New South Wales

New South Wales was the name originally applied to all land east of the 135 ^th meridian of east longitude was the first British settlement in Australia in 1788. Discussion as to why this region was the site of the first settlement abounds even today.

Land

Mount Kosciusko is the highest mountain in Australia, while a narrow coastal strip of fertile river valleys, plains and granite outcrops is bounded on the west by steep gorges, leading up to the tableland. These plateaus stretch from the New England Range in the north, the central and southern tablelands, and the Monaro plateau in the south. In the far northwest of the state are the outer sand dunes of the Simpson Desert. Annual rainfall varies from 10 inches to between 35 and 60 inches in the north.

Flora and Fauna

Except on the north coast, where remnants of subtropical rain forest survive, the vegetation is mainly xerophytic (adapted to frequent droughts). The rich bird life includes many species of parrot and cockatoo, the flightless emus, the mound-building scrub birds, and mallee fowl. Marsupials include the koala, the wombat, the kangaroo and wallaby.

Cultural

Henry Lawson and A. B. (Banjo) Paterson have helped to form an Australian identity. Sir William Dobell and Russell Drysdale promulgated the bush images, which goes back to the Victorian Heidelberg School of nationalist Australian landscape painters of the late 19 ^th century.

New South Wales

Northern Territory

Queensland

South Australia

Tasmania

Victoria

Australian Capital Territory

Western Australia