New South Wales

New South Wales
From a historical perspective, there’s no disputing that New South Wales is Australia’s premier state. It was here that British convicts lived through die first bitter years of colonization, dreaming of what might lie beyond the impassable Blue Mountains, and here that explorers first broke through the Great Dividing Range, opening the interior of the country for settlement and ensuring the stability of the colony. In the central plains and on the rich land of the Riverina, Merino wool and agricultural success provided the state with its first glimpses of prosperity. Then, in 1851, prospectors struck gold just west of the mountains, and Australia’s history changed forever. No longer the desolate prison of exiled convicts, New South Wales became a place that promised new life and a chance to strike it rich. (more…)

Australia : Sydney

Sydney
Sometimes elegant, sometimes wacked-out, and always amazing, Sydney pulses with energy and swaggers with the self-assurance that comes from being one of the world’s great cities. This is where it all goes down, where most international travelers first touch Australian soil and find themselves in a cosmopolitan whirlwind set against a backdrop of concrete, bright lights, and gorgeous waterfront. It isn’t quite as overwhelmingly fast-paced as some cities of equal size; this is Australia, after all, famous for its no-worries attitude. (more…)

Blue Mountains

Blue Mountains
For the first 25 years of British colonization, the unscalable walls of the Blue Mountains, just 100km from the coast, contained the growth of the new colony and the exploration of Australia. Numerous expeditions approached the mountains only to come away stumped. Because the so-called mountains are actually a series of canyons separated by several high plateaus, the explorers found cliffs at the edges of the valleys instead of hills. A successful route was not found until 1813, when Blaxland, Law-son, and Wentworth, assisted by local Aboriginal know-how, attempted to cross the mountains along the ridges. Today, the mountains are the first stop on most trips west from Sydney and an easy year-round getaway for Sydney-siders.. (more…)

Canberra

Canberra
The site selected in 1908 to be the capital of the newly federated nation of Australia was not a thriving center for national affairs. Rather, it was the result of a compromise between the rival poles of Sydney and Melbourne, acceptable to both because of its midway location. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), including Canberra, suburbs, and parkland, was thus carved out of southeastern New South Wales, but is not governed by that state. life in Canberra has picked up its pace a bit, but even today, many newcomers to Australia are surprised to learn that Sydney isn’t the capital. (more…)

Central West

Central West
The cities and towns of the Central West lie between the rugged plateaus of the Blue Mountains and the stark dryness of outback New South Wales. The major route into the region from the east is the Great Western Hwy, which crosses through the Blue Mountains to Bathurst From Bathurst, die Mitchell Hwy heads northwest to Dubbo, Bourke, and beyond, and the Mid Western Hwy runs southwest to Cowra and eventually Hay. Both of these roads intersect the Newell Hwy, the major route between Melbourne and Brisbane, which cuts a long path across the Central West. (more…)