New South Wales
New South Wales is a State in the Federal Commonwealth of Australia. It has a Governor who represents the British monarch and who presides over the State Government (Legislative Assembly). This was originally the legislature of the British Colony of the same name. Its elected members are still called Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) as in colonial days. When Australia became a self-governing Federation in 1901 the former colonies became States and retained their Governors and legislatures. The capital of New South Wales is Sydney. The second-largest city is Newcastle, situated about 100 miles north of Sydney by road.
Foundation
A British colony was founded at Sydney in 1788 by the Royal Navy's Captain Arthur Phillip and the arrival of the 'First Fleet'.[1]
White Australia Policy
Until 1966 Australia, with few exceptions, did not permit non-Europeans to settle. However the Liberal Government effectively dismantled the "White Australia policy" in that year and increased access to the country by non-European migrants. This opened the floodgates. Sydney now has a vast Chinese, and others, population which continues to grow rapidly.
Sources
- ↑ The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson [Sydney] & Norfolk Island by Arthur Phillip, London, 1789 (facsimile edition 1982. ISBN: 0--09-137880-X).
- State Government of N.S.W., New South Wales: A State of Prosperity, Sydney, 1960.
- Roberts, Sir Stephen H., History of Australian Land Settlement 1788-1920, Cass & Co., London, 1969.
- Fisher, John, The Australians, from 1788 to Modern Times, Robert Hale Ltd., London, 1968. ISBN: 7091-0122-8.
