Bob Hoefert, age 13, of Albuquerque, N.M., for his question:
WHICH CITY IS AUSTRALIA'S LARGEST?
The largest city in Australia is Sydney, a major port in the southeastern part of the nation that is also the capital of the state of New South Wales. The population of greater Sydney is about 3.5 million.
British explorer Capt. James Cook sighted and named Port Jackson in 1770. Then in 1788, Capt. Arthur Phillip established the site of modern Sydney and named it Sydney Cove after the British home secretary, Thomas Townshend, the First Viscount Sydney.
Most of the early inhabitants of Sydney were convicts sent from Great Britain, but increasing numbers of free settlers arrived during the first half of the 19th Century as New South Wales was developed by sheep and cattle raisers and wheat farmers.
After the discovery of gold in the modern Australian state of Victoria in 1851, the population of Sydney grew rapidly, increasing from about 60,000 in 1850 to almost 400,000 in 1890. Sydney's population passed the 1 million mark in the early 1920s, by which time the city had spread far beyond the shores of Port Jackson.
Today Sydney is one of Australia's leading industrial, commercial, financial and transportation centers. Metals, machinery, clothing, processed food, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, ships and refined petroleum are among the many goods manufactured there.
Sydney's port, which is concentrated along Port Jackson but includes major facilities on Bombay Bay, has modern equipment for handling container ships. Most of Australia's foreign trade passes through Sydney, and the Sydney stock exchange is the largest in Australia.
Sydney is blessed with wonderful recreational facilities. Sparkling sandy beaches, such as Bondi Beach of the Pacific Ocean, are especially popular. Also popular are the Royal Botanic Gardens and Taronga Zoological Gardens.
Port Jackson, which is spanned by the graceful, single steel arch Sydney Harbour Bridge, is a favorite spot for yachters.
In addition to its wide ranging opportunities for outdoor recreation, Sydney has many cultural facilities. There are also three universities Macquarie University, the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney as well as the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music.
Sydney also has a number of fine museums, notably the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Australian Museum which features exhibits on natural history, the Church Missionary Society Aboriginal Art Gallery, the Geological and Mining Museum and the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences.
Another cultural spot is the State Library of New South Wales with a collection of about 2 million volumes.
World famous is the strikingly designed Sydney Opera House which was built in 1973. It is located on a point of land that juts out into Port Jackson.