Portal:New South Wales

Central Area Command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. It was formed in March 1940, and covered the central portion of New South Wales. Headquartered at Sydney, Central Area Command was responsible for air defence, aerial reconnaissance and protection of the sea lanes within its boundaries. It was disbanded in August 1941 and control of its units taken over by other RAAF formations. Proposals in 1943–44 to raise a new Central Area Command did not come to fruition. (Full article...)

Sidney George Barnes (5 June 1916 – 16 December 1973) was an Australian cricketer and cricket writer, who played 13 Test matches between 1938 and 1948. Able to open the innings or bat down the order, Barnes was regarded as one of Australia's finest batsmen in the period immediately following World War II. He helped create an enduring record when scoring 234 in the second Test against England at Sydney in December 1946; exactly the same score as his captain, Don Bradman, in the process setting a world-record 405-run fifth wicket partnership. Barnes averaged 63.05 over 19 innings in a career that, like those of most of his contemporaries, was interrupted by World War II.

He made his first-class debut at the end of the 1936–37 season when selected for New South Wales, and he was later included in the team for the 1938 Australian tour of England, making his Test debut in the final international of the series. On the resumption of Test cricket after the war, he was picked as the opening partner to Arthur Morris. Barnes was a member of The Invincibles, the 1948 Australian team that toured England without losing a single match. Retiring from cricket at the end of that tour, Barnes attempted a comeback to Test cricket in the 1951–52 season that was ultimately and controversially unsuccessful. (Full article...)

The dismissal of the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council on 27 February 2008 marked the end of a series of events involving a project which was initiated in 2001 in the New South Wales coastal town of Port Macquarie to build a cultural and entertainment centre, known to locals as the Glasshouse. The project, initially a joint venture with the management of the neighbouring shopping centre, Port Central, was originally expected to cost the Council A$7.3 million. However, by late 2007, despite the centre not yet having opened, the costs had blown out to over A$41.7 million, with interest repayments likely to extend the council's liability to A$66 million.

On 27 July 2007, a full public inquiry was announced by the Minister for Local Government, Paul Lynch. The inquiry reported its findings in February 2008. It found that the council had failed to provide appropriate financial and project management and had lost control of the costs, that the project costs had harmed the council's ability to provide services and amenities to the community, and that the council's communications management strategy had resulted in inadequate consultation with the public and inappropriate regard to their concerns. The Minister for Local Government dismissed the council and its mayor, Rob Drew, and appointed an administrator upon receiving the inquiry's report. Drew was critical of the process throughout, maintaining that errors had been made and misinformation had been accepted as fact; however, the New South Wales Urban Task Force, a property development lobby group, believed the sacking served as a warning to other councils to stick to "core responsibilities". (Full article...)

Lester Joseph Brain, AO, AFC (27 February 1903 – 30 June 1980) was a pioneer Australian aviator and airline executive. Born in New South Wales, he trained with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) before joining Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services (Qantas) as a pilot in 1924. He was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1929, after locating the lost aircraft Kookaburra in northern Australia. Having risen to Chief Pilot at Qantas by 1930, he was appointed Flying Operations Manager in 1938. As a member of the RAAF reserve, Brain coordinated his airline's support for the Australian military during World War II. He earned a King's Commendation for his rescue efforts during an air raid on Broome, Western Australia, in 1942, and was promoted to wing commander in 1944.

Seeing little prospect for advancement at Qantas once the war had ended, Brain left to join the fledgling government-owned domestic carrier Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) in June 1946. Appointed its first General Manager, he swiftly built up the organisation to the stage where it could commence scheduled operations later in the year. By the time he resigned in March 1955, TAA was firmly established as one half of the Commonwealth government's two-airline system. After his departure from TAA, Brain became Managing Director of de Havilland Aircraft in Sydney, before joining the board of East-West Airlines as a consultant in January 1961. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in January 1979 and died in June the following year, aged seventy-seven. (Full article...)

The Illawarra Steam Navigation Company was a shipping company that serviced the south coast of New South Wales, Australia from 1858 to the early 1950s. It was formed through the amalgamation of the General Steam Navigation Company, the Kiama Steam Navigation Company and the Shoalhaven Steam Navigation Company, each of whom serviced parts of the south coast with their respective vessels. After merging, the new company held a near monopoly in regard to shipping on the south coast, and their fleet visited every significant port between Sydney and the border of Victoria. The company transported both passengers and a range of produce, including livestock, and hence it became known as the 'Pig and Whistle Line': it was said that ships would wait an hour for a pig but not a minute for a passenger.

Over the years more than twenty steamships were a part of the fleet, including the 1112-ton Merimbula and the 693-ton Eden. Many of these vessels were purpose-built for the company's needs, and were constructed at shipyards both within Australia and abroad. The company's eventual demise came as a result of a number of factors, including increased competition from road and rail, the cost of replacing ships after World War II, waterfront disputes and rising costs. As a consequence, after almost 100 years in operation, the company was placed into voluntary receivership and was delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange in 1955. (Full article...)

The Inbetweeners 2 is a 2014 teen coming of age adventure sex comedy film and sequel to The Inbetweeners Movie (2011), which is based on the E4 sitcom The Inbetweeners. It was written and directed by series creators Damon Beesley and Iain Morris.

The film involves four school friends who meet up again for a holiday in Australia, and stars Simon Bird, Joe Thomas, James Buckley and Blake Harrison. In media interviews, the film's writers and actors stated that it was to be an end to the series. (Full article...)

Telopea speciosissima, commonly known as the New South Wales waratah or simply waratah, is a large shrub in the plant family Proteaceae. It is endemic to New South Wales in Australia. No subspecies are recognised; the closely related Telopea aspera was classified as a separate species in 1995. T. speciosissima is a shrub to 3 or 4 m (9.8 or 13.1 ft) high and 2 m (6.6 ft) wide, with dark green leaves. Its several stems arise from a pronounced woody base known as a lignotuber. The species is well renowned for its striking large red springtime inflorescences (flowerheads), each including hundreds of individual flowers. These are visited by the eastern pygmy possum (Cercartetus nanus), birds such as honeyeaters (Meliphagidae), and various insects.

The floral emblem for its home state of New South Wales, Telopea speciosissima has featured prominently in art, architecture, and advertising, particularly since Australian federation. Commercially grown in several countries as a cut flower, it is also cultivated in home gardens, requiring good drainage yet adequate moisture, but is vulnerable to various fungal diseases and pests. A number of cultivars with various shades of red, pink and even white flowers are available. Horticulturists have also developed hybrids with T. oreades and T. mongaensis which are more tolerant of cold, shade, and heavier soils. (Full article...)

Wagga Wagga (/ˌwɒɡə ˈwɒɡə/ WOGƏ; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, military, and transport hub of Australia. The ninth largest inland city in Australia, Wagga Wagga is located midway between the two largest cities in Australia—Sydney and Melbourne—and is the major regional centre for the Riverina and South West Slopes regions.

The central business district is focused around the commercial and recreational grid bounded by Best and Tarcutta Streets and the Murrumbidgee River and the Sturt Highway. The main shopping street of Wagga is Baylis Street which becomes Fitzmaurice Street at the northern end. Wagga is accessible from Sydney via the Sturt and Hume Highways, Adelaide via the Sturt Highway and Albury and Melbourne via the Olympic Highway and Hume Highway. Wagga is in an alluvial valley and much of the city has a problem with urban salinity. (Full article...)

The Governor's Body Guard of Light Horse was a military unit maintained in the Colony of New South Wales between 1801 and 1834, and reputedly the "first full-time military unit raised in Australia". It was established by Governor Philip Gidley King by drawing men from the New South Wales Corps, the British garrison in the colony. Normally consisting of one or two non-commissioned officers and six privates, the Guard provided an escort to the governor and carried his despatches to outposts across the colony. From 1802, the men of the Guard were drawn from convicts pardoned by King. Men from the unit were deployed during the Castle Hill convict rebellion of 1804 and a trooper of the Guard assisted in the capture of two of the rebel leaders.

After King was succeeded by William Bligh in 1806, the Guard reverted to being drawn from the New South Wales Corps. The unit seems to have been absent during the Corps' 1808 mutiny against Bligh and, by one report, supported it. It was ordered to disband by the Earl of Liverpool but was granted a reprieve in 1812 by Liverpool's successor Earl Bathurst. Viscount Goderich ordered disbandment again in 1832 and Governor Richard Bourke transformed the unit into the Mounted Orderlies in 1834. These were absorbed into the New South Wales Mounted Police in 1836 and continued as a separate component within that force until at least 1860. (Full article...)

Florence Violet McKenzie OBE (née Granville; 28 September 1890 – 23 May 1982), affectionately known as "Mrs Mac", was Australia's first female electrical engineer, founder of the Women's Emergency Signalling Corps (WESC) and lifelong promoter for technical education for women. She campaigned successfully to have some of her female trainees accepted into the all-male Navy, thereby originating the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS). Some 12,000 servicemen passed through her signal instruction school in Sydney, acquiring skill in Morse code and visual signalling (flag semaphore and International Code of Signals).

She set up her own electrical contracting business in 1918, and apprenticed herself to it, in order to meet the requirements of the Diploma in Electrical Engineering at Sydney Technical College. Described at the time as Australia's "Mademoiselle Edison", in 1922 she became the first Australian woman to take out an amateur radio operator's licence. Through the 1920s and 1930s, her "Wireless Shop" in Sydney's Royal Arcade was renowned amongst Sydney radio experimenters and hobbyists. She founded The Wireless Weekly in 1922, established the Australian Electrical Association for Women in 1934, and wrote the first "all-electric cookbook" in 1936. She corresponded with Albert Einstein in the postwar years. (Full article...)

Snowy Mountains Highway is a 333-kilometre-long (207 mi) state highway located in New South Wales, Australia. Its two sections connect the New South Wales South Coast to the Monaro region, and the Monaro to the South Western Slopes via the Snowy Mountains. The higher altitude regions of this road are subject to snow over the winter months, and the road also provides access to many parts of the Snowy Mountains Scheme. The highway bears the B72 shield along its entire length.

The highway originally bore the name Monaro Highway until 1955, when it received its current name. It originally ran from Tathra to Wagga Wagga but has been shortened to run from Princes Highway to Hume Highway instead. Reservoirs created as a result of dams built in the 1950s and 1960s as part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme required the creation of major realignments to avoid submerged areas. Previous to New South Wales' conversion to alphanumeric route markers, it was signed as National Route 18. (Full article...)

HMCS Integrity was a cutter built by the Colonial Government of New South Wales in 1804. She was the first vessel ever launched from a New South Wales dockyard and carried goods between the colony's coastal settlements of Norfolk Island, Newcastle, New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land and Port Jackson. In 1804 she took part in a series of voyages to Van Diemen's Land with the aim of founding a colony at Port Dalrymple, the site of the modern settlement of George Town, Tasmania.

In 1805 Integrity encountered and recaptured a Spanish brig which had been unlawfully seized by privateers and concealed in the Kent Group of islands in Bass Strait. Having returned the Spanish vessel to colonial control, Integrity was designated the task of sailing to Chile to negotiate its return to Spain. She set sail for Valparaíso, Chile, in June 1805, but was not seen again and is likely to have foundered during the voyage. (Full article...)

Blair Anderson Wark, VC, DSO (27 July 1894 – 13 June 1941) was an Australian soldier, quantity surveyor, and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and other Commonwealth armed forces. A member of the Citizen Military Forces from 1912, Wark enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 5 August 1915 for service in the First World War. After initially being employed in the defence of the Suez Canal, his battalion was shipped to the Western Front; it was here that Wark was twice decorated for his bravery and leadership. Having received the Distinguished Service Order in 1917 for his actions at the Battle of Polygon Wood, Wark was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1918 for his leadership and gallantry when in temporary command of his battalion over a three-day period, while conducting operations against the Hindenburg Line.

Returning to Australia after the war, Wark resumed work as a quantity surveyor and established his own business. He became a respected member of Australian society, holding positions and directorships in several companies and charities until 1940, when he re-enlisted in the Citizen Military Forces for service in the Second World War. Wark was promoted to lieutenant colonel and assumed command of the 1st Battalion (City of Sydney's Own Regiment), but died suddenly at Puckapunyal Camp, Victoria, of coronary heart disease, aged 46. (Full article...)

The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), sometimes inaccurately called the koala bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae. Its closest living relatives are the wombats. Although they are sometimes colloquially referred to as "koala bears", they are not evolutionarily or taxonomically related to the Ursidae family of bears. The koala is found in coastal areas of the continent's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is easily recognisable by its stout, tailless body and large head with round, fluffy ears and large, dark nose. The koala has a body length of 60–85 cm (24–33 in) and weighs 4–15 kg (8.8–33.1 lb). Its fur colour ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown. Koalas from the northern populations are typically smaller and lighter in colour than their counterparts further south. These populations are possibly separate subspecies, but not all researchers accept this.

Koalas typically inhabit open Eucalyptus woodland, as the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. This eucalypt diet has low nutritional and caloric content and contains toxic compounds that deter most other mammals from feeding on them. Koalas are largely sedentary and sleep up to twenty hours a day. They are asocial; only mothers bond to dependent offspring. Adult males communicate with bellows that intimidate rivals and attract mates. Males mark their presence with secretions from scent glands located on their chests. Like other marsupials, koalas give birth to young known as joeys at a very early stage of development. They crawl into their mothers' pouches, where they live for their first six to seven months. They are fully weaned around a year old. Koalas have few natural predators and parasites, but are threatened by pathogens such as Chlamydiaceae bacteria and koala retrovirus. (Full article...)

John Cash Neild (4 January 1846 – 8 March 1911) was an Australian politician who served as the member for the Paddington electorate in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for three intermittent periods between January 1885 and June 1901. After Federation Neild was elected as a senator representing New South Wales in the federal parliament, where he served until June 1910.

Although he spent his political career as a back-bencher, Neild had a prominent public profile due to his tenacious advocacy for causes he had taken up. In 1886 Neild, a supporter of free trade, delivered a tactical speech in the New South Wales parliament opposing customs duties of nearly nine hours duration, a feat for which he was dubbed 'Jawbone' Neild. In 1896 he published a book of verse, which became a source of satire due to Neild's liberal usage of archaic language. His dogged determination and financial problems led to the downfall of the George Reid's government in 1899, when it was revealed that Reid had been persuaded to advance an expenses payment to Neild, for a report into old-age pensions, without previous parliamentary consent. In 1896 Neild was one of the founders of a volunteer military corps called St. George's English Rifles, serving as its commanding officer from its inception until 1905. His dual roles of military officer and politician led to disputes with those in the higher chain of command (including an incident in 1899 when Neild was placed under 'open arrest' for insubordination). Neild was a frequent subject of satire by writers, cartoonists and his political opponents. (Full article...)

New South Wales wine is Australian wine produced in New South Wales, Australia. New South Wales is Australia's most populous state and its wine consumption far outpaces the region's wine production. The Hunter Valley, located 130 km (81 mi) north of Sydney, is the most well-known wine region but the majority of the state's production takes place in the Big Rivers zone-Perricoota, Riverina and along the Darling and Murray Rivers. The wines produced from the Big Rivers zone are largely used in box wine and mass-produced wine brands such as Yellow Tail. A large variety of grapes are grown in New South Wales, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Shiraz and Sémillon.

New South Wales is the second-largest wine-producing state in Australia, accounting for 30 percent of the A$5 billion Australian wine industry In 1994 the various wine regions within New South Wales agreed there was a need to form a peak lobby group to act as the conduit between industry and the New South Wales Government, and to represent New South Wales at the Federal level through the Winemakers Federation of Australia Inc. This body is the New South Wales Wine Industry Association. (Full article...)

Carlingford (/ˈkɑːrlɪŋfərd/) is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Carlingford is 22 kilometres (14 mi) north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of City of Parramatta. Carlingford sits at the meeting point of Northern Sydney and Western Sydney sitting on both sides of Pennant Hills Road which generally acts as a divider of the two regions. While being part of City of Parramatta, it is sometimes referred to as being part of the Hills District. (Full article...)

Sydney Cove (Eora: Warrane) is a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, one of several harbours in Port Jackson, on the coast of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cove is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central Sydney location between the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Sydney Cove was the site of the First Fleet's landing on 26 January 1788 and the subsequent raising of the Union Jack, a seminal date in Australian history now marked as Australia Day. (Full article...)

Goulburn (/ɡoʊlbərn/ GOHL-bərn) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, approximately 195 kilometres (121 mi) south-west of Sydney and 90 kilometres (56 mi) north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters patent by Queen Victoria in 1863. Goulburn had a population of 24,565 as of the 2021 census. Goulburn is the seat of Goulburn Mulwaree Council.

Goulburn is a railhead on the Main Southern line, and regional health & government services centre, supporting the surrounding pastoral industry as well as being a stopover for travellers on the Hume Highway. It has a central historic park and many historic and listed buildings. It is also home to the monument the Big Merino, a sculpture that is the world's largest concrete sheep. (Full article...)

Newcastle, also known as Greater Newcastle (locally /ˈnjuːkɑːsəl/ NEW-kah-səl; Awabakal: Mulubinba), is a large metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie and it is the hub of the Lower Hunter region, which includes most parts of the cities of Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock, and Port Stephens Council. Newcastle is also known by its colloquial nickname, Newy. A Newcastle resident can also be known as a Novocastrian.

Located at the mouth of the Hunter River, it is the predominant city within the Hunter Region. Famous for its coal, Newcastle is the largest coal exporting harbour in the world, exporting 143 million tonnes of coal in 2022. Beyond the city, the Hunter Region possesses large coal deposits. Geologically, the area is located in the central-eastern part of the Sydney Basin. (Full article...)

The Montreal Community Theatre is a heritage-listed cinema and community theatre at 46 Russell Street, Tumut, Snowy Valleys Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Kaberry & Chard and built from 1929 to 1930. It is also known as Montreal Community Theatre and Moveable Heritage Collection. The property is owned by the Snowy Valleys Council. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 21 June 2013. (Full article...)

The Kosciuszko National Park (/ˌkɒziˈʌskoʊ/ KOZ-ee-USK-oh) is a 6,900-square-kilometre (2,700 sq mi) national park and contains mainland Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko, for which it is named, and Cabramurra, the highest town in Australia. Its borders contain a mix of rugged mountains and wilderness, characterised by an alpine climate, which makes it popular with recreational skiers and bushwalkers.

The park is located in the southeastern corner of New South Wales, 354 km (220 mi) southwest of Sydney, and is contiguous with the Alpine National Park in Victoria to the south, and the Namadgi National Park in the Australian Capital Territory to the northeast. The larger towns of Cooma, Tumut and Jindabyne lie just outside and service the park. (Full article...)

Blackheath (postcode: 2785) is a town located near the highest point of the Blue Mountains, between Katoomba and Mount Victoria in New South Wales, Australia. The town's altitude is about 1,065 m (3,494 ft) AHD and it is located about 120 km (75 mi) west north-west of Sydney, 11 km (6.8 mi) north-west of Katoomba, and about 30 km (19 mi) south-east of Lithgow.

Blackheath has a vibrant artistic community and hosts two monthly markets – the Blackheath Growers Market and The Blackheath Community Market, as well as annual Christmas markets, antique markets and bimonthly craft markets. The town has many community activities, such as the Blackheath Philosophy Forum, which was founded in 2002 to arrange public discussion forums on philosophy and related topics. (Full article...)

The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the Governors of the Australian States perform constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Premier of New South Wales, and serves in office for an unfixed period of time—known as serving At His Majesty's pleasure—though five years is the general standard of office term. The current governor is retired judge Margaret Beazley, who succeeded David Hurley on 2 May 2019.

The office has its origin in the 18th-century colonial governors of New South Wales upon its settlement in 1788, and is the oldest continuous institution in Australia. The present incarnation of the position emerged with the Federation of Australia and the New South Wales Constitution Act 1902, which defined the viceregal office as the governor acting by and with the advice of the Executive Council of New South Wales. However, the post still ultimately represented the Government of the United Kingdom until, after continually decreasing involvement by the British government, the passage in 1942 of the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 (see Statute of Westminster) and the Australia Act 1986, after which the governor became the direct, personal representative of the sovereign. (Full article...)

Taronga Zoo Sydney is a government-run public zoo located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in the Lower North Shore suburb of Mosman, on the shores of Sydney Harbour. It offers great views of Sydney Harbour and the city. The opening hours are between 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (May to August) and 9:30 am to 5:00 pm (September to April). Taronga is an Aboriginal word meaning "beautiful view".

It was officially opened on 7 October 1916. Taronga Zoo Sydney is managed by the Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales, under the trading name Taronga Conservation Society, along with its sister zoo, the Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo. (Full article...)

New England is a geographical region in the north of the state of New South Wales, Australia, about 60 km (37 mi) inland from the Tasman Sea. The area includes the Northern Tablelands (or New England Tablelands) and the North West Slopes regions. As of 2021, New England had a population of 185,560, with over a quarter of the people living in the area of Tamworth Regional Council. (Full article...)

Cabbage Tree Island may refer to three locations in New South Wales, Australia:

• Cabbage Tree Island, New South Wales, a settlement in Ballina Shire
• Cabbage Tree Island (John Gould Nature Reserve), an island and nature reserve near Port Stephens
• Cabbage Tree Island, near Old Bar in the Manning River Entrance State Park, NSW

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The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949.

The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. Its main campus is in the Sydney eastern suburb of Kensington, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) from the Sydney central business district (CBD). Its creative arts school, UNSW Art & Design (in the faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture), is located in Paddington and it has subcampuses in the Sydney CBD and several other suburbs, including Randwick and Coogee. It has a campus at the Australian Defence Force military academy, ADFA in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. It has research stations located throughout the state of New South Wales. (Full article...)

The COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales, Australia was part of the worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case in New South Wales was identified on 19 January 2020 in Sydney where three travellers returning from Wuhan, Hubei, China, tested positive for the virus.
As of 1 April 2022, there had been over 1,863,186 confirmed cases in NSW: 1,149,142 confirmed cases from PCR testing, and nearly 714,044 positive rapid antigen tests (RAT) since mid-January 2022. 17,509,209 vaccines have been administered. (Full article...)

The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the world's first universities to admit students solely on academic merit, and opened its doors to women on the same basis as men. The university comprises eight academic faculties and university schools, through which it offers bachelor, master and doctoral degrees.

Five Nobel and two Crafoord laureates have been affiliated with the university as graduates and faculty. The university has educated 8 Australian prime ministers, including incumbent Anthony Albanese; 2 governors-general of Australia; 13 premiers of New South Wales; and 26 justices of the High Court of Australia, including 5 chief justices. The university has produced 110 Rhodes Scholars and 19 Gates Scholars. The University of Sydney is a member of the Group of Eight, CEMS, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities and the Association of Commonwealth Universities. (Full article...)