City Of Sydney

Sydney (pronounced /ˈsɪdni/[4]) is the largest and most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. With an approximate population of 4.5 million in the Sydney metropolitan area the city is the largest in Oceania.[5] Inhabitants of Sydney are called Sydneysiders, comprising a cosmopolitan and international population of people from numerous places around the world.[6]

The site of the first British colony in Australia, Sydney was established[7] in 1788 at Sydney Cove by Arthur Phillip, commodore of the First Fleet as a penal colony. The city is built on hills surrounding Port Jackson which is commonly known as Sydney Harbour, where the iconic Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge are featured prominently. The hinterland of the metropolitan area is surrounded by national parks, and the coastal regions feature many bays, rivers, inlets and beaches including the famous Bondi Beach. Within the city are many notable parks, including Hyde Park and the Royal Botanical Gardens.

In 2010, Sydney was ranked 10th worldwide by consulting firm Mercer on quality of living. In 2009, Sydney was ranked 3rd in Asia, and 22nd in the world on social and economic innovation, across 31 sectors in the Innovation Cities Index by innovation agency 2thinknow.[8] Sydney regularly appears in a variety of global city rankings of liveability and commerce, competing with Melbourne, Wellington and Auckland for top rankings in Australia and New Zealand.

Sydney has a reputation as an international centre for commerce, arts, fashion, culture, entertainment, music, education and tourism. Sydney has hosted major international sporting events, including the 1938 British Empire Games, the 2000 Summer Olympics, and the final match of the 2003 Rugby World Cup. The main airport serving Sydney is Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport.[9]


Sydney Harbour Bridge


The Sydney Harbour Bridge, also affectionately known as the ‘Coathanger’, was opened on March 19th 1932 by Premier Jack Lang, after six years of construction. Made of steel the bridge contains 6 million hand driven rivets. The surface area that requires painting is equal to about the surface area of 60 sports fields. The Bridge has huge hinges to absorb the expansion caused by the hot Sydney sun.

Sydney Harbour Bridge is the world’s largest (but not longest as thats the New River Gorge in the USA) steel arch bridge, and, in its beautiful harbour location, has become a renowned international symbol of Australia.

Its total length including approach spans is 1149 metres and its arch span is 503 metres. The top of the arch is 134 metres above sea level and the clearance for shipping under the deck is a spacious 49 metres. The total steelwork weighs 52,800 tonnes, including 39,000 tonnes in the arch. The 49 metre wide deck makes Sydney Harbour Bridge the widest Longspan Bridge in the world.

It now carries eight vehicle lanes, two train lines, a footway and a cycleway.

After inviting worldwide tenders in 1922, the New South Wales Government received twenty proposals from six companies and on 24 March 1924; the contract (for Australian 4,217,721 pounds 11 shillings and 10 pence!) was let to the English firm Dorman Long and Co of Middlesbrough.

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