Portal:New South Wales/Intro

Flag of New South Wales	Coat of Arms of New South Wales

New South Wales (abbreviated NSW) is a state in the east of Australia. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales surrounds the whole of the Australian Capital Territory. New South Wales' capital city is Sydney, which is also the state's most populous city. As of June 2010, the estimated population was 7,238,819, which was 34.5% of the population of Australia, making it Australia's most populous state.

The colony of New South Wales was founded in 1788 and originally comprised much of the Australian mainland, as well as Lord Howe Island, New Zealand, Norfolk Island and Van Diemen's Land in addition to the area currently referred to as the state of New South Wales, which was formed during Federation in 1901. During the 19th century, large areas were successively separated to form the British colonies of Tasmania (established as a separate colony named Van Diemen's Land in 1825), South Australia (1836), New Zealand (1849), Victoria (1851) and Queensland (1859).