The history of Sydney is the story of the peoples of the land that has become modern Sydney.
Aboriginal Australians have … See more

The first meeting between Aboriginal people and British explorers occurred on 29 April 1770 when Lieutenant James Cook landed at See more

The first government established in Sydney after 1788 was an autocratic system run by an appointed governor – although English law was transplanted into the Australian … See more

The first people to inhabit the area now known as Sydney were Aboriginal Australians who had migrated from northern Australia … See more

After the departure of Phillip in December 1792, the colony's military officers began acquiring land and importing consumer goods obtained from visiting ships. Former convicts also … See more

The New South Wales Legislative Council was transformed into a semi-elected body in 1842. The town of Sydney was declared a city the same year, and a governing council established, … See more

Over the course of the 19th-century Sydney established many of its major cultural institutions. Governor Lachlan Macquarie's vision for Sydney included the construction of … See more