A one mile gap between rocky scrub-covered headlands is the entrance to Sydney Harbour; a sea-gate to the city itself and all its history.

In 1770 when a Yorkshire explorer and navigator, Captain James Cook, sailed east from Tahiti with his crew on the Endeavour. This was the start of a very great interest which was to develop in an area which was to become Australia. Accompanied by scientist Joseph Banks and Swedish Botanist Daniel Solander, Cook spent one week ashore at an inlet south of Sydney Harbour which he called Botany Bay.

The Englishmen were delighted with their find; the land looked promising and there was an astounding array of unknown plants and animals for scientific investigation. Cook sailed up the east coast and the land was claimed for King George III under the name of New South Wales.

James Cook and his crew on the Endeavour passed the entrance to Sydney Harbour in 1770 on their way north from Botany Bay, although Cook did not investigate further, he noted in his diary that "...there appear'd to be safe Anchorage, which I called Port Jackson."

He named the harbour in honour of Sir George Jackson, Judge Advocate of the Fleet, and while ashore at Botany Bay he had made a careful observation of the natives. He noted that these naked, wild-looking people took little interest in the visitors and wrote prophetically in his diary "All they seemed to want was for us to be gone."

Despite his enthusiasm, it was only later in the decade that the English took a very real and serious interest in this potential new colony. They began to see that it may prove to be a very useful penal colony. Their own jails were crammed full and their other colonies, for whatever reasons, were unsuitable for receiving Great Britain's criminals.

So it was in May 1787 that the First Fleet of 1,044 people - including 759 convicts - set sail from Portsmouth under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip. Landing on 20th January 1788, they were not pleased with the sight that greeted them; having travelled 22,530km following a journey of eight months, the fleet found a barren and windswept bay which held little of the promise that Cook had intimated.

Necessity drove the ships further north in search of a more suitable site and six days later the ships arrived in Port Jackson, described by Captain Phillip as 'The finest harbour in the world'.

Port Jackson proved to be a more suitable location for the new settlement, and on the 26th January 1788, the British Flag was raised on the shores of Sydney Cove near the present site of Circular Quay. Tents were erected and this far flung outpost of Britain began.

Although the environment at Sydney Cove was better, the early days of the colony were harsh. The colonists were faced with poor food rations and poor soil that made crop growing difficult. They found the fauna unnerving and the natives incomprehensible.

The situation was explosive; the supply ships that were to maintain them did not arrive, and near starvation and home sickness made the colony a place of bitter despair. However, Phillip persevered, and convicts were set to work building houses and huts of mud, reeds, wattle and unseasoned timbers, and a city slowly took shape.

In November 1788, Parramatta, west of Sydney was founded as the centre of the colony's agricultural district. The colony continued to struggle but was saved from starvation by the arrival of a supply ship in June 1790. A Second Fleet also arrived holding 1,006 convicts and in 1791 the Third Fleet arrived with the first Irish convicts.

Early Sydney was brutal; Aboriginals were debased with alcohol, mockery, abuse and condescension, and were decimated by disease. The gentry were gaolers, and within the guards a rapacious clique of opportunists developed - little better than the criminal elements they patrolled.

Phillip was replaced as Governor in 1806 by former Bounty Captain, William Bligh, however Bligh was soon overthrown in the notorious Rum Rebellion(PEP) and Lachlan Macquarie became Governor in 1810. Macquarie is regarded as the Father of Sydney. During the next 11 years the city was transformed: streets were laid out and fine buildings were erected.

Sydney became an enclave of capitalism in the south; a thriving sea trade developed, merino sheep imported from Spain gave the colony a profitable commodity, and a civilian establishment took over from the military.

In 1856 Sydney became the capital of the self governing Colony of New South Wales; the former penal settlement had matured into a proper imperial outpost, the indigenes had all but disappeared, and the British had made a city in their own image.

By the 1880s the city Government moved into a new grand Town Hall, and the symbols both functional and symbolic of High Victorian Society were in place. All the paraphernalia of Victorian decorum flourished; homes, shops, parks and universities were all modelled on London styles, great government buildings had arisen, portentous in golden sandstone and rich in symbolism.

In 1901 the Commonwealth of Australia had been declared, Sir Edmund Barton was elected as Australia's first Prime Minister, and by 1925 the population of the Sydney region had exceeded 1 million.

Port Jackson has changed a great deal in 200 years; from those first few huts on Farm Cove and in The Rocks, Sydney has grown dramatically. For the visitor this is one of Sydney's most appealing and magnetic attractions - Port Jackson, now more commonly known as Sydney Harbour is the essence of Sydney.

From that day in January 1788 when the First Fleet tentatively sailed down the waterway, the harbour has been alive with ships bringing people and goods to the city. Today the Harbour is busy with maritime traffic, high rise office blocks and a multitude of homes along on its shores. However, large sections of bush and garden remain around the Harbour, and these beautiful areas are under the auspices of the Sydney Harbour National Park.

The 20th century has also seen the construction of two of the city's most famous landmarks: the Sydney Harbour Bridge completed in 1932, and the Sydney Opera House completed in 1973.

The waterway and its distinctive bridge, as well as the unmistakable silhouette of the Opera House, are the very symbols of Sydney; people all over the world know Sydney from this portrait. A visit to Sydney is focused around the Harbour -riding on ferries and cruise boats and enjoying those spectacular views from lookouts, picnic spots, headlands, parks and restaurants.

Landmarks

Sydney is most easily recognisable by either of its two most famous landmarks - the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. Both of these structures, unique in their architecture and natural surroundings, draw residents and tourists alike to the harbour foreshores. The Opera House seems to take on a life of its own as the day progresses - from the dawning of the day over the harbour, to the brilliant sunshine of a summer day, then on to the magic colours and the shadows created by the setting sun. It is a unique experience and a wonderful photo opportunity any time of the day, and indeed any time of the year.

Walking around the foreshore there are many wonderful vantage points to take in the view, including walks around Dawes Point under the south side of the Harbour Bridge, to Mrs Macquarie's Point in The Domain.

This route takes in Sydney Cove, Circular Quay, the Opera House, the Botanical Gardens, Centrepoint Tower in the distance, and of course the spectacular sights and delightful views of Sydney.

Hyde Park and The Domain are both very popular areas in the city of Sydney. They provide a refuge amidst peaceful surroundings in an otherwise bustling city.

History

For glimpses of early Sydney, The Rocks is a visitor's delight. It boasts wonderful historic buildings like Cadman's Cottage, Susannah Place, the Justice and Police Museum, The Mercantile Hotel, and Campbell's Storehouse, to name but a few.

Other tales of Sydney's history are told in buildings like The Sydney Town Hall in George Street, Parliament House in Macquarie Street and Customs House in Circular Quay.

Museums and Galleries

There are an abundance of museums and galleries to visit in Sydney, with regular displays and exhibitions to suit a wide variety of tastes and age groups.

The Australian Museum, The Nicholson Museum, The State Library, Hyde Park Barracks, the Sydney Jewish Museum, and the Museum of Sydney all offer a wide range of historical information and artefacts to visitors.

The Museum of Contemporary Art, the Aboriginal and South Pacific Art Gallery, and The Art Gallery of New South Wales offer more for the artistically inclined.

For those wanting a journey back through time as well as a ride into the future, the Powerhouse Museum is definitely the place to visit. Other museums of interest in Sydney include Sportspace and the Motor Museum.

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