Sydney

Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, is the largest city in that state and in all of Australia. The city is built around Sydney Harbour, stretching roughly 80 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Blue Mountains in the west, and another 80 kilometers from Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and the Hawkesbury River in the north and northwest down to the Royal National Park and Macarthur in the south and southwest. Greater Sydney is made up of 658 suburbs across 33 local government areas.

People who live there are often called "Sydneysiders." As of June 2025, the estimated population was 5,638,830—about 66 percent of the state's total. The city is sometimes nicknamed the Emerald City or the Harbour City. Aboriginal Australians have lived in the Greater Sydney region for at least 30,000 years, and their engravings and cultural sites are still common.

The traditional custodians of the land where modern Sydney stands are the Darug, Dharawal, and Eora clans. In 1770, during his first Pacific voyage, James Cook charted Australia's eastern coast and landed at Botany Bay. In 1788, the First Fleet of convicts, led by Arthur Phillip, established Sydney as a British penal colony—the first European settlement in Australia. After World War II, the city saw mass migration, and by 2021 more than 40 percent of its population had been born overseas.

The most common foreign birthplaces are mainland China, India, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Though it is one of the most expensive cities globally, Sydney often ranks among the top ten most liveable cities. It is classified as an Alpha+ city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, reflecting its regional and global influence. Ranked eleventh worldwide for economic opportunity, Sydney has an advanced market economy strong in education, finance, manufacturing, and tourism.

The University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales are ranked 18th and 19th in the world, respectively. Sydney has hosted major international sporting events, including the 2000 Summer Olympics, the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final, and the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup Final. It is among the top fifteen most-visited cities worldwide, drawing millions of tourists each year to its landmarks. The city has over 1,000,000 hectares of nature reserves and parks, with notable natural features like Sydney Harbour and the Royal National Park.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge and the World Heritage-listed Sydney Opera House are major attractions. Central Station serves as the hub for Sydney's suburban trains, metro, light rail, and longer-distance services. The main passenger airport is Kingsford Smith Airport, one of the world's oldest continuously operating airports. In 1788, Governor Arthur Phillip named the cove where the first British settlement was established Sydney Cove after Home Secretary Thomas Townshend, the 1st Viscount Sydney.

The Aboriginal inhabitants called the cove Warrane. Phillip briefly considered naming the settlement Albion, but that name was never officially used. By 1790, Phillip and other officials regularly called the township "Sydney." It was declared a city in 1842.

The Gadigal (Cadigal) clan, whose territory runs along the southern shore of Port Jackson from South Head to Darling Harbour, are the traditional owners of the land where the British settlement first began; they call their territory Gadi (Cadi). Aboriginal clan names in the Sydney region were often formed by adding the suffix "-gal" to a word for their territory, a specific place, a food source, or a totem. Greater Sydney covers the traditional lands of 28 known Aboriginal clans.

History First inhabitants of the region The first people to inhabit the area now known as Sydney were Aboriginal Australians who migrated from Southeast Asia via northern Australia. Flaked pebbles found in Western Sydney's gravel sediments may indicate human occupation from 45,000 to 50,000 years ago, while radiocarbon dating shows evidence of human activity from around 30,000 years ago. Before the British arrived, there were 4,000 to 8,000 Aboriginal people in the greater Sydney region.

They lived by fishing, hunting, and gathering plants and shellfish. Coastal clans relied more on seafood, while hinterland clans ate more forest animals and plants. Their equipment and weapons were mostly made of stone, wood, plant materials, bone, and shell. They also differed in body decorations, hairstyles, songs, and dances.

Aboriginal clans had a rich ceremonial life centered on ancestral, totemic, and supernatural beings. People from different clans and language groups gathered for initiation and other ceremonies, which fostered trade, marriages, and alliances. Early British settlers recorded the word "Eora" as an Aboriginal term meaning either "people" or "from this place." The clans of the Sydney area occupied land with traditional boundaries, though there is debate about which group or nation they belonged to and the extent of differences in language and rites.

The major groups were the coastal Eora people, the Dharug (Darug) in the inland area from Parramatta to the Blue Mountains, and the Dharawal people south of Botany Bay. Darginung and Gundungurra languages were spoken on the fringes of the Sydney area. The first meeting between Aboriginals and British explorers happened on 29 April 1770, when Lieutenant James Cook landed at Botany Bay (Kamay) and encountered the Gweagal clan. Two Gweagal men opposed the landing party, and one was...