In Swedish:

Sydney [siddni] huvudstad i New South Wales, Australien, vid viken Port Jackson på kontinentens sydöstra kust, 3,7 milj inv med förstäder. Sydney är Australiens äldsta och största stad och tillika landets främsta sjöfartsstad. Port Jackson-viken bildar en av världens bästa naturliga hamnar. Betydande industrier, bl a skeppsvarv, järnverk, petrokemiska anläggningar samt mångsidig livsmedelsindustri. Ståtlig katolsk katedral, berömt operahus, vackra parker. Tre universitet, varav det äldsta gr 1850, samt observatorium. Viktig internationell flygplats vid Botany Bay i söder. Sydney grundades 1788 som straffkoloni och var den första europeiska bosättningen i Australien. Staden växte snabbt under senare hälften av 1800-talet, då bl a järnvägar till Melbourne (1883) och Brisbane (1889) byggdes, och blev 1902 Australiens största stad.

© FOCUS 2000 Norstedts

In English:

SYDNEY, city and major port, capital of New South Wales, SE Australia. Situated on the shores of Port Jackson (an arm of the Pacific Ocean), one of the world's finest natural harbors, the city covers a large area, ranging from the Hawkesbury R. in the N to beyond Botany Bay in the S and from the Blue Mountains in the W to the Pacific Ocean in the E. More than 60% of the residents of New South Wales live in the greater Sydney area.

Economy

Sydney is one of Australia's leading industrial, commercial, financial, and transportation centers; trade, tourism, and information technology play an increasingly important role in the city's economy. Nearly half of Australia's 500 leading companies have their headquarters in Sydney, which is also the home of the Australian Stock Exchange, the Sydney Futures Exchange, and the Reserve Bank of Australia. Manufactures include metals, machinery, clothing, processed food, motor vehicles, ships, and refined petroleum. The city's port, which is concentrated along Port Jackson but includes major facilities on Botany Bay, has modern equipment for handling containerships. Most of Australia's foreign trade passes through Sydney; the main exports handled here are wheat, wool, and meat. Other transportation facilities include Kingsford Smith Airport (commonly known as Mascot), Australia's busiest international air terminal; rail, light rail, and monorail systems; major highways; and ferry and hydrofoil services.

Points of Interest

Along much of the coastline around Sydney, the steep cliffs alternate with sandy beaches, such as the surfing beaches Bondi and Coogee in the S, and Manly in the N. Sydney Cove, between Dawes Point in the W and the Bennelong Point in the E, is part of the S shore of Sydney Harbor and was the site of the first British settlement in Australia. The dominant building of Sydney's is the magnificent Sydney Opera House (1973), located E of the cove, on the tip of the Bennelong Point. The city is also the site of both Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals.

History

Capt. James Cook sighted and named Port Jackson in 1770, and the first European settlement in Australia was established on the site of modern Sydney by Capt. Arthur Phillip (1738–1814) in 1788. He named it Sydney Cove, after the British home secretary, Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney (1733–1800). Most of the early inhabitants were convicts sent out from Great Britain, but increasing numbers of free settlers arrived during the first half of the 19th century, as New South Wales was developed by sheep and cattle ranchers and wheat farmers.

After the discovery of gold in the state of Victoria in 1851, the population of Sydney grew rapidly, increasing from about 60,000 in 1850 to almost 400,000 in 1890. Population today: About 4 million.

Sydney was chosen as the site of the Summer Olympics to be held in 2000. The suburb Homebush Bay is the site of Sydney Olympic Park; here the 110,000-seat Stadium Australia was inaugurated in 1999.

© Funk and Wagnalls at http://www.funkandwagnalls.com

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Greger