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Population: 4 million
Time Zone: GMT/UTC plus 10 hours
Telephone Area Code: 02

INTRODUCTION

Sydney is Australia 's oldest city, the economic powerhouse of the nation and the country's capital in everything but name. It's blessed with sun-drenched natural attractions, dizzy skyscrapers, delicious and daring restaurants, superb shopping and friendly folk. Although it's come a long way from its convict beginnings, it still has a rough and ready energy, and offers an invigorating blend of the old and the new, the raw and the refined. While high culture attracts some to the Opera House, gaudy nightlife attracts others to Kings Cross.

It's a city blessed with long stretches of heavenly beaches, a pleasant climate that sees over 300 sunny days a year, an economy that's stronger than it should be, a stable local government, and a population of open-minded, outgoing entrepreneurial types who are itching to show the whole place off.

Skyscrapers in the Central Business District ( CBD ) vie for dominance and harbour views, but the city's relentlessness is softened by shady Hyde Park and The Domain parkland to the east, Darling Harbour to the west and the main harbour to the north. The Sydney Harbour Bridge and the harbour tunnel link the city centre with the suburbs of the North Shore . Sydney Airport is about 10km (6mi) south of the city centre. The public transport in Sydney is an integrated system and one ticket can get you travelling by bus, ferry or train to almost any part of the city.

THINGS TO DO

Bondi Beach is the grand dame of Sydney 's beaches, with a magnificent sweep of sand and a never-ending series of majestic rollers. The foreshore is an eclectic mix of ice-cream parlours, designer cafés, greasy fish and chip joints, and surf fashion stores.

Once a thriving industrial port, Darling Harbour is now a vast Harbourside leisure park. Its various venues include the excellent Sydney Aquarium and Powerhouse Museum , the Australian National Maritime Museum , the touristy Harbourside shopping mall and Segaworld amusement park. The emphasis is on casual fun and enjoyment of the kind appreciated by families with small children.

The Rocks can be delightful. Attractions include the weekend market, the Sydney Observatory, and numerous craft shops and art galleries. But it's the old buildings, alleyways and historic facades that attract most visitors. Check out the Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel and The Hero of Waterloo , two of Sydney 's oldest pubs.

HEALTH CARE

Public health in New South Wales is divided into eight rural and metropolitan Area Health Services: four in Metropolitan and Greater Sydney (which includes the Central Coast in the north and the Illawarra in the south), and four in country areas. These Area Health Services are responsible for hospitals, dental clinics, community health centres, rehabilitation and psychiatric hospitals, emergency transport, and community support programs in their area.

In metropolitan Sydney, there are five major public teaching hospitals providing a broad range of specialty services: including intensive care, vascular, cardiothoracic, oncology, renal and neurosurgery. The Children's Hospital at Westmead provides specialist paediatric services.

Smaller district (or base) hospitals in both metropolitan and rural areas provide medical, surgical, paediatric, obstetric and rehabilitation services.

In Aboriginal communities throughout New South Wales, GPs, District Medical Officers and nurses work with Aboriginal Health Workers from the local Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations to treat Indigenous people within their own communities where possible, according to their culture and history.