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= = = = __ NEW SOUTH WALES __

**History** Aboriginals lived in separate groups. Each group had their own languages and traditions but they came together for trade, ceremonies marriages and sometimes war. It is thought that the aboriginal population was 40 000. Some people even thought that it was greater than 750 000. It was not known the exact date the aboriginals arrived but it is estimated they came 120 000 years ago.
 * Aboriginals in New South Wales **

When Europeans came to New South Wales, they didn’t understand the relationship the aboriginals had with the land. They expected the aboriginals to move away from areas the settled but this was impossible as each aboriginal group had links to a particular area of land. When white settlers arrived, they brought diseases with them such as smallpox, leprosy and tuberculosis. Aboriginals had no resistance against diseases so most people died. Sydney is the capital of New South Wales. The premier of New South Wales is Nathan Rees. The population of New South Wales is 6, 889, 100 and Sydney’s’ is 4, 284, 379. New South Wales’ time zone is in Eastern Standard Time. The average climate of Sydney in November – March is 35°C. The Average climate of Sydney in April – October is 21°C – 27°C. The floral emblem of New South Wales is the Waratah. The faunal emblem is the platypus. State parliament is composed of Sovereign and two houses: the Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the Legislative Council (upper house). Each house is elected by the people of New South Wales. The sovereign is head of the parliament and is represented in the state by the governor of New South Wales. Elections are held every four years on the fourth Saturday of March. The speaker of the Legislative Council is Peter Primrose and the speaker of the Legislative Assembly is Richard Torbay.
 * The Effect on European Settlement **
 * Facts **
 * Government **

**Native plants and Animals** There are many native plants and animals in New South Wales. Here is more about the platypus and the waratah. **

Platypus ** Platypuses are about half the size of a household cat. Platypuses are dark brown on their backs and mostly light brown on their bellies. Under their long, coarse outer hair is a fine, dense underfur. The fur ranges in colour from grey to dark brown. With their slightly flattened, streamlined body and short legs, they are well adapted for swimming. When digging a burrow or moving on land they can fold away their webbed foot extensions. The duck-like bill of the platypus is flexible. This helps the animal to find its way about and to look for food. Adult females and males differ greatly in size and weight. An average male platypus is about 50 cm long while a female in about 43 cm long.
 * What does the platypus look like? [[image:platypus.jpg width="150" height="102" align="right" caption="Platypus"]] **

Platypuses live in rivers, streams and lakes of eastern Australia. They are found in the major permanent river systems in the south of New South Wales. Out of the water, platypuses spend most of their time in burrows which have dug into the river bank. The animals use a number of short resting burrows as protection from predators and high temperatures. What do they eat? ** Mainly a nocturnal animal, the platypus can be seen during early morning and late evening. It spends half of its time feeding in the water. It can spend up to ten hours under the water at any one time. Normally a platypus stays under water for one to two minutes, but if disturbed it can stay for about ten minutes. The platypus usually catches its food underwater, sifting through the gravel and mud on the riverbed. The platypus fills its cheek pouches with unchewed food, and when it has finished feeding it rests on the water surface to grind and swallow the food.
 * Where do they live? **

Platypus breeding season is in spring. The animals build a nesting burrow up to 30 m in length, containing a nesting chamber. Before she lays her eggs, the female platypus plugs the burrow in one or more places. This is to protect the mother and her eggs from predators. Normally one to two eggs are laid, they are incubated by their mother who curls around the eggs with her tail on top of them. When the young platypuses hatch, they are fed milk by their mother. The young are suckled in the burrow until about three or four months of age, when they venture into the open to see daylight and the river for the first time. The waratah is the best known plant in New South Wales and is also the state emblem. The Cootamundra wattle is also from New South Wales. Here is more information about the waratah. The waratah is the state emblem of New South Wales. It is fairly widespread on the central coast and nearby mountains, growing mainly in open forest as a shrub up to four metres high. It has also grown in gardens.
 * Breeding **
 * The Waratah **

If you want to get from Melbourne to Sydney by car it will take about 11 hours. The distance is about 870 km from the CBD of Melbourne to the CBD of Sydney if you drive. To get there by train it will take approximately 10 and a half hours. It is easiest to go by plane which takes 1 and a half hours each way.
 * Mapping and Direction **

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 * Landmarks and Tourist Attractions **

There are a large number of tourist attractions which are found in some regions, towns and cities in New South Wales. New South Wales has a wide range of both natural and manmade tourist attractions. Some of attractions include national parks, tropical rainforests, galleries, museums and a range of short activities. One of the major landforms is the twelve apostles. You will find these if you drive along the great ocean road from Victoria. These are what made the coastline famous. To discover more about these apostles take to the air to see a bird’s eye view or join a boat tour to take a closer look. Another land mark is the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It started being built on December 1926 and was finished on September 1931. It was opened on March 19th 1932 by premier Jack Lang after six years of construction. The bridge was made from steel containing six million hand driven rivets that hold the bridge together.

 References: *Department of Environment and Climate Change [] * Flight Centre [] * Wikipedia []
 * Gott, R 1997, //New South Wales//, Heinemann Library, Melbourne