Millionaires and movie stars have bought mansions on the eastern headlands. Among the wealthier districts are waterfront suburbs such as Mosman, Vaucluse, and Port Hacking. However, many residents of Haberfield, Granville, and other suburbs must commute long distances over congested highways and streets. Many people find homes there attractive for their lower land prices and what are perceived as better schools. Almost half the population are now “Westies”-residents of the western suburbs, which stretch across the Cumberland Plain. Like many other large cities, Sydney has sprawled rapidly since the mid-1900s. The bridge was opened in 1932 as the main highway and railroad link between the northern and southern shores. An underwater road tunnel traverses Sydney Harbour, and a short distance to the west is the arch of Sydney Harbour Bridge, one of the longest steel-arch bridges in the world. Darling Harbour, to the west, also has an ocean-liner terminal. Fronting the financial district is Sydney Cove (Circular Quay), which is frequented by passenger ships and commuter ferries. However, much of the shoreline is gently sloped, allowing for large commercial and residential developments. Sandstone cliffs produce a hilly landscape, especially along Essex Street. Among these are Kirribilli Point, Bennelong Point, which is the site of the Opera House, and Potts Point, home to the Garden Island Naval Dockyard.
Sydney Harbour is dotted with islets and is lined with small bays, coves, and peninsulas. Accounts also abound of Sydney’s free-speaking residents-from beachgoers to businesspeople and software engineers to graffiti artists, “wharfies” (dockworkers), café-frequenting writers, and fun-loving nightlife seekers-to list just a few commonly mentioned “types.” Nevertheless, the waterfront is usually evoked in discussions of the city’s character. Many Sydneysiders, as Sydney residents are known, now live out of sight of the waterfront. The western suburbs extend to the foothills of the Blue Mountains, nearly 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the coast.
Botany Bay and Port Hacking are, respectively, 10 miles (16 kilometers) and 17 miles (27 kilometers) south of downtown. Some 25 miles (40 kilometers) to the north is another harbor, Broken Bay, which is fed by the Hawkesbury River. At the heart of the city are Sydney Harbour (also called Port Jackson) and the central business district. Sydney is one of the chief transportation centers of the South Pacific, with a busy international airport and four distinct harbor zones granting access to world trade routes via the Tasman Sea.
The capital of the state of New South Wales, it stretches along roughly 45 miles (70 kilometers) of the southeastern coast of the country-continent. Famous for the gleaming white Sydney Opera House and its picturesque waterfront, Sydney is the largest and oldest city in Australia.
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