- published: 15 Jul 2010
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Sydney ( /sɪdni/) is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is classified as an Alpha+ World City indicating its influence in the region and throughout the world.
Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people. Inhabitants of Sydney are called Sydneysiders, comprising a cosmopolitan and international population.
The site of the first British colony in Australia, Sydney was established in 1788 at Sydney Cove by Arthur Phillip, commodore of the First Fleet as a penal colony. The city is built on hills surrounding Port Jackson which is commonly known as Sydney Harbour, where the iconic Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge feature prominently. The hinterland of the metropolitan area is surrounded by national parks, and the coastal regions feature many bays, rivers, inlets and beaches including the famous Bondi Beach and Manly Beach. Within the city are many notable parks, including Hyde Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Coordinates: 33°51′49″S 151°12′41″E / 33.863629°S 151.211362°E / -33.863629; 151.211362
The Museum of Sydney, on the Site of First Government House is built on the ruins of the house of New South Wales' first Governor, Arthur Phillip on the present-day corner of Phillip and Bridge Street, Sydney. The original house, which was Australia's first Government House, was built in 1788 and exposed by archaeologists in 1983. The building was designed by Denton Corker Marshall architects. The museum was built as part of the Governor Phillip Tower development and is managed by the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales.
The Museum of Sydney explores colonial and contemporary Sydney through objects, pictures and new digital media techniques. Panoramic views of Sydney - from 1788 until today - stretch across walls and video screens. Sydney's convict era is explored in a giant showcase of goods and chattels recovered from more than 25 archaeological digs.
When it was commissioned, the project was called the First Government House Museum. Whilst the museum building was being built in November 1993, the New South Wales Minister for the Arts announced that the museum would be known as the Museum of Sydney on the Site of First Government House, described in the press at the time as a "mouthful" and commonly contracted to The Museum of Sydney. The change of name attracted protests.