Britain later decided to establish a penal colony in New Holland, as Australia was then known, Cook proposed Botany Bay as an ideal site. But on arriving with the First Fleet in 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip was apparently not convinced of Cook's choice. The fleet waited six days while Phillip explored the surrounding coastline, until finally, on January 26, 1788, he declared Port Jackson to be "the finest harbor in the world" and sailed the fleet through its headlands.
Once ashore, Phillip raised the Union Jack and proclaimed the Colony of New South Wales in the name of King George, and him- self Governor of it. Phillip established his colony on lands controlled by Yura (alternatively spelt Eora or lora) clans - some of the rock carvings in Sydney are over 40,000 years old. Although he endorsed a policy of non-violence towards the Aborigines, the settlers cleared the Yura's forests, restricted their access to traditional hunting and fishing grounds, and even pilfered their fishing nets and baskets and eventually their women.
Retaliation was inevitable. Isolated attacks were prevented from escalating into full-blown warfare by a smallpox epidemic in'1789, which almost annihilated the Aboriginal population (influenza, pneumonia and tuberculosis added to the devastation). Guerrilla attacks continued, though, led by angered warriors like Pemulway, who speared the Governor's game- keeper in 1790 and fought against the New South Wales Corps until he was killed in 1802. Although Britain continued to transport convicts to Sydney until 1840, the colony's steady growth owed more to land grants and other schemes that attracted thousands of free settlers.
Convicts provided the necessary labor (just below convicts on the social scale, young Aborigines were employed as servants and farmhands). Pioneers built homesteads up and down the coast, and in 1813, a track was finally cleared through the Blue Mountains, opening up the fertile plains to the west.
In 1850-1851, the news of sizeable nuggets of gold found near Bathurst changed the face of the new colony. Fortune-seekers the world over set sail for Sydney Harbor. Sydney's population doubled over the next 10 years.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Sydney's main tourist information office is the Sydney Visitor Centre 106 George Street, The Rocks, open 9 AM to 6 PM daily; it's often referred to by its former name, The Rocks Visitor Centre.
The CityRail network operates between 4:30 AM and midnight. Lines are color-coded. They also have trains to the Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley. For other rail or bus travel, you'll need Countrylink C 132232. Curving above the Sydney city center, the futuristic 3.6-km (2.2-mile) Monorail C (02) 95522288 links a number of sights, including the Sydney Aquarium and the Powerhouse Museum. It offers good views of the harbor. Locals tend to disparage it, but the ride is pretty cool.
Tickets cost $2.50, a day pass $6.
Displays at most bus stops provide timetable information, and Nightrider services take over from midnight. Night buses have radio links to taxi companies, so you can arrange for a cab to meet you at your destination. Bright green and yellow Air- port Express buses run every 10 minutes between 7 AM and 7:30 PM on weekdays, less often at other times. Route 300 runs from Circular Quay via George Street, Town Hall and Sydney Central stations, route 350 from Kings Cross via Oxford Street.
Star City Casino operates a covey of free shuttle buses throughout Sydney so that punters can hang onto their cash until they get there - the casino is conveniently located at Darling Harbor, so make use of the free ride. Ask if one runs nearby. It's usually easy enough to flag down a taxi in Sydney, and there are cab ranks outside most train stations and wharves. The 20-minute drive from central Sydney to the airport will cost around $20 unless it's peak hour when you can double that. Be sure to tell the driver clearly whether you're going to the domestic or the international terminal; the free shuttle service connecting the terminals takes 20 minutes.
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