Trifter

History

On January 20th 1788 Arthur Philip arrived at Botany Bay with a fleet of only 11 ships.  However after arrive he determined that the land was inhabitable and moved further up the coast and landed at what today is known as Sydney Cove.  Philip named the colony Sydney after the British Home secretary who was responsible for authorizing Philips expedition.  On July 20th 1842 the municipal council of Sydney was incorporated and Charles H Chambers became the mayor of the first city in Australia.

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Culture

Sydney is the host of many festivals and Australia’s largest social and cultural events including the Sydney Festival, Biennale of Sydney, The Big Day Out, The Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and The Sydney Film Festival.  The National Institute of Dramatic Art based in Sydney has many notable alumni including Mel Gibson, Judy Davis, and Cate Blanchett.  Many prominent films have been filmed in Sydney including Mission Impossible II, Happy Feet, The Matrix and Superman Returns.

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Economy

Sydney provides 25 percent of the countries total Gross Domestic Product.  Sydney also headquarters 500 multinational corporations.  With an unemployment rate of only 4.9 percent and the highest median house price (559,000) of any Australian city, Sydney is listed as the 16th most expensive city in the world.  The Sydney Futures Exchange (SFE) is one of the largest financial and futures exchanges with 64.3 million contracts.

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Climate

Sydney has a temperate climate with warm summers and cool winters with rainfall spread out evenly throughout the entire year.  January is the hottest month of the year with temperatures averaging between 65 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit.  The hottest temperature ever recorded was 113.5 degrees on January 14th 1939.  The average annual rainfall is 48 inches.  On average it rains a total of 138 days a year.  The summer of 2007-2008 was the coolest in 11 years and one of only three summers that did not have temperatures exceed 88 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Transportation

Most of Sydney’s residents travel by car to get around but Sydney does have an extensive train, bus, taxi and ferry networks.  Commuter trains run from the suburbs into the city where they then converge in a city loop services.  The Clearway project which is a large infrastructure project is expected to be completed in 2010.  Sydney Airport which is located in the suburb of Mascot is Sydney’s main airport.  It is one of the oldest and continually operated airports in the world but there have been calls to open up another airport to help with increases in air traffic.

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