About New South Wales
New South Wales (NSW) 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. Sydney is the largest city in Australia and is located in NSW.
As at 30 June 2009, there were 1,824 General Practitioners working in 625 rural practices in NSW. Read more information on the operating context of GPs in the NSW health environment.
Download an interactive map of NSW
Natural Features
Natural features divide the state into four main zones extending from north to south.
 Seaboard and coastal lowlands with a 1460km coastline broken by few inlets of varying sizes.- Tablelands formed by the Great Dividing Range and comprising an almost unbroken series of plateau varying in width from 50km to 160km 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 2228m.
- 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.
- 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.
Australia has a population of more than 22 million and NSW has a population of close to seven million (at June 2009) with the majority of people living in the three main cities Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong. Over half of the population lives in Sydney and its surrounding suburbs.
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Sydney's Opera House and Harbour Bridge
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Large Cities in NSW*
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Sydney
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4,284,379
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Newcastle
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517,496
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Wollongong
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277,972
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Wagga Wagga
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55,195
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Tamworth
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44,371
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Orange
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37,009
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Dubbo
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35,834
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*Population at June 2006, ABS
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Climate
The climate of NSW is broadly temperate and varies greatly across the state depending on position relative to the ocean and the mountain ranges. The greatest heat is usually experienced in the north-west, where 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. Long-term median rainfall varies from a low of 200mm in the arid north-west of the State to a high of more than 1,500 mm along the north east coast. This describes a general trend, with rainfall decreasing from the east to the west of NSW.
The average amount of daily sunshine is about 6.7 hours. The temperate zones have four seasons: Spring (September to November), Summer (December to February), Autumn (March to May) and Winter (June to August).
Things to Do
Popular recreational activities include bushwalking and horseriding, and visiting national parks, state recreation areas and zoos. Other popular activities include shopping, markets, restaurants, cafes, picnics, libraries, museums, art galleries, live music and theatre. Popular sports (professional and amateur) include surfing, swimming, canoeing, rafting, sailing, football, soccer, cricket, skydiving, canyoning, caving and white water rafting.
Facts about Australia
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Full name: Commonwealth of Australia
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Population: 22 million
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Capital: Canberra
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Largest city: Sydney
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Area: 7.7 million sq km (2.9 million sq miles)
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Major language: English
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Major religion: Christianity
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Life expectancy: 79 years (men), 83.7 years (women)
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Monetary unit: 1 Australian dollar = 100 cents
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Main exports: ores and metals; wool, food and live animals; fuels, transport machinery and equipment
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GNI per capita: US $32,220
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Internet domain: .au
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International dialling code: +61
History of Australia
Modern Australia is a little more than two centuries old, but its indigenous history stretches back tens of thousands of years. The island continent combines a wide variety of landscapes. These include deserts in the interior, hills and mountains, tropical rainforests, and densely populated coastal strips with long beaches and coral reefs off the shoreline. Isolated from other continents, Australia has an abundance of unique plant and animal life.
The British founded the first settlement and named it Sydney in 1788. Many of the first settlers were convicts. Free settlers arrived in increasing numbers, particularly after the discovery of gold in the mid-19th century. Australia's original inhabitants, the Aborigines, numbered a few hundred thousand before the European influx. But two centuries of discrimination and expropriation followed, and at one point the number of Aborigines fell as low as 60,000.
Today 99% of the population are of European or Asian descent, but calls for a formal apology for past injustices towards the Aborigines are still made. Indigenous Australians suffer high rates of unemployment, imprisonment and drug abuse. The gradual dismantling of the "White Australia" immigration policy in the decades after World War II heralded an increase in the number of non-European arrivals. Migration continues to shape Australia and is a politically-sensitive issue. The country has taken a tough stance on unauthorised arrivals. Asylum seekers are held in detention centres, which have been criticised at home and abroad, until their cases are heard.
Australia's foreign policy has shifted in the past 20 years or so from Europe and the US to its near neighbours. It mediated between warring groups in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands and deployed thousands of peacekeepers in newly-independent East Timor.
Australia's economy is also geared to Asia. It is a foremost member of APEC, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and aims to forge free trade deals with China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The country has considered cutting its ties with the British monarchy. In 1999 Australians narrowly voted against plans for the country to become a republic.
More information on Australia and New South Wales
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