On January 26, 1788 the British First Fleet, led by Arthur Phillip, sailed into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbor) to establish Sydney, the first permanent European settlement on the Australian continent. The settlers were mostly convicts from crowded prisons in England and Ireland, with a group of soldiers to guard them.
Originally it had been intended to call the area New Albion. Instead Phillip named it Sydney Cove in honor of Thomas Townshend, Baron Sydney (later Viscount Sydney), the UK Home Secretary in 1788. The settlement became known as Sydney Town.
There is also a former city in Nova Scotia, Canada, named Sydney after the same man.
Viscount Sydney never visited Australia or Canada. He was often called “Turnip Townsend”, a reference to his agricultural expertise.
Captain William Bligh of Mutiny on the Bounty fame was made Governor of New South Wales in 1806 with orders to clean up the corrupt rum trade of the New South Wales Corps. Bligh's actions directed against the trade resulted in the so-called Rum Rebellion on January 26, 1808, when 400 soldiers of the New South Wales Corps under the command of Major George Johnston marched on Government House in Sydney to arrest and depose Bligh. The Rum Rebellion was the only successful armed takeover of government in Australian history.
Originally a British penal colony, there was a rapid development of Sydney following the discovery of gold in 1851 in the surrounding area.
The main streets of Sydney still follow the lines of the original wagon tracks, and the modern Regency Bligh House survives.
The Sydney Harbor Bridge opened on March 19, 1932. The event was not without scandal, as before it could be officially declared open by Premier J.T. Lang, the ceremony was interrupted by New Guard member Captain de Groot on horseback. He slashed the ribbon with his sword, declaring that he was opening the bridge in the name of the people of New South Wales.
Sydney Harbor Bridge took nine years to build and another 56 years to pay off the debt incurred in building it.
The paint used on the Sydney Harbor Bridge dries so fast that, should a drop fall, it would dry before reaching the vehicles underneath.
Sydney Harbor Bridge is often called the Coat Hanger locally because of its shape.
After 15 years of construction, the Sydney Opera House was dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II on October 20, 1973.
The 2000 Summer Olympics were held between September 15 and October 1, 2000 in Sydney. It was the second time that the Summer Olympics had been held in Australia, and also the Southern Hemisphere, the first being in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1956.
All of the bronze medals from the Sydney Olympics in 2000 were made from melted one-cent coins that Australia had pulled out of circulation.
Sydney sweltered in 45.8 ˚C (114.4 ˚F) heat on January 13, 2013, a record temperature for the city. There was a prolonged heat wave across Australia at the time.
A low-pressure system that redeveloped off the New South Wales coast dumped a record 328 millimeters (13 inches) of rain in a day on Sydney in 1986.
A storm dropped an estimated 500,000 tonnes of hailstones in Sydney and along the east coast of New South Wales in 1999, causing about A$2.3 billion in damages, the costliest natural disaster in Australian insurance history.
As of June 2017, Sydney's estimated population was 5,131,326 making it the biggest city in Oceania.
Residents of Sydney are called Sydneysiders.
The city of Sydney marks the biggest celebrations of New Year, as more than 80,000 fireworks are set off from Sydney Harbor Bridge.
Source Daily Express
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| The Founding of Australia, by Captain Arthur Phillip R.N. Sydney Cove. |
Originally it had been intended to call the area New Albion. Instead Phillip named it Sydney Cove in honor of Thomas Townshend, Baron Sydney (later Viscount Sydney), the UK Home Secretary in 1788. The settlement became known as Sydney Town.
There is also a former city in Nova Scotia, Canada, named Sydney after the same man.
Viscount Sydney never visited Australia or Canada. He was often called “Turnip Townsend”, a reference to his agricultural expertise.
 |
| Convict artist Thomas Watling's A Northward View of Sydney Cove, 1794 |
Captain William Bligh of Mutiny on the Bounty fame was made Governor of New South Wales in 1806 with orders to clean up the corrupt rum trade of the New South Wales Corps. Bligh's actions directed against the trade resulted in the so-called Rum Rebellion on January 26, 1808, when 400 soldiers of the New South Wales Corps under the command of Major George Johnston marched on Government House in Sydney to arrest and depose Bligh. The Rum Rebellion was the only successful armed takeover of government in Australian history.
 |
| Propaganda cartoon of Bligh's arrest in Sydney in 1808, portraying him as a coward |
Originally a British penal colony, there was a rapid development of Sydney following the discovery of gold in 1851 in the surrounding area.
The main streets of Sydney still follow the lines of the original wagon tracks, and the modern Regency Bligh House survives.
The Sydney Harbor Bridge opened on March 19, 1932. The event was not without scandal, as before it could be officially declared open by Premier J.T. Lang, the ceremony was interrupted by New Guard member Captain de Groot on horseback. He slashed the ribbon with his sword, declaring that he was opening the bridge in the name of the people of New South Wales.
 |
| Francis de Groot declares the bridge open |
Sydney Harbor Bridge took nine years to build and another 56 years to pay off the debt incurred in building it.
The paint used on the Sydney Harbor Bridge dries so fast that, should a drop fall, it would dry before reaching the vehicles underneath.
Sydney Harbor Bridge is often called the Coat Hanger locally because of its shape.
After 15 years of construction, the Sydney Opera House was dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II on October 20, 1973.
 |
| Sydney Opera House seen from Harbor Bridge. By Bernard Gagnon |
The 2000 Summer Olympics were held between September 15 and October 1, 2000 in Sydney. It was the second time that the Summer Olympics had been held in Australia, and also the Southern Hemisphere, the first being in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1956.
All of the bronze medals from the Sydney Olympics in 2000 were made from melted one-cent coins that Australia had pulled out of circulation.
WEATHER
Sydney sweltered in 45.8 ˚C (114.4 ˚F) heat on January 13, 2013, a record temperature for the city. There was a prolonged heat wave across Australia at the time.
A low-pressure system that redeveloped off the New South Wales coast dumped a record 328 millimeters (13 inches) of rain in a day on Sydney in 1986.
A storm dropped an estimated 500,000 tonnes of hailstones in Sydney and along the east coast of New South Wales in 1999, causing about A$2.3 billion in damages, the costliest natural disaster in Australian insurance history.
FUN SYDNEY FACTS
As of June 2017, Sydney's estimated population was 5,131,326 making it the biggest city in Oceania.
Residents of Sydney are called Sydneysiders.
The city of Sydney marks the biggest celebrations of New Year, as more than 80,000 fireworks are set off from Sydney Harbor Bridge.
Source Daily Express
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