains. Angus & Robertson ISBN 0207185573
^ a Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2005. Sydney Statistical Division.
^ Real Estate Institute of Australia. December 14 2005. Still strong confidence in the housing market, Press Release
^ Boilling, M. February 2 2006. City among most costly, Herald Sun
^ a b c Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2002. Sydney - Basic Community Profile and Snapshot - 2001 Census
^ Daly, M. T. and Pritchard, B. 2000. Sydney:Australia's financial and commercial capital. In J. Connell (Ed.). Sydney the emergence of a global city. pp 76-95. Oxford University Press ISBN 0195507487, pp 167-188
^ Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2005. National Regional Profile: Sydney
^ Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2005. National Regional Profile: Inner Sydney
^ CityRail (2002). Rail Clearways Plan
^ Kerr, J. and A. Smith. July 22 2004. Panic stations over CityRail driver exodus. Sydney Morning Herald
^ Kerr, J. December 4 2004. Terminal dilemma. Sydney Morning Herald
^ Sydney Catchment Authority. History of Sydney's water supply
^ Sydney Water. Sydney's desalination project
|
Image of Sydney taken by NASA. The city centre is about a third of the way in on the south shore of the upper inlet. Click on the image and then scroll down for an annotated version.
Image of Sydney taken by NASA. The city centre is about a third of the way in on the south shore of the upper inlet. Click on the image and then scroll down for an annotated version.
A view of the Sydney CBD from the Harbour Bridge, the Circular Quay is in the foreground
A view of the Sydney CBD from the Harbour Bridge, the Circular Quay is in the foreground
Sydney is located in a coastal basin between the Blue Mountains to the west. The city features the largest natural harbour in the world, Port Jackson, and more than 70 harbour and ocean beaches, including the famous Bondi Beach. Sydney's urban area of 1,687 km² (651 mi²) is similar to that of Greater London, although it has less than half of that city's population. The metropolitan area (Sydney Statistical Division) is 12,145 km² (4,689 mi²); a significant portion of this area is national park and other unsettled land.
Sydney occupies two geographical regions: the Cumberland Plain, a relatively flat or rolling region lying to the south and west of the harbour, and the Hornsby Plateau, a plateau north of the harbour, up to 200 metres (656 ft) in elevation, dissected by forested valleys. The oldest parts of the city are located in the flat areas; the Hornsby Plateau, known as the North Shore, was slower to develop because of its hilly topography, and was mostly a quiet backwater until the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened in 1932, linking it to the rest of the city.
Climate
Sydney has a subtropical climate with warm summers and cool winters, with rainfall spread throughout the year. The weather is moderated by proximity to the ocean, and more extreme temperatures are recorded in the inland western suburbs. The warmest month is January, with an average temperature range on the coast of 18.6 °C - 25.8 °C and an average of 14.6 days a year over 30 °C. The highest recorded temperature is 45.3 °C on 1939-01-14 at the end of a 4 day nationwide heatwave. The winter is mild, with temperatures rarely dropping below 5 °C in coastal areas. The coldest month is June, with an average range of 8.0 °C - 16.2 °C. The lowest recorded minimum is 2.1 °C. Rainfall is fairly evenly divided between summer and winter, but is slight higher during the first half of the year, when easterly winds dominate. The average annual rainfall, with moderate to low variability, is 1217.0 mm, falling on an average 138.0 days a year.[4][5]
Although the city does not suffer from cyclones or significant earthquakes, the El Niño Southern Oscillation plays an important role in determining Sydney's weather patterns: drought and bushfire on the one hand, and storms and flooding on the other, associated with the opposite phases of the oscillation. Many areas of the city bordering bushland have experienced bushfires, notably in 1994 and 2002 – these tend to occur during the spring and summer. The city is subject to infrequent severe hail storms and wind storms.
Urban structure
The Sydney Opera House and Sydney skyline
The Sydney Opera House and Sydney skyline
The extensive area covered by urban 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 Government of New South Wales and its agencies). The City of Sydney itself covers a fairly small area comprising the central business district and neighbouring inner-city suburbs. In addition, there are a number of regional descriptions which are used informally to conveniently describe large sections of the urban area. However it should be noted that there are many suburbs which are not conveniently covered by any of the following informal regional categories. The regions are Eastern Suburbs, Hills District, Inner West, Lower North Shore, Northern Beaches, North Shore, Southern Sydney, South-eastern Sydney, South-western Sydney, Sutherland Shire and Western Sydney
Darling Harbour at night, a precinct on the western edge of Sydney.
Darling Harbour at night, a precinct on the western edge of Sydney.
Sydney's central business district (CBD) extends southwards for about 2 kilometres (1.25 mi) from Sydney Cove, the point of the first European settlement. Densely concentrated skyscrapers and other buildings including historic sandstone buildings such as the Sydney Town Hall and Queen Victoria Building are interspersed by several parks such as Wynyard and Hyde Park. The CBD is bounded on the east side by a chain of parkland that extends from Hyde Park through the Domain and Royal Botanic Gardens to Farm Cove on the harbour. The west side is bounded by Darling Harbour, a popular tourist precinct. Central Station marks the southern end of the CBD. George Street is the Sydney CBDs main north-south thoroughfare.
Although the CBD dominated the city's business and cultural life in the early days, other business/cultural districts have developed in a radial pattern since Liverpool in the southwest, Chatswood to the north, and Hurstville in the south.
|
Port Jackson from a helicopter
Port Jackson from a helicopter
As of September 2003, the unemployment rate in Sydney was 5.3%.Australia as a country has by far the most overvalued houses in the Western world, with prices 52 per cent higher than justified by rental values, says OECD in a report published in November 2005. [8]
The economy of Sydney is large and diverse, the sectors with the largest percentage of employed persons include property and business services, retail, manufacturing and health and community services.Australia and is also an important financial centre in the Asia-Pacific.[10] Sydney is home to the Australian Stock Exchange and the Reserve Bank of Australia, a number of major Australian banks, and many major Australian corporations, it also serves as the regional headquarters for numerous multinational corporations. 20th Century Fox has large Sydney studios.
|
The University of Sydney has been operating since 1850 and is the oldest university in Australia.
The University of Sydney has been operating since 1850 and is the oldest university in Australia.
Sydney is the site of Australia's first university: the University of Sydney was established in Sydney in 1850 and remains one of Australia's most prestigious universities. There are five other public universities operating primarily in Sydney: the University of New South Wales, Macquarie University, the University of Technology, Sydney, the University of Western Sydney, and the Australian Catholic University (two of whose five campuses are in Sydney). Other universities which operate secondary campuses in Sydney include the University of Notre Dame Australia and the University of Wollongong.
There are four multi-campus government funded North Sydney Institute of TAFE, Western Sydney Institute of TAFE and South Western Sydney Institute of TAFE.
Sydney has numerous public, denominational, and independent schools. Public schools, including pre-schools, primary and secondary schools, and special schools are administered by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training. There are four state administered education areas in Sydney, which coordinate 919 schools. Selective schools are high schools which admit students on the basis of certain criteria, usually academic testing.
|
Health
The Government of New South Wales operates numerous public hospitals, management of these hospitals is coordinated by 4 health services. Sydney South West Health, Sydney West Area, Northern Sydney and Central Coast and the South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area each manage a number of hospitals and specialist health facilities. There are also a number of private hospitals in the city.
Transport
Sydney Monorail above Market Street, Sydney
Sydney Monorail above Market Street, Sydney
Sydneys focal point, Circular Quay wharf and railway station as seen from an approaching Rivercat ferry.
Sydneys focal point, Circular Quay wharf and railway station as seen from an approaching Rivercat ferry.
Most transport in Sydney is by automobiles, and there is an extensive network of freeways and tollways (known as motorways) and roads across Sydney. The most important trunk routes in the urban area form the Metroad system. Sydney is also served by extensive train, bus and ferry networks. Sydney trains are run by CityRail, a corporation of the New South Wales State Government. Trains run as suburban commuter rail services in the outer suburbs, then converge in an underground city loop service in the CBD. In the years following the 2000 Olympics, CityRail's performance declined significantly. Public anger resulted in the introduction of a new timetable, the employment of more drivers and a large infrastructure project which is scheduled to be completed by 2010.[13][14][15]
Sydney has one privately operated light rail line, the Metro Light Rail, running from Central Station to Lilyfield along a former goods train line. There is also a monorail which runs in a loop around the main shopping district and Darling Harbour. Sydney was formerly served by an extensive tram network, which was progressively closed in the 1950s and 1960s. Most parts of the metropolitan area are served by buses, many of which follow the pre-1963 tram routes. In the city and inner suburbs the state-owned Sydney Buses has a monopoly. In the outer suburbs, service is divided between many private bus companies. Sydney Ferries, another State government-owned organisation, runs numerous commuter and tourist ferry services on Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River.
Kingsford Smith International Airport, located in the suburb of Mascot, is Sydney's main airport, and the oldest continuously operating commercial airport in the world. The smaller Bankstown Airport mainly serves private and general aviation. There are light aviation airfields at Hoxton Park and Camden. RAAF Base Richmond lies to the north-west of the city.
Utilites
Water storage and supply for Sydney is managed by the Blue Mountains, Woronora Dam, Warragamba Dam and the Shoalhaven Scheme. [16] Historically low water levels in the catchment have led to water use restrictions and the NSW government is investigating alternative water supply options, including grey water recycling and the construction of a seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant at Kurnell.[17] Sydney Water also collects the wastewater and sewerage produced by the city.
Three companies supply natural gas and electricity to Sydney, they are Integral Energy. Numerous telecommunications companies operate in Sydney providing terrestrial and mobile telecommunications services.
|
^ Kohen, J. L. 2000. First and last people: Aboriginal Sydney. In J. Connell (Ed.). Sydney the emergence of a global city. pp 76-95. Oxford University Press ISBN 0195507487, pp 76-78
^ Ibid, pp 81-82
^ Ibid, pp 83
^ Australian Bureau of Meterology. 2005. Climate averages.
^ Ellyard, D. 1994. Droughts and Flooding Rains. Angus & Robertson ISBN 0207185573
^ a Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2005. Sydney Statistical Division.
^ Real Estate Institute of Australia. December 14 2005. Still strong confidence in the housing market, Press Release
^ Boilling, M. February 2 2006. City among most costly, Herald Sun
^ a b c Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2002. Sydney - Basic Community Profile and Snapshot - 2001 Census
^ Daly, M. T. and Pritchard, B. 2000. Sydney:Australia's financial and commercial capital. In J. Connell (Ed.). Sydney the emergence of a global city. pp 76-95. Oxford University Press ISBN 0195507487, pp 167-188
^ Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2005. National Regional Profile: Sydney
^ Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2005. National Regional Profile: Inner Sydney
^ CityRail (2002). Rail Clearways Plan
^ Kerr, J. and A. Smith. July 22 2004. Panic stations over CityRail driver exodus. Sydney Morning Herald
^ Kerr, J. December 4 2004. Terminal dilemma. Sydney Morning Herald
^ Sydney Catchment Authority. History of Sydney's water supply
^ Sydney Water. Sydney's desalination project
|
Hotels in Australia - Sydney >>
|
