New South Wales
New South Wales State in se Australia, on the Tasman Sea; the capital is Sydney. Captain James Cook first visited the area in 1770, landing at Botany Bay. He claimed the e coast of Australia for Britain, naming it New South Wales. The colony developed in the 19th century with the growth of the wool industry. It originally included all the known area of the continent. New South Wales achieved responsible government in 1855, becoming a state of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The Great Dividing Range separates the narrow coastal lowlands from the w plains that occupy two-thirds of the state. The Murray River and its tributaries are used extensively for irrigation. Wheat, wool, dairy produce and beef are the principal agricultural products. The state has valuable mineral deposits. New South Wales is the most populous and most industrialized state in Australia. Steel is the chief product. Area: 801,430sq km (309,180sq mi). Pop. (2002) 6,599,500.
http://www.nsw.gov.au; http://www.tourism.nsw.gov.au
http://www.nsw.gov.au; http://www.tourism.nsw.gov.au
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New South Wales
