New South Wales

(-wālz,) a S.E. colony of Australia, washed by the S. Pacific Ocean, bet. S. Lat. 26°-37° 31', Lon. bet. 146° E. and 153° 45′ W. Area, 323,437 sq. m. Surface diversified, being penetrated through the centre,from N. to S., by the Blue Mts., or Australian Alps. Its coast is bold, with quite a number of excellent harbors, as More ton and Botany bays, . Chief rivers. Lachlan, Macquarie, Peel, Hunter, Clarence, Murrumbidgee, . Climate healthy, and soil highly fertile, producing excellent crops of cereals, with the precious metals, coal, iron, copper, cotton, and tobacco. The great staple is wool, which forms an immense article of export. C. Sydney. This colony received its name from its discoverer, Capt. James Cook, in 1770, and was formed into a penal settlement in 1788, which it continued to be till within some quarter of a century ago. Pop. 502,000. [s. 643]