Rainfall is distributed throughout the year but shows an autumn and winter maximum (Feb.–July) and averages 471 in. Sydney, besides its splendid site, has had the advantage of fine and easily procured building stone, the sandstones of Pyrmont and other local quarries. The old town had winding, narrow and relatively enclosed streets. In spite of much recent rebuilding—notably along the water-fronts—some of these persist and give the city an old-world flavour. The public buildings are, in many cases, notably fine, the two Cathedrals (Anglican and Roman Catholic), the University, Post Office, several of the Government offices, besides some of the public galleries, etc., being worthy of note. The main streets also offer excellent specimens of modern lay out and substantial architecture, while many other buildings (Government House, etc.) have historical interest. The city is unusually well endowed with parks, recreation grounds, and pleas ure resorts generally. The 647 ac. of parks, etc., within the city boundaries include Moore Park, the fine Botanic Gardens, the Domain, Hyde Park which commands many splendid views; in addition the Sydney Cricket Ground, the Royal Agricultural Society's Ground where is held annually the most famous agri cultural show in the State. There are 6,000 ac. of similar re serves in the municipalities, and two national reserves : National Park, 16 miles south of Sydney (33,800 ac.) around Port Hacking, and the Kuringgai Chase (35,300 ac.) 15 miles north on Broken Bay—both with magnificent scenery—besides reserves at Parramatta and Botany Bay, making a total (1926) of 240,200 ac. reserves besides 440,00o ac. commons within the (greater) metro politan area.
The harbour of Sydney, with its coves, creeks and bays, is a favourite pleasure resort, as are also such beaches as Manly for surf-bathing, etc. Sydney has an excellent and assured water supply derived chiefly from the Nepean, Cataract and Cordeaux Rivers (347 sq.miles catchment), the reservoirs containing (1927) 80,00o million gal. Trams (375 m. of track of which 288 miles are electric, the remainder steam) and electric and steam railways serve the city and suburbs, and ferries ply in the harbour. The great steel-arch Sydney bridge, completed in 1932, spans the har bour from Dawes Point (south) to Milson Point (north), has a total length of 3,770 ft. (main arch span, 1,652 ft.; clearance for vessels passing underneath, 170 ft.), and carries a roadway 57 ft. wide, two footways, and four lines of railway. It is one of the largest steel-arch bridges in the world. The city is, in respect of its social, educational and artistic life a leading city of the south ern hemisphere.
There are factories employing 135,500 hands in the Sydney Basin area (Cumberland County) and of these 4,88o fac tories and 128,500 hands are in the metropolitan area. Clothing,
metal, machinery (including railway engineering) industries are the most important, food and drink preparation coming next. (For industrial areas and suburbs: v. sup.) Sydney is also the chief commercial, banking, warehousing and shipping centre of the State. Upon it are centralized the lines, not only from its own basin, but from a very large part of the State. Wheat, meat, butter, fruit and many other primary products find their way to the city, from inland or by coasting steamers, for consumption or for export, but most important and most characteristic is wool. Sydney is by far the largest wool-selling centre in Australia and its sales, which begin in Sept. and last for 8-9 months, are world famous. Sales range from 107.5 mill.-374 mill. lb. (1913/4 1926/7), valued at £5.6–L26.4 mill. annually. Port Jackson (v. sup.) offers unrivalled opportunities for harbour development.
The Sydney Harbour Trust (constituted in the year 1901) has pursued a vigorous policy of development and improvement and largely transformed the earlier unsatisfactory state of much of the water-front. The principal wharves lie 4-5 miles from the Heads and close to the business centre of the city. The Trust controls c. 63,00o ft. of wharfage which is leased to shipping companies, etc. Woolloomooloo Bay (6,000 ft. wharfage) is the principal overseas harbour; Circular Quay (3,60o ft.) is used both for ferry and overseas traffic ; Glebe Island (4,800 ft.) is the wheat-exporting harbour with modern appliances including an elevator of 6,500,000 bu. capacity, and there are also wool, tim ber, and other special cargo wharves, warehouses, etc. All these 'are on the southern shores and do not include ferry wharves, private jetties, etc. The Islands (9) in Port Jackson are either pleasure resorts or used for special (naval, fire-station, etc.) pur poses. On Cockatoo Is. and at Woolwich are large graving docks. Some 7,500-8,500 vessels (7,500,000-9,13o,000 tons) have en tered Sydney Harbour in recent years, of which c. 2,400 (7,200, 000 tons) are engaged in overseas, the remainder in inter-State (coasting), trade. In 1925/6, 1,765,00o tons of cargo were shipped (I,Ioo,000 tons, £52,193,000, overseas) and 2,779,000 tons were discharged (1,936,00o tons, £62,180,000) from overseas. The total overseas trade is valued at £114,374,000, constituting Sydney easily the first port in Australia and one of the foremost in the British Empire.
See Griffith Taylor, "The Warped Littoral Around Sydney" in Proc. Royal Soc. N.S.W., vol. lvii., 1923, and also in Commonwealth Year Book, No. 20, 1927, etc. ; K. Ussher, The Cities of Australia (1928) ; Official Year Book of N.S.W. (1926-27) .