History of New South Wales

This article is part of a series on the
History of Australia
Timeline and periods Prehistory European exploration (sea) European exploration (land) 1788–1850 1851–1900 1901–1945 1945–present
Topics Abortion Agriculture Antisemitism Banking Capital punishment Civil rights Cinema Constitution Diplomacy Economics Federation Immigration Labour LGBT Military Monarchy Sports Telecommunications Rail transport Religion Unfree labour
By group African Australian Asian Australian Chinese Australian Indigenous people Jewish Australian Women LGBT Marriage Transgender
By region State/Territory Capital ACT Canberra New South Wales Sydney Northern Territory Darwin Queensland Brisbane South Australia Adelaide Tasmania Hobart Victoria Melbourne Western Australia Perth
See also List of years in Australia
Australia portal
v t e

The history of New South Wales refers to the history of the Australian state of New South Wales and the area's preceding Indigenous and British colonial societies. The Mungo Lake remains indicate occupation of parts of the New South Wales area by Indigenous Australians for at least 40,000 years. The British navigator James Cook became the first European to map the coast in 1770 and a First Fleet of British convicts followed to establish a penal colony at Sydney in 1788.

The colony established an autonomous parliamentary democracy from the 1850s and became a state of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901 following a vote to federate with the other British colonies of Australia. Through the 20th century, the state was a major destination for an increasingly diverse collection of migrants from many nations. In the 21st century, the state is the most populous in Australia, and its capital, Sydney is a major financial capital and host to international cultural and economic events.