The New South Wales reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

New South Wales

New South Wales

State flag (In detail) Coat of Arms (In detail) Motto: "Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites" (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine)
Capital	Sydney
Area — Land — Marine — Total	800 642 km² 8 802 km² 809 444 km²
Population (2002) Density	6 657 400 8.32/km²
Time zone	UTC+10 (except during daylight saving time—UTC+11)
Highest point	m)
ISO 3166-2 code:	AU-NS

New South Wales is Australia's most populous and oldest state, located in the southeast, north of Victoria. It was founded in 1788 and originally comprised much of the Australian mainland. During the 19th century large areas were successively separated to form the British colonies of Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia (which at that time included what is now the Northern Territory). In 1901 these colonies plus Western Australia and Tasmania voted to form an independent nation called the "Commonwealth of Australia".

New South Wales is known the world over for the picturesque harbour of its capital, Sydney. Sydney combines one of the twin hearts of the Australian financial sector with a population that loves the outdoor life from beaches to caving, to riding or sailing. Its three main cities from north to south are Newcastle, Sydney, and Wollongong which all lie along the coast. Other cities and towns include Albury, Broken Hill, Dubbo, Tamworth, Armidale, Lismore, Nowra, and Coffs Harbour.

The state is bordered on the north by Queensland, on the west by South Australia, and on the south by Victoria. Its coast faces the Tasman Sea.

New South Wales contains two Federal enclaves: the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), and the Jervis Bay Territory.

New South Wales can be divided physically into three sections:

• A thin coastal strip, with climates warming from cool temperate on the far south coast to subtropical near the Queensland border.
• The mountainous areas of the Great Dividing Range and the high country surrounding them. Whilst not particularly steep, many peaks rise above 2000 metres, with the highest Mount Kosciuszko at 2228 metres (7308 feet).
• The dry, semi-arid to arid plains that make up the majority of the state, in which very few people live. Some parts of far western New South Wales are as remote as any in Australia.

New South Wales is a constitutional monarchy, with the Queen of Australia as its head of state; the Queen is represented in the state by a Governor. The State Parliament is composed of two houses, the Legislative Assembly (lower house), and the Legislative Council (upper house). The head of the State government is the Premier of New South Wales, currently Bob Carr.

External links

• NSW State Law.
• Official state website.
• New South Wales Parliament

See also

• Australian States and Territories
• Local Government Areas of New South Wales
• National Parks in New South Wales
• Stamps and postal history of New South Wales
• Berry and Coolangatta Estate
• New South Wales Highways

Australia
States and mainland territories
Australian Capital Territory | New South Wales | Northern Territory | Queensland | South Australia | Tasmania | Victoria | Western Australia
Jervis Bay Territory
External territories
Ashmore and Cartier Islands | Australian Antarctic Territory | Christmas Island | Cocos (Keeling) Islands | Coral Sea Islands | Heard Island and McDonald Islands | Norfolk Island

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