Sydney

Sydney is the capital of the state of New South Wales in Australia. Situated on Australia’s southeastern coast, the city is the country’s largest city and is one of the most vital ports in the South Pacific. Around the early nineteenth century, when Sydney was a small convict settlement and settlers had barely taken over the interior, Sydney had already established trade China, the Pacific Islands, India, South Africa, and the Americas.

Established in 1788 at Sydney Cove by the leader of the first settler fleet from Britain, Sydney is the site of the first European colony in Australia. A resident of the city is called a Sydneysider. It is Australia's biggest financial center and it houses the Australian Securities Exchange. The city's top economic sectors include tourism, property and business services, manufacturing, media, and health and community services.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge, launched in 1932, and the Sydney Opera House, launched in 1973, are popular tourist attractions in Sydney. Sydney was named after Thomas Townshend, who was the first Viscount Sydney, an English politician that was involved in managing the colony of New South Wales.