Sydney
Under the reign of Queen Victoria federation of the six colonies occurred on 1 January 1901. Sydney, with a population of 481,000, then became the state capital of New South Wales. The Great Depression of the 1930s had a severe effect on Sydney's economy, as it did with most cities throughout the industrial world. For much of the 1930s up to one in three breadwinners was unemployed. Construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge served to alleviate some of the effects of the economic downturn by employing 1,400 men between 1924 and 1932. The population continued to boom despite the Depression, having reached 1 million in 1925.
Government House, Sydney
This site replaced the original government house in 1845 as the seat of power and the symbol of the Crown and British authority in the colonial period. It was the seat of executive power under the constitution of New South Wales from 1856 to 1901 and 1915 to 1996. It can demonstrate its changing role as the seat of executive power, the residence of the Governors of New South Wales, and as an important place of State ceremony.