The Australian state of New South Wales was founded as a colony in 1788.

LOCATION: On the eastern seaboard of Australia.

BORDERED BY: Victoria to the south, Queensland to the north and South Australia to the west.

CAPITAL & LARGEST CITY: Sydney pop 4.5million

POPULATION of STATE: 7.2million (1st in Australia)

AREA: 809,444 square kilometres  (fifth-largest in Australia)

POPULATION DENSITY: 9.04per square kilometre (3rd in Australia)

CURRENCY: Australian dollar.

CLIMATE: Temperate in the south, sub-tropical in the north, hotter in  the far west.

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: English.

RELIGION: Christian.

TIME ZONE: (GMT +10)

PHONE PREFIX: +61 2 from overseas; 02 within Australia

FLAG: State flag has the Union Jack in one corner and a white circle with a cross of Saint George, centred by a golden lion passant guardant, and an eight-pointed gold star on each arm of the cross.

STATE EMBLEMS:

- Floral: Waratah

- Animal: Platypus

- Bird: Kookaburra

- Fish: Blue groper

- Colours: Sky blue

INTERESTING FACTS: ….. read more

MORE INFORMATION: ….read more