50 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SIDNEY
Sydney receives over 10 million international and domestic visitors each year for its beaches and attractions. Given its favourable weather, rich European history, vibrant economy and diverse lifestyle options, it is not surprising that Australia's largest city is such a popular destination for tourist and migrants. However, Sydney is more than just the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and beaches.
Here are 50 interesting facts I picked up while in Sydney to share with travellers and locals who may find them interesting to share with family and friends.
1) The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the widest long-span bridge and tallest steel arch bridge in the world, and the 5th longest spanning-arch bridge according to Guinness World Records.
2) It is the 12th most expensive city with property prices averaging USD8,717 per square metre.
3) The Sydney Mint built between 1811 and 1816 is the oldest public building in the Sydney Central Business District.
4) It is the capital of Australia's ICT industry, with 76 per cent of Australia's ICT regional headquarters and operating centres located in NSW.
5) The Sydney Tower was the tallest structure when it opened in 1981, and still is the second tallest freestanding structure in all of Australia at 1,001 feet over the Sydney CBD.
6) The Harbour Bridge is known by the locals as "The Coat Hanger" due to its distinct shape.
7) Cadman's Cottage built in 1816 is the oldest house in Sydney located in The Rocks.
8) It was the site of the 1st European colony in 1788 when convict-bearing ships of the first fleet came from England to set up the colony of New South Wales.
9) English, Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, Greek and Vietnamese are the main languages spoken in Sydney.
10) It was in the Guinness Book of Records for producing the longest line of pizzas at 221 metres in the Italian quarter of Leichardt.
11) Cricket is the most popular summer sport in Sydney and the city will host games in the 2015 Cricket World Cup.
12) Australia's largest outdoor sculpture exhibit, "Sculpture by the Sea", began at Bondi Beach in 1996.
13) The Sydney Fish Market is the largest market of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and the world's 3rd largest fish market.
14) George Street is the oldest street in the whole of Australia.
15) It accounts for about 1/3 of the employment in Australia's finance industry with 65% of Australia's finance industry located here including banks (domestic & foreign), financial services, insurance, funds management and stockbroking firms.
16) Operating since 1875, the Sydney Ferries carries over 14 million passengers each year in and around Sydney.
17) The cost of building the Sydney Opera House ended up at AUD102 million instead of the original estimate of AUD7 million.
18) The eastern suburbs enclave of Point Piper in Sydney is the 9th most expensive street in the world at AUD20,900 per square metre with median value of all houses at AUD7.38 million.
19) Rugby league is the most popular sport in Sydney. The NRL which began in Sydney in 1908 is the largest and most prestigious domestic rugby league competition in the Southern Hemisphere.
20) The Sydney region has been inhabited by indigenous Australians for at least 30,000 years based on radio carbon dating.
21) It has the deepest natural harbour in the world with 504,00 mega litres of water.
22) Oprah Winfrey's Ultimate Australian Adventure show cost Sydney and Australia AUD5 million dollars.
23) It will need 770,000 additional homes or an extra 25,000 homes per year by 2036.
24) The smallest beach in Sydney is McKell Beach at Darling Point, accessible only by boat at low tide.
25) The Queen Victoria Building (QVB) constructed between 1893 and 1898 was named to commemorate the Queen of England's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
26) It is home to Opera Australia, the 3rd busiest opera company in the world.
27) 1 in 8 people are over 65 years old in Sydney.
28) It's popular cliff top coastal Bondi to Coogee walk with views of beaches, parks, cliffs, bays and rock pools runs 6 kilometres and takes about 2 hours to complete.
29) 60 percent of Australia's top 100 companies are headquarters in Sydney.
30) It has become the playground of Hollywood stars, including Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, Justin Timberlake, Sylvester Stallone, Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Lopez.
31) Over 229 films have been set in, or featured Sydney including those of Hollywood and Bollywood. Parramatta played host to Owen Wilson and Kate Hudson film premiere "You, Me and Dupree" and Sydney Harbour was the set for "Finding Nemo".
32) The Australia Day Regatta in Sydney conducted since 1837 is the oldest continuously-conducted annual sailing regatta in the world.
33) All beaches in Sydney offer picnic shelters, electric barbecues, play areas, kiosks, toilets and change-rooms.
34) It accounts for over 25 percent of Australia's total economic activity including services, manufacturing, mining, finance, property and retail.
35) Sydney's famous annual Tulip Time Festival and home to the International Cricket Hall of Fame and Bradman Museum of Cricket is found in Bowral.
36) It was reported that the New Year Eve 2012 Fireworks costed Sydney AUD6.3 million and generated AUD156 million for the local economy.
37) Australian-American actress, singer and film producer, Nicole Kidman, has quit Sydney for good, driven out by relentless paparazzi.
38) It officially became a city in 1842.
39) Bondi Beach was the set for the Guinness World Record for the largest swimsuit photo shoot with 1,010 women wearing bikinis in 2007.
40) 31.7 percent of the population of Sydney were born overseas compared to 22.2 percent of the overall Australian population.
41) Sydney cafe, Ambrosia On The Spot, set a record by making the world's largest burger at 95.5 kilograms outweighing the previous record of 84 kilograms in the US.
42) The travelling rock-music festival, "Big Day Out", originated in Sydney
43) 13 percent of the known species of eucalyptus around the world are found in the Blue Mountains helping to make the Greater Blue Mountains Area a World Heritage Area by UNESCO on 29 November 2000.
44) There were an estimated 1,745,827 people employed in the Sydney Metropolitan Region in 2011 with the largest industries by employment being retail trade (187,647), followed by health care and social assistance (177,087) and manufacturing (176,437).
45) The "Bondi Burger", served at Oporto restaurants, is named after Bondi Beach.
46) The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) established in 1880 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia.
47) The population of the Sydney Metropolitan Region is projected to add almost 1.4 million people to a size of 5,635,209 by 2036.
48) It's Central Business District (CBD) is the largest office market in Australia offering 4.6 million m2 of office space with most of the demand coming from the finance, legal and services business sectors.
49) Woolworths Carols in the Domain is Australia's largest freeChristmas concert since 1982.
50) It has the 7th largest percentage of foreign-born individuals in the world and immigrants account for 75 percent of Sydney's annual population growth.
Here are 50 interesting facts I picked up while in Sydney to share with travellers and locals who may find them interesting to share with family and friends.
1) The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the widest long-span bridge and tallest steel arch bridge in the world, and the 5th longest spanning-arch bridge according to Guinness World Records.
2) It is the 12th most expensive city with property prices averaging USD8,717 per square metre.
4) It is the capital of Australia's ICT industry, with 76 per cent of Australia's ICT regional headquarters and operating centres located in NSW.
5) The Sydney Tower was the tallest structure when it opened in 1981, and still is the second tallest freestanding structure in all of Australia at 1,001 feet over the Sydney CBD.
6) The Harbour Bridge is known by the locals as "The Coat Hanger" due to its distinct shape.
7) Cadman's Cottage built in 1816 is the oldest house in Sydney located in The Rocks.
8) It was the site of the 1st European colony in 1788 when convict-bearing ships of the first fleet came from England to set up the colony of New South Wales.
9) English, Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, Greek and Vietnamese are the main languages spoken in Sydney.
10) It was in the Guinness Book of Records for producing the longest line of pizzas at 221 metres in the Italian quarter of Leichardt.
11) Cricket is the most popular summer sport in Sydney and the city will host games in the 2015 Cricket World Cup.
12) Australia's largest outdoor sculpture exhibit, "Sculpture by the Sea", began at Bondi Beach in 1996.
13) The Sydney Fish Market is the largest market of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and the world's 3rd largest fish market.
14) George Street is the oldest street in the whole of Australia.
15) It accounts for about 1/3 of the employment in Australia's finance industry with 65% of Australia's finance industry located here including banks (domestic & foreign), financial services, insurance, funds management and stockbroking firms.
16) Operating since 1875, the Sydney Ferries carries over 14 million passengers each year in and around Sydney.
17) The cost of building the Sydney Opera House ended up at AUD102 million instead of the original estimate of AUD7 million.
18) The eastern suburbs enclave of Point Piper in Sydney is the 9th most expensive street in the world at AUD20,900 per square metre with median value of all houses at AUD7.38 million.
19) Rugby league is the most popular sport in Sydney. The NRL which began in Sydney in 1908 is the largest and most prestigious domestic rugby league competition in the Southern Hemisphere.
20) The Sydney region has been inhabited by indigenous Australians for at least 30,000 years based on radio carbon dating.
21) It has the deepest natural harbour in the world with 504,00 mega litres of water.
22) Oprah Winfrey's Ultimate Australian Adventure show cost Sydney and Australia AUD5 million dollars.
23) It will need 770,000 additional homes or an extra 25,000 homes per year by 2036.
24) The smallest beach in Sydney is McKell Beach at Darling Point, accessible only by boat at low tide.
25) The Queen Victoria Building (QVB) constructed between 1893 and 1898 was named to commemorate the Queen of England's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
26) It is home to Opera Australia, the 3rd busiest opera company in the world.
27) 1 in 8 people are over 65 years old in Sydney.
28) It's popular cliff top coastal Bondi to Coogee walk with views of beaches, parks, cliffs, bays and rock pools runs 6 kilometres and takes about 2 hours to complete.
29) 60 percent of Australia's top 100 companies are headquarters in Sydney.
30) It has become the playground of Hollywood stars, including Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, Justin Timberlake, Sylvester Stallone, Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Lopez.
31) Over 229 films have been set in, or featured Sydney including those of Hollywood and Bollywood. Parramatta played host to Owen Wilson and Kate Hudson film premiere "You, Me and Dupree" and Sydney Harbour was the set for "Finding Nemo".
32) The Australia Day Regatta in Sydney conducted since 1837 is the oldest continuously-conducted annual sailing regatta in the world.
33) All beaches in Sydney offer picnic shelters, electric barbecues, play areas, kiosks, toilets and change-rooms.
34) It accounts for over 25 percent of Australia's total economic activity including services, manufacturing, mining, finance, property and retail.
35) Sydney's famous annual Tulip Time Festival and home to the International Cricket Hall of Fame and Bradman Museum of Cricket is found in Bowral.
36) It was reported that the New Year Eve 2012 Fireworks costed Sydney AUD6.3 million and generated AUD156 million for the local economy.
37) Australian-American actress, singer and film producer, Nicole Kidman, has quit Sydney for good, driven out by relentless paparazzi.
38) It officially became a city in 1842.
39) Bondi Beach was the set for the Guinness World Record for the largest swimsuit photo shoot with 1,010 women wearing bikinis in 2007.
40) 31.7 percent of the population of Sydney were born overseas compared to 22.2 percent of the overall Australian population.
41) Sydney cafe, Ambrosia On The Spot, set a record by making the world's largest burger at 95.5 kilograms outweighing the previous record of 84 kilograms in the US.
42) The travelling rock-music festival, "Big Day Out", originated in Sydney
43) 13 percent of the known species of eucalyptus around the world are found in the Blue Mountains helping to make the Greater Blue Mountains Area a World Heritage Area by UNESCO on 29 November 2000.
44) There were an estimated 1,745,827 people employed in the Sydney Metropolitan Region in 2011 with the largest industries by employment being retail trade (187,647), followed by health care and social assistance (177,087) and manufacturing (176,437).
45) The "Bondi Burger", served at Oporto restaurants, is named after Bondi Beach.
46) The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) established in 1880 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia.
47) The population of the Sydney Metropolitan Region is projected to add almost 1.4 million people to a size of 5,635,209 by 2036.
48) It's Central Business District (CBD) is the largest office market in Australia offering 4.6 million m2 of office space with most of the demand coming from the finance, legal and services business sectors.
49) Woolworths Carols in the Domain is Australia's largest freeChristmas concert since 1982.
50) It has the 7th largest percentage of foreign-born individuals in the world and immigrants account for 75 percent of Sydney's annual population growth.
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