New South Wales

G'day and welcome to my New South Wales information page. Here you will find some information about New South Wales, some sights (eventually) from around the state as well as links to other related sites.

New South Wales is in the south east of Australia with the Pacific Ocean to the East, Queensland to the north and Victoria to the south. It is the fourth largest state and has an area of 801, 600 square kilometres.

Natural features divide the State into four main zones extending from north to south.

1. Seaboard and coastal lowlands with a 1460 km coastline broken by few inlets of varying sizes.
2. Tablelands formed by the Great Dividing Range and comprising an almost unbroken series of plateau varying in width from 50 km to 160 km and forming the main watershed where the coastal rivers and those which flow inland originate. The Snowy Mountains region has the highest peak on the continent, Mount Kosciusko, which is 2228 m.
3. Western slopes which is a fertile, undulating region with rich plains along rivers flowing inland and some rugged areas. Generally regular and adequate rainfall has led to extensive cultivation.
4. Western plains comprising almost two-thirds of the State. The soil is fertile, but poor rainfall and limited river water and high temperatures seldom enable it to realise its agricultural or pastoral potential.

There are two distinct groups of rivers – the short, fast-flowing coastal streams which drain about one-sixth of the state but carry more than two-thirds of its water; and the inland rivers, part of the Murray-Darling system. The main rivers are the Hawkesbury, Hunter, Macleay, Clarence, Murrumbidgee, Lachlan, Macquarie-Bogan, Namoi, Gwydir and Castlereagh.

NSW has a population of approximately 6 million with the majority of people living in the three main cities ­ Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong. Over half of the population lives in Sydney and it's surrounding suburbs.

	Largest Cities Sydney 4, 600, 000 Newcastle 546, 000 Wollongong 361, 000 Wagga Wagga 57, 000 Albury 48, 000 Tamworth 37, 000 Broken Hill 25, 000
Sydney's Opera House and the Harbour Bridge

New South Wales lies in the temperate zone and the climate is generally free from extremes of heat and cold. The greatest heat is usually experienced in the north-west; a shade temperature of more than 51°C has been recorded at Bourke. The coldest region is the Snowy Mountains, where winter frosts and snow are experienced over long periods. Rainfall varies widely over the state, gradually diminishing to an annual average of 180 mm in the far north-west.

The climate is temperate and slightly humid in the coastal areas of NSW. The deserts of the interior experience hot days and cold nights. Irregular floods and droughts occur, some times due to the El Nino effect. The average amount of daily sunshine is about 6.7 hours.

The bases of the State's economy are agricultural and pastoral industries, a broadly based manufacturing sector, ample stocks of coal and highly developed service industries.

New South Wales's rich agriculture and mining sectors form the mainstay of its export-earning ability, accounting for almost 50 per cent of export income. The State's resource-based industries are coal, metallic and industrial minerals, minerals processing, chemicals, pulp and paper, processed food and agricultural products.

New South Wales generates more than 35 per cent of Australia's goods and services and sends more than 60 per cent of its exports to Asia – a larger amount than any other Australian State. It attracts more than a third of all foreign investment into the country.

Rural Production

The main primary industries are beef cattle, wool, wheat, hay, lucerne, oats, rice, maize, fruit, vegetables, fishing including oyster farming, and forestry including wood chipping.

The coastal region is mostly used for mixed farming, including dairies and timber. In the warmer northern section, sugar and bananas are grown, mainly in the Tweed, Richmond and Clarence river areas. Beef cattle are grazed extensively on the ranges, and large quantities of butter and milk are processed at cooperative factories along the coast.

The world's finest wools are grown on the tablelands as well as lamb and beef. There are pockets of agriculture in areas of rich volcanic loams. The western slopes is a major area for fine-wool sheep, beef cattle and wheat. In the north, lambs, pigs and fodder crops are produced, particularly in the Namoi Valley and around Inverell. A cotton industry is centred on Wee Waa. On the central slopes are many orchards; the main crops are cherries, apples and pears. Bathurst and Cowra have a vegetable canning industry. In addition to sheep, cattle and wheat, the south-western slopes produce fodder crops, notably at Gundagai and Wagga Wagga.

The eastern part of the western plains is the main wool and wheat area of the State. In the Riverina district of the central plains lies a large area irrigated from the Murrumbidgee River, where farmers produce orchard crops, grapes, rice, lambs and hay. The western plains form a semi-arid area where raising sheep for wool is the only significant industry, apart from the lead-zinc mining at Broken Hill. Orchards and vineyards lie along the Murray River.

Minerals

The mainstay of the State's mineral production is the huge basin of high-quality black coal under the central coast and Blue Mountains area. Coal is mined extensively in the Hunter River Valley, the Illawarra coast south of Sydney and around Lithgow. Production in 1992 was 85 million tonnes of product coal. Other important minerals are lead and zinc concentrates mined at Broken Hill, and mineral sands (rutile and zircon) from the beach areas of the central and north coast.

Manufacturing

New South Wales leads Australia in manufacturing production. Its chief manufactures include machinery, electrical goods (including radio, television and other communications equipment), basic metal products, chemicals and fertilisers, processed food and beverages. The State manufactured 4764 million tonnes of raw steel, including casting in 1990-91.

Overseas trade

New South Wales is Australia's largest trading State. In 1992-93, imports were worth $26.4 billion and exports $13.2 billion. The main imports were office machines and automatic data processing equipment, road vehicles, petroleum and petroleum products, telecommunication and sound recording equipment, and electrical machinery and appliances. The main exports were coal and coke, cereals and cereal preparations, textile fibres, petroleum and petroleum products, and iron and steel. Major export markets were Japan, New Zealand, the United States and the Republic of Korea.

The flag of New South Wales is a British Blue Ensign defaced with the state badge. The badge depicts the cross of St George in red on a white disc. At the extremity of each arm of the cross is an eight pointed gold star, and in the centre of the cross is a golden lion passant guardant.

The flag was adopted in response to British Admiralty criticisms that the previous flag was too similar to that of Victoria.

The coat of arms of New South Wales consists of a shield with the red cross of St George supported by a lion and a kangaroo. The motto is, 'Newly risen, how brightly you shine'.

Page maintained by Grant Schmarr,
Copyright © 1997-99 Grant Schmarr.
Created: 29th September 1997. Updated: 24th November 1999