Information About Sydney

Did you know? It's estimated that Sydney's population broke the four million mark around 3rd August 1998.

Sydney was named after Lord Sydney whose name in turn derived from the French St Denis, an evolution of Dionysus.The Dionysia of ancient Greece were precursors of modern festivals, the Dionysic wreath a symbol of theatric honour. Might explain why Sydney is such a party city!

There are two principal approaches to Sydney, the one by sea, the other by land. ... the approach by sea is full of interest, and creates a delight which can never be forgotten. ... No words can fitly describe the wonders of this magnificent scene; no pencil can adequately picture its beauty. Anthony Trollope, writing of it, says: "I despair of being able to convey to any reader my own idea of the beauty of Sydney Harbour. I have seen nothing equal to it in the way of land-loced scenery; nothing second to it. Dublin Bay, the Bay of Spezia, New York, ad the Cove of York, are all picturesquely fine. Bantry Bay, with its nooks of sea running up to Glengariff, is very lovely. But they are not equal to Sydney, either in shape, in colour, or in variety ... It is so inexpressibly lovely that it makes a man ask himself whether it would not be worth his while to move his household goods to the eastern coast of Australia, in order than he might look at it as long as he can look at anything." ... It is extremely difficult - and in truth, well-nigh impossible - to convey to one who has not visited Sydney any adequate idea of the beauties of its scenery. The pencil of the artist has done what pencil can do, but the divine glories of the Sydney skies do not allow reproduction. On a bright sunny morning, such as is enjoyed on at least six days out of every seven, the waters of the Harbour reflect the brilliancy and colour of the sky.'

These words were written in 1888 and, in my opinion, are just as true today as then.

When people visit, I like to give them a tour of Sydney - no, not the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge or Bondi Beach (although we do see them), but things like the northern beaches (golden sands, lush bush surrounds), rainforests and waterfalls, the rivers (Lane Cove, Georges, Parramatta) and if time permits, the Blue Mountains. Sydney is a very beautiful city - probably why so many people want to live here, and why so many people want to visit.

For the historians, there are some great historic buildings in Sydney.

A 92 year old man has been walking the streets of Sydney for the last few years, and has created a photographic legacy of those walks - check his site at Walk Sydney Streets.

One of the reasons I live in Sydney is because it is the best city I have ever been to (and of course, this is where I was born). Sydney combines the best of Australia's relaxed 'she'll be right' culture with cosmopolitan life of a big city. Here's some info about Sydney.

The median weekly wage is currently around $A1020 gross. A Big Mac meal (Big Mac, medium fries, and medium drink) will cost around $A6. The average house mortgage is around $A2100 a month. The average house price is around $A460,000 (way above that for houses in the north and eastern parts of Sydney).

One of Sydney's best attractions is the Taronga Zoo. On October 7, 1916, Taronga Zoo was officially opened (prior to that, Sydney's zoo was located at Moore Park, about ten minutes walk from the city). Taronga Zoo (Taronga is Aboriginal for 'water view') won the American tourism industry's 1992 World's Best Zoo Award.

What makes Taronga Zoo so great? Well firstly, it has million dollar views of Sydney Harbour as it is located on a steep tract of land on the shore of the harbour. Secondly, it holds an incredible 2000 animals (from Red Pandas to Platypuses - or is that Platypi?). And thirdly, the animals are kept comfortable in exhibits which closely resemble their natural surrounds.

Here's some more stuff about Sydney.

- Population: approx 4 million
- Daylight Savings Time : late October to late March
- Latitude : 33 50 S
- Longitude: 151 09 E
- Temperature:
	Month      Celsius   Fahrenheit
	March         21         70 
	June          13         56 
	September     15         60 
	December      21         70 
- Precipitation:
	Month        Centimeters    Inches
	March             13          5.1 
	June              14          5.6 
	September         7           2.8 
	December          9           3.4 

Sydney is without sunshine only 23 days of the year.

An average of 19 percent of household income in Sydney
goes towards housing.

About half of Sydney Harbour has a depth of 9 metres
or more at low water, with a maximum depth of 24.4 metres
at the harbour entrance.