New South Wales

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
People
- Population composition
- Settlement patterns
- Demographic trends
Economy
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
- Resources and power
- Manufacturing
- Services, labour, and taxation
- Transportation
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
- Health and welfare
- Education
Cultural life
- The arts
- Cultural institutions
- Sports and recreation
- Media and publishing
History
- Prehistory and early British settlement
- The growth of a free society
- Movement toward self-rule
- Economic developments
- Federation
- The postwar period

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images

Map of New South Wales, Australia, showing major cities and towns, including Sydney (the state capital), Newcastle, Wollongong, and others. The map outlines state and political boundaries with neighboring states and territories, and marks coastal areas along the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea.

Lord Howe Island, with (background) Mounts Lidgbird and Gower, New South Wales, Austl.

Map of New South Wales, Australia, highlighting physical features such as mountain ranges, national parks, rivers, and coastal areas. Key features include the Great Dividing Range, Kosciuszko National Park, and the location of the Australian Capital Territory. Neighboring regions-Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, and Jervis Bay Territory-are also marked, with the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea to the east.

Mount Kosciuszko, New South Wales, Australia

Murray River, Corowa, New South Wales, Australia

At a Glance

New South Wales summary

Quizzes

Graduation cap sitting over a speech bubble with an Australian flag on a blue background. (education)

Australian Vocabulary Quiz

High detailed Australia physical map with labeling.

Australian Government and Political System

Australia, United States, Canada, or Ireland? Quiz

Related Questions

How did Aboriginal use of fire shape landscapes in New South Wales?
How did Bangarra Dance Theatre draw on Indigenous Australian culture?
How did Botany Bay fit into British plans for expansion in the Pacific?
How did British settlement affect Aboriginal peoples in New South Wales?
How did Caroline Chisholm help women migrants settle in New South Wales?
How did Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson shape the Australian bush ethos?
How did Henry Parkes support federation through the Tenterfield oration?
How did John Macarthur contribute to the growth of the wool industry?
How did Lachlan Macquarie change New South Wales between 1810 and 1821?
How did New South Wales become the first British colony in Australia?
How did New South Wales change from a convict settlement into a free colony?
How did railways connect Sydney with other parts of New South Wales?
How did squatters gain stronger claims to land in 1847?
How did the Australian gold rushes affect New South Wales?
How did the Legislative Council change government in New South Wales after 1823?
How did the Public Instruction Act of 1880 change schooling in New South Wales?
How did the closure of Newcastle’s steelworks in 1999 affect the surrounding area?
How does rainfall vary across New South Wales?
How have immigration patterns increased cultural diversity in New South Wales?
How is El Niño connected to drought in New South Wales?
How many Aboriginal tribal or language groups lived in the area that became New South Wales?
How were convicts used as a labor force in colonial New South Wales?
What caused the Rum Rebellion of 1808 in New South Wales?
What happened at the Myall Creek massacre in 1838?
What types of art are displayed at the Art Gallery of New South Wales?
What were the Green Bans in Sydney during the 1970s?
When did New South Wales gain representative government?
When did Queensland become self-governing apart from New South Wales?
When did Tasmania separate from New South Wales administration?
Where are the major silver, lead, and zinc deposits in New South Wales?
Where is New South Wales located within Australia?
Where were Aboriginal populations concentrated before European settlement in New South Wales?
Which Australian states border New South Wales?
Which crops are important to agriculture in New South Wales?
Which famous actors and filmmakers graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art?
Which manufacturing industries are concentrated in the Sydney region?
Which minerals are mined in the Sydney Basin and Hunter Valley?
Which museums and cultural institutions are important in Sydney?
Which ocean lies east of New South Wales?
Which ports handle major coal and cargo shipments in New South Wales?
Which religious groups have large followings in New South Wales?
Which renewable energy sources have been developed in New South Wales?
Who commanded the First Fleet that established the New South Wales colony?
Who was Pemulwuy and how did he resist British expansion?
Who were William Cooper, William Ferguson, and Jack Patten?
Why are fishing catches monitored along the New South Wales coast?
Why did Britain establish a colony in New South Wales in 1788?
Why did F.E. De Groot cut the ribbon before the official opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge?
Why did Jack Lang clash with the Commonwealth government during the Great Depression?
Why did New South Wales join the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901?
Why did Victoria separate from New South Wales in 1851?
Why did free migrants come to New South Wales from Britain during the 1830s and 1840s?
Why did pastoralists squat on land in colonial New South Wales?
Why did protectorates for Aboriginal peoples in New South Wales fail during the 1830s?
Why did the New South Wales Corps oppose Governors John Hunter, Philip Gidley King, and William Bligh?
Why did the Roman Catholic Church oppose the Public Instruction Act of 1880?
Why did wool become an important export for New South Wales?
Why do the Snowy Mountains receive heavy snowfall?
Why has traffic congestion increased in Sydney?
Why is Kosciuszko National Park important to New South Wales?
Why is Sydney important to New South Wales?
Why is the Hunter Valley known for wine production?
Why is tourism important to the New South Wales economy?
Why was Premier Jack Lang dismissed by Governor Sir Philip Game in 1932?
Why was land from New South Wales transferred for the Australian Capital Territory?
Why were many rail lines in regional New South Wales closed during the 1970s and 1980s?
Why were seven white men hanged after the Myall Creek massacre?
What is the capital of Australia?
What are some notable features of Australia’s geography?
How many times has Australia qualified for the FIFA World Cup?

Geography & Travel States & Other Subdivisions

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External Websites

Official Tourism Site of New South Wales, Australia
Maps of World - Map of New South Wales, Australia
NSW Government - Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water - A brief overview of New South Wales
CRW Flags - Flag of New South Wales, Australia

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

New South Wales - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
New South Wales - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

New South Wales

state, Australia

Written by

Nicholas Brown

Senior Research Fellow, Australian National University. Author of Richard Downing: Economics, Advocacy and Social Reform in Australia (2001); coeditor of Managing Diversity: Practices of Citizenship...

Nicholas BrownAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 13, 2026 •History

New South Wales, state of southeastern Australia, occupying both coastal mountains and interior tablelands. It is bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the east and the states of Victoria to the south, South Australia to the west, and Queensland to the north. New South Wales also includes Lord Howe Island, 360 miles (580 km) east of the continent. The state capital is Sydney, the country’s largest city. The site of the first British settlement in...

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