The Thredbo Ski Fields, an important area for tourism in New South Wales
The home of a large number of Aboriginal tribes for thousands of years, New South Wales was only settled by Europeans in 1788 - spreading outwards from Sydney. The name was given by Captain Cook 18 years earlier during his first voyage of discovery, after the country of Wales. It is unknown whether he intended to name it after South Wales, or whether this new land was the Wales of the South, but the cliffs he was passing to the south of Sydney bear a striking resemblance to the cliffs along the Welsh Cambrian Coast.
The first settlers were dependent of farming and fresh water, and the major settlements grew around Parramatta and Windsor, at the limit of navigation of the Parramatta and Hawkesbury rivers, inland from Sydney. Inland settlement was at first impeded by the rugged Blue Mountains for a time and settlers did not cross the mountains until 1813. However, once crossed settlement spread west rapidly, with the first road across the mountains finished in 1815, leading to the first inland town of Bathurst. Further regional and rural expansion occurred in the late 19th century as a result of the Gold Rush, although it did not have as much of an impact as in neighbouring Victoria.
From its inception until the time of federation in 1901, New South Wales was dependent largely on its agricultural resources; however, over the early 20th century this largely changed to a point where New South Wales led Australia in heavy industry. This was, and continues to be dominated by industries such as coal mining in the Hunter Valley and Illawarra regions.
From the 1970s, industries such as steel and shipbuilding began to diminish, and although agriculture remains important its share of the state's income is smaller than at any other time in the state's history. NSW, and in particular Sydney, have developed significant service industries in finance, information technology and tourism.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about New South Wales
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in New South Wales - updated Apr 2024
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New South Wales Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
