NEW SOUTH WALES, the oldest of the colonies of Great Britain in Aus tralia, and since Jan. 1, 1901, a state in the Australian commonwealth. At one time it comprised the E. half of Aus tralia, but is now bounded on the N. by Queensland, on the S. by Victoria, on the E. by the Pacific Ocean, and on the W. by South Australia; area, 310,700 square miles. A mountain range (the Great Dividing Chain) extends from N. to S. nearly parallel to the coast, at the distance of from 30 to 50 miles in land. The highest summits are Mount Kosciusko, Mount Clarke, and Mount Townshend in the S. E. (7,353 feet), the last being the highest mountain in the colony and in Australia. The coast line, 700 miles in length, presents, in gen eral, bold perpendicular cliffs of sand stone in horizontal strata. Among the indentations of the coast are Port Stephens, Port Hunter, Broken Bay, Port Jackson, Botany Bay, Jervis Bay, Sussex Haven, and Twofold Bay. The most important rivers are on the W. side of the great watershed, the chief the Murray, the Murrumbrigee, the Lachlan, and the Darling, the Mur -ay receiving the waters of the others nd carrying them to the sea through South Australia. The Murray partly be longs also to Victoria, as it forms the boundary between New South Wales and that colony, and the Darling is thus the chief river of New South Wales. On the E. side of the watershed are no large rivers, the chief being the Hunter (300 miles) and the Hawkesbury (330 miles). The volume of the rivers depends greatly on the season, and their utility for in land navigation is much impaired by their shallowness. As a general rule the prevailing rock on the E. side of the mountains is sandstone, and on the W. granite. Much of the sandstone be longs to the Carboniferous system, and is accompanied with workable seams of excellent coal. The coal fields extend over an area of 10,000 acres, with more than 91 mines. The state exports con siderable quantities of coal to the W. coast of North and South America. Copper ore of the richest quality and tin exist in large quantities, and iron is very generally distributed in all parts of the state.
Several varieties of precious stones have been found, notably opals. As the area of the state extends over 11° of latitude, and as it contains a good deal of elevated ground, nearly every variety of climate is to be found. In the N. the climate is tropical, while on the table lands severe frost is not uncommon. The interior plains are very dry, while the coast districts have abundant rains. Though the hot winds of the warm sea son are annoying, they are not un healthy, while storms and electrical disturbances are comparatively rare. About one-fourth of the area of the state consists of forest lands, which in 1887 were taken under the care of the gov ernment by the creation of a Forest Con servation Department. The scarcity of
water renders much of the surface far better adapted for pasturage than for agricultural purposes, though where the necessary moisture is present heavy crops are obtained. The total imports of New South Wales in 1917-1918 amounted to £27,975,582, and the exports to £36,216,779. Gold is found in all parts of the state, although production has fallen off in recent years. There was produced in 1917 85,954 fine ounces, valued at £349,038. The silver produc tion for the same year amounted to 1,782,004 fine ounces, valued at £328, 251, together with 324,881 tons of silver lead ore and metal valued at £4,164,324. There were produced in 1917 6,576 tons of copper, valued at £814,154, and the coal production in 1917 was 8,292,867 tons, valued at £4,422,740. The manu facture of coke is also an important in dustry. There were in 1917 5,163,030 acres under agricultural cultivation. The chief products are wheat, of which about 37,000,000 bushels were produced in 1917; corn, barley, and oats. The value of the manufactured output in 1917 was £85,944,320. There were in the state, in 1918, 38,000,000 sheep, 2,900,000 cattle, 750,000 horses, and 200,000 pigs. The production of wool in 1917 was 270,525,000 pounds.
Sydney is the capital; other towns are Newcastle, Bathurst, Goulburn, Para matta, Maitland. There is no estab lished religion. Among the religious sects the Church of England, Roman Catholics, Wesleyan Methodists, Luther ans, and Presbyterians hold the chief place. Education is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 14. The educational system comprises lower and higher pub lic schools, evening schools, etc., at the top being the University of Sydney. With it are affiliated three theological colleges, for Church of England, Presby terian, and Roman Catholic students respectively.
New South Wales was discovered by Captain Cook in 1770, and founded as a penal settlement (at Botany Bay) in 1788. One of its early governors was the notorious Captain Bligh, who was deposed by the colonists in 1808. The most important events in its history since convict immigration ceased in 1840 are the establishment of representative institutions in 1843; the erection of Vic toria into a separate colony in 1850; the important discovery in May, 1851, of ex tensive gold tracts; the rush to the dig gings, with consequent great increase in population and prosperity; and the in corporation of the colony in the Aus tralian commonwealth in 1901. The first railway, from Sydney to Paramatta, was opened in 1855. Among more q'ke cent events are the Sydney Exhibition held in 1879, and the Intercolonial Con ference held at Sydney in 1883. The colony celebrated its centenary in Jan uary, 1888. On Jan. 1, 1901, Sydney was the scene of the inauguration of the first governor-general of the new common wealth, Lord Hopetoun. Pop. about 1,700,000.