New South Wales is Australia's most populous and oldest state, located in the southeast, north of Victoria. It was founded in 1788 and originally comprised much of the Australian mainland. During the 19th century large areas were successively separated to form the British colonies of Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia (which at that time included what is now the Northern Territory). In 1901 these colonies plus Western Australia and Tasmania voted to form an independent nation called the "Commonwealth of Australia".
New South Wales is known the world over for the picturesque harbour of its capital, Sydney. Sydney combines one of the twin hearts of the Australian financial sector with a population that loves the outdoor life from beaches and caving, to riding or sailing. Its three main cities from north to south are Newcastle, Sydney, and Wollongong which all lie along the coast. Other cities and towns include Albury, Broken Hill, Dubbo, Tamworth, Armidale, Lismore, Nowra, and Coffs Harbour.
New South Wales can be divided physically into three sections:
A thin coastal strip, with climates warming from cool temperate on the far south coast to subtropical near the Queensland border.
The mountainous areas of the Great Dividing Range and the high country surrounding them. Whilst not particularly steep, many peaks rise above 2 000 m, with the highest Mount Kosciuszko at 2 228 m (7 308 feet).
The dry, semi-arid to arid plains that make up the majority of the state, in which very few people live. Some parts of far western New South Wales are as remote as any in Australia.
