Editing New South Wales (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of New South Wales}}

=== Aboriginal Australians ===
{{Main|Prehistory of Australia}}
The original inhabitants of New South Wales were the [[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal]] [[List of Indigenous Australian group names|tribes]] who arrived in Australia about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. Before European settlement there were an estimated 250,000 Aboriginal people in the region.<ref>{{cite web|title=Aboriginal settlement|url=http://about.nsw.gov.au/encyclopedia/article/aboriginal-settlement/|publisher=About NSW|access-date=21 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922194236/http://about.nsw.gov.au/encyclopedia/article/aboriginal-settlement/|archive-date=22 September 2013}}</ref>

The [[Wodiwodi|Wodi wodi]] people, who spoke a variant of the [[Tharawal people|Dharawal]] language, are the original custodians of an area south of Sydney which was approximately bounded by modern [[Campbelltown, New South Wales|Campbelltown]], [[Shoalhaven River]] and [[Moss Vale]] and included the [[Illawarra]].<ref name="Illawarra">{{cite book|title=History of Aboriginal People of the Illawarra 1770 to 1970|year=2005|publisher=Department of Environment and Conservation, NSW|page=8}}</ref>

The [[Bundjalung people]] are the original custodians of parts of the [[Northern Rivers|northern coastal areas]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

There are other Aboriginal peoples whose traditional lands are within what is now New South Wales, including the [[Wiradjuri]], [[Gamilaraay|Gamilaray]], [[Yuin]], [[Ngarigo]], [[Gweagal]], and [[Ngiyampaa]] peoples.

=== 1788: British settlement ===
[[File: Founding of the settlement of Port Jackson at Botany Bay in New South Wales in 1788 - Thomas Gosse.jpg|thumb|'' Founding of the settlement of [[Port Jackson]] at [[Botany Bay]] in New South Wales in 1788'' – Thomas Gosse|left]]In 1770, [[James Cook]] charted the unmapped eastern coast of the continent of [[New Holland (Australia)|New Holland]], now Australia, and claimed the entire coastline that he had just explored as British territory. Contrary to his instructions, Cook did not gain the consent of the Aboriginal inhabitants.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Beagleole|first=J. C.|title=The Life of Captain James Cook|publisher=Adam and Charles Black|year=1974|isbn= 9780713613827 |location=London|pages=249}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Blainey |first=Geoffrey |title=Captain Cook's Epic Voyage: the Strange Quest for a Missing Continent |publisher=Viking |year=2020 |isbn=9781760895099 |location=Melbourne and Sydney |pages=238–239}}</ref> Cook originally named the land ''New Wales'', but on his return [[First voyage of James Cook|voyage to Britain]] he settled on the name ''New South Wales''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lipscombe |first=Trevor |date=December 2020 |title=The origins of the name New South Wales |url=https://www.anps.org.au/upload/Dec_2020.pdf |journal=Placenames Australia |issn=1836-7976}}</ref>{{efn|The only significant attempt to change the State's name occurred in 1887, when a bill introduced by then Premier [[Henry Parkes]] to change the colony's name to "Australia" reached its [[first reading]].<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Colony of Australia Bill 1887 |url=https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bills/Pages/bill-details.aspx?pk=6513 |access-date=2024-07-25 |website=[[Parliament of New South Wales]]}}</ref> The bill was allowed to lapse due to objections from the other colonies in the lead up to [[Federation of Australia|Federation]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 July 2018 |title=Queensland's history—1800s |url=https://www.qld.gov.au/about/about-queensland/history/timeline/1800s |website=[[Queensland Government]]}}</ref>}}

In January 1788 [[Arthur Phillip]] arrived in Botany Bay with the [[First Fleet]] of 11 vessels, which carried over a thousand settlers, including 736 convicts.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Karskens|first=Grace|title=The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume 1, Indigenous and Colonial Australia|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2013|isbn=9781107011533|editor-last=Bashford|editor-first=Alison|location=Cambridge|pages=91|chapter=The early colonial presence, 1788-1822|editor-last2=MacIntyre|editor-first2=Stuart}}</ref> A few days after arrival at [[Botany Bay]], the fleet moved to the more suitable [[Port Jackson]], where Phillip established a settlement at the place he named [[Sydney Cove]] (in honour of the Secretary of State, [[Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney|Lord Sydney]]) on 26 January 1788.<ref>Peter Hill (2008) p.141-150; Andrew Tink, ''Lord Sydney: The Life and Times of Tommy Townshend,'' Melbourne, Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2011.</ref> This date later became Australia's national day, [[Australia Day]]. Governor Phillip formally proclaimed the colony on 7 February 1788 at Sydney. Phillip, as [[Governor of New South Wales]], exercised nominal authority over all of Australia east of the [[135th meridian east]] between the latitudes of 10°37'S and 43°39'S, and "all the islands adjacent in the Pacific Ocean". The area included modern New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania.<ref name="NAA1787">{{cite web|title=Governor Phillip's Instructions 25 April 1787 (UK)|url=http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item.asp?dID=35|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615195616/http://foundingdocs.gov.au/item.asp?dID=35|archive-date=15 June 2006|access-date=28 May 2006|work=Documenting a Democracy|publisher=[[National Archives of Australia]]}} Robert J. King, "Terra Australis, New Holland, and New South Wales: the Treaty of Tordesillas and Australia", ''The Globe'', no.47, 1998, pp.35–55.</ref> He remained as governor until 1792.<ref>{{Cite Australian Dictionary of Biography|last=Fletcher|first=B.&nbsp;H.|id2=phillip-arthur-2549|title=
Arthur Phillip (1738–1814)|year=1967|volume=2|access-date=17 January 2007|archive-date=8 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308215005/http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/phillip-arthur-2549|url-status=live}}</ref>

The settlement was initially planned to be a self-sufficient penal colony based on subsistence agriculture. Trade and shipbuilding were banned to keep the convicts isolated. However, after the departure of Governor Phillip, the colony's military officers began acquiring land and importing consumer goods obtained from visiting ships. Former convicts also farmed land granted to them and engaged in trade. Farms spread to the more fertile lands surrounding [[Parramatta|Paramatta]], [[Windsor, New South Wales|Windsor]] and [[Camden, New South Wales|Camden]], and by 1803 the colony was self-sufficient in grain. Boat building was developed to make travel easier and exploit the marine resources of the coastal settlements. Sealing and whaling became important industries.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Karskens|first=Grace|title=The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume I, Indigenous and colonial Australia|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2013|isbn=9781107011533|editor-last=Bashford|editor-first=Alison|location=Cambridge|pages=90–114|chapter=The early colonial presence, 1788-1822|editor-last2=MacIntyre|editor-first2=Stuart}}</ref>

In March 1804, Irish convicts led around 300 rebels in the [[Castle Hill convict rebellion|Castle Hill Rebellion]], an attempt to march on Sydney, commandeer a ship, and sail to freedom.<ref>Karskens (2009). pp. 29–297</ref> Poorly armed, and with their leader Philip Cunningham captured, about 100 troops and volunteers routed the main body of insurgents at [[Rouse Hill, New South Wales|Rouse Hill]]. At least 39 convicts were killed in the uprising and subsequent executions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 June 2021 |title=Castle Hill Rebellion |url=https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/castle-hill-rebellion |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810081550/https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/castle-hill-rebellion |archive-date=10 August 2021 |access-date=31 August 2021 |website=nma.gov.au |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Whitaker">{{cite web|author=Whitaker, Anne-Maree|year=2009|title=Castle Hill convict rebellion 1804|url=http://www.dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/castle_hill_convict_rebellion_1804|access-date=3 January 2017|work=[[Dictionary of Sydney]]|archive-date=4 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304231534/https://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/castle_hill_convict_rebellion_1804|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Lachlan Macquarie]] (governor 1810–1821) commissioned the construction of roads, wharves, churches and public buildings, sent explorers out from Sydney, and employed a planner to design the street layout of Sydney.<ref>Karskens, Grace (2013). pp. 115–17</ref> A road across the [[Blue Mountains (New South Wales)|Blue Mountains]] was completed in 1815, opening the way for large scale farming and grazing in the lightly wooded pastures west of the [[Great Dividing Range]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kingston|first=Beverley|title=A History of New South Wales|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2006|isbn=9780521833844|location=Cambridge|pages=118–19}}</ref>

[[File:Map NSW 1850 SLNSW FL3688835.jpg|thumb|Map of the south eastern portion of Australia, 1850]]
In 1825 Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) became a separate colony and the western border of New South Wales was extended to the 129th meridian east (now the West Australian border).<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). p. 2</ref>

New South Wales established a military outpost on [[King George Sound (Western Australia)|King George Sound]] in Western Australia in 1826 which was later transferred to the Swan River colony.<ref name="bat24">{{cite book |title=Western Australia: A History from its Discovery to the Inauguration of the Commonwealth |last=Battye |first=James Sykes |author-link=James Battye |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |oclc=4362013 |url=https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks05/0500301h.html |year=2005 |orig-date=1924 |via=Project Gutenberg of Australia |access-date=24 September 2021 }}</ref>{{rp|61}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Uren|first1=Malcolm John Leggoe|title=Land Looking West: The Story of Governor James Stirling in Western Australia|date=1948|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=London|page=24}}</ref><ref>{{LandInfo WA|c|A|2007-06-08}}</ref>

In 1839, the UK decided to formally annex at least part of New Zealand to New South Wales.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/treaty-timeline/treaty-events-1800-1849 |title=Treaty timeline |author=Ministry for Culture and Heritage |date=April 3, 2023}}</ref> It was administered as a dependency until becoming the separate [[Colony of New Zealand]] on 3 May 1841.<ref>{{cite web |title=Crown colony era – the Governor-General |url=http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/history-of-the-governor-general/crown-colony-era |website=NZHistory |publisher=[[New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage]] |date=March 2009 |access-date=7 January 2011 |archive-date=2 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110302210954/http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/history-of-the-governor-general/crown-colony-era |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Paul |last=Moon |title=New Zealand Birth Certificates – 50 of New Zealand's Founding Documents |author-link=Paul Moon |publisher=AUT Media |year=2010 |page=66|isbn=978-0-95829971-8}}</ref>

From the 1820s, [[Squatting (Australian history)|squatters]] increasingly established unauthorised cattle and sheep runs beyond the official limits of the settled colony. In 1836, an annual licence was introduced in an attempt to control the pastoral industry, but booming wool prices and the high cost of land in the settled areas encouraged further squatting. The expansion of the pastoral industry led to violent episodes of conflict between settlers and traditional Aboriginal landowners, such as the [[Myall Creek massacre]] of 1838.<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 19–21</ref> By 1844 wool accounted for half of the colony's exports and by 1850 most of the eastern third of New South Wales was controlled by fewer than 2,000 pastoralists.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Ford|first1=Lisa|title=The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume I|last2=Roberts|first2=David Andrew|year=2013|chapter=Expansion, 1821–1850}}</ref>

The transportation of convicts to New South Wales ended in 1840, and in 1842 a Legislative Council was introduced, with two-thirds of its members elected and one-third appointed by the governor. Former convicts were granted the vote, but a property qualification meant that only one in five adult males were enfranchised.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hirst|first=John|title=Australian History in 7 Questions|publisher=Black Inc.|year=2016|isbn=9781922231703 |location=Victoria|pages=51–54}}</ref>

By 1850 the settler population of New South Wales had grown to 180,000, not including the 70,000 living in the area which became the separate colony of Victoria in 1851.<ref>Ford, Lisa; Roberts, David Andrew (2013). p.138</ref>

=== 1850s to 1890s ===
[[File:George Street Sydney 1883.jpg|left|thumb|George Street, Sydney, 1883, by [[Alfred Tischbauer]])]]
[[File:Mr E.H. Hargraves, The Gold Discoverer of Australia, Feb 12th 1851 returning the salute of the gold miners - Thomas Tyrwhitt Balcombe crop.jpg|thumb|''Mr [[Edward Hargraves|E.H. Hargraves]], ''The Gold Discoverer of Australia,'' 12 February 1851 returning the salute of the gold miners'']]
In 1856 New South Wales achieved [[responsible government]] with the introduction of a bicameral parliament comprising a directly elected [[New South Wales Legislative Assembly|Legislative Assembly]] and a nominated [[New South Wales Legislative Council|Legislative Council]]. [[William Wentworth|William Charles Wentworth]] was prominent in this process, but his proposal for a hereditary upper house was widely ridiculed and subsequently dropped.<ref name="Tink2">{{Cite book |author1=Tink, Andrew |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/28173894 |title=William Charles Wentworth : Australia's greatest native son |date=2009 |publisher=Allen & Unwin |isbn=978-1-74175-192-5}}</ref><ref>Hirst (2016). pp. 56–57</ref>

The property qualification for voters had been reduced in 1851, and by 1856 95 per cent of adult males in Sydney, and 55 per cent in the colony as a whole, were eligible to vote. Full adult male suffrage was introduced in 1858. In 1859 Queensland became a separate colony.<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 36, 55–57</ref>

In 1861 the NSW parliament legislated [[Robertson Land Acts|land reforms]] intended to encourage family farms and mixed farming and grazing ventures. The amount of land under cultivation subsequently increased from 246,000 acres in 1861 to 800,000 acres in the 1880s. Wool production also continued to grow, and by the 1880s New South Wales produced almost half of Australia's wool. Coal had been discovered in the early years of settlement and gold in 1851, and by the 1890s wool, gold and coal were the main exports of the colony.<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 57, 62, 64, 67</ref>

The NSW economy also became more diversified. From the 1860s, New South Wales had more people employed in manufacturing than any other Australian colony. The NSW government also invested strongly in infrastructure such as railways, telegraph, roads, ports, water and sewerage. By 1889 it was possible to travel by train from Brisbane to Adelaide via Sydney and Melbourne. The extension of the rail network inland also encouraged regional industries and the development of the [[Wheatbelt (Australia)|wheat belt]].<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 63, 76–77, 104</ref>

In the 1880s trade unions grew and were extended to lower skilled workers. In 1890 a strike in the shipping industry spread to wharves, railways, mines, and shearing sheds. The defeat of the strike was one of the factors leading the [[NSW Trades and Labor Council|Trades and Labor Council]] to form a political party. The [[NSW Labor Party|Labor Electoral League]] won a quarter of seats in the NSW elections of 1891 and held the balance of power between the [[Free Trade Party]] and the [[Protectionist Party]].<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 91–94</ref><ref>Hirst, John (2014). pp. 83–86</ref>

The [[suffragette]] movement was developing at this time. The [[Womanhood Suffrage League of New South Wales]] was founded in 1891.<ref>{{Citation |last=Godden |first=Judith |title=Pottie, Eliza (1837–1907) |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/pottie-eliza-13155 |access-date=27 February 2021 |place=Canberra |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University}}</ref>

=== 1901: Federation of Australia ===
A [[Federal Council of Australasia]] was formed in 1885 but New South Wales declined to join. A major obstacle to the federation of the Australian colonies was the [[Protectionism|protectionist]] policies of Victoria which conflicted with the free trade policies dominant in New South Wales. Nevertheless, the NSW premier [[Henry Parkes]] was a strong advocate of [[Federation of Australia|federation]] and his [[Tenterfield Oration]] in 1889 was pivotal in gathering support for the cause. Parkes also struck a deal with [[Edmund Barton]], leader of the NSW Protectionist Party, whereby they would work together for federation and leave the question of a protective tariff for a future Australian government to decide.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Irving|first=Helen|title=The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume I|year=2013|pages=249–51|chapter=Making the federal Commonwealth}}</ref>

In early 1893 the first citizens' Federation League was established in the Riverina region of New South Wales and many other leagues were soon formed in the colony. The leagues organised a conference in [[Corowa Conference|Corowa]] in July 1893 which developed a plan for federation. The new NSW premier, [[George Reid]], endorsed the "Corowa plan" and in 1895 convinced the majority of other premiers to adopt it. A constitutional convention held sessions in 1897 and 1898 which resulted in a proposed constitution for a Commonwealth of federated states. However, a referendum on the constitution failed to gain the required majority in New South Wales after that colony's Labor party campaigned against it and premier Reid gave it such qualified support that he earned the nickname "yes-no Reid".<ref>Irving, Helen (2013). pp. 257–62</ref>

The premiers of the other colonies agreed to a number of concessions to New South Wales (particularly that the future Commonwealth capital would be located in NSW), and in 1899 further referendums were held in all the colonies except Western Australia. All resulted in yes votes, with the yes vote in New South Wales meeting the required majority. The [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Imperial Parliament]] passed the necessary enabling legislation in 1900 and Western Australia subsequently voted to join the new federation. The Commonwealth of Australia was inaugurated on 1 January 1901, and Barton was sworn in as Australia's first prime minister.<ref>Irving, Helen (2013). pp. 263–65</ref>

=== 1901 to 1945 ===
[[File:Depression "bread wars", corner store on Riley and Fitzroy Streets, Surry Hills, Sydney, 21 August 1934 - Sam Hood (3705360895).jpg|thumb|left|A corner grocery store during the Great Depression, Riley & Fitzroy Streets, [[Surry Hills]], Sydney, 21 August 1934]]
The first post-federation NSW governments were [[Progressive Party (1901)|Progressive]] or [[Liberal Reform Party (Australia)|Liberal Reform]] and implemented a range of social reforms with Labor support. Women won the [[Women's suffrage in Australia|right to vote]] in NSW elections in 1902, but were ineligible to stand for parliament until 1918. Labor increased its parliamentary representation in every election from 1904 before coming to power in 1910 with a majority of one seat.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Croucher|first=John S.|title=A Concise History of New South Wales|publisher=Woodslane Press|year=2020|isbn=9781925868395|location=NSW|pages=128}}</ref><ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 110. 118-19</ref>

The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 saw more NSW volunteers for service than the federal authorities could handle, leading to unrest in camps as recruits waited for transfer overseas. In 1916 NSW premier [[William Holman]] and a number of his supporters were expelled from the Labor party over their support for military conscription. Holman subsequently formed a [[Nationalist Party (Australia)|Nationalist]] government which remained in power until 1920. Despite a huge victory for Holman's pro-conscription Nationalists in the elections of March 1917, a second referendum on conscription held in December that year was defeated in New South Wales and nationally.<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 122–25</ref>

Following the war, NSW governments embarked on large public works programs including road building, the extension and electrification of the rail network and the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The works were largely funded by loans from London, leading to a debt crisis after the onset of the [[Great Depression in Australia|Great Depression]] in 1929. New South Wales was hit harder by the depression than other states, and by 1932 one third of union members in the state were unemployed, compared with 20 per cent nationally.<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 132, 142</ref>

Labor won the November 1930 NSW elections and [[Jack Lang (Australian politician)|Jack Lang]] became premier for the second time. In 1931 Lang proposed a plan to deal with the depression which included a suspension of interest payments to British creditors, diverting the money to unemployment relief. The Commonwealth and state premiers rejected the plan and later that year Lang's supporters in the Commonwealth parliament brought down [[James Scullin]]'s federal Labor government. The NSW Lang government subsequently defaulted on overseas interest payments and was dismissed from office in May 1932 by the governor, [[Philip Game|Sir Phillip Game]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bongiorno|first=Frank|title=The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume 2|year=2013|pages=79–81|chapter=Search for a solution, 1923–39}}</ref><ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 148–49</ref>

The following elections were won comfortably by the United Australia Party in coalition with the Country Party. [[Bertram Stevens (politician)|Bertram Stevens]] became premier, remaining in office until 1939, when he was replaced by [[Alexander Mair]].<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 151, 157</ref>

A contemporary study by sociologist A. P. Elkin found that the population of New South Wales responded to the outbreak of war in 1939 with pessimism and apathy. This changed with the threat of invasion by Japan, which entered the war in December 1941. In May 1942 three Japanese midget submarines entered Sydney harbour and sank a naval ship, killing 29 men aboard. The following month Sydney and Newcastle were shelled by Japanese warships. American troops began arriving in the state in large numbers. Manufacturing, steelmaking, shipbuilding and rail transport all grew with the war effort and unemployment virtually disappeared.<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 157–58</ref>

A Labor government led by [[William McKell]] was elected in May 1941. The McKell government benefited from full employment, budget surpluses, and a co-operative relationship with John Curtin's federal Labor government. McKell became the first Labor leader to serve a full term and to be re-elected for a second. The Labor party was to govern New South Wales until 1965.<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 161–62</ref>

=== Post-war period ===
The Labor government introduced two weeks of annual paid leave for most NSW workers in 1944, and the 40-hour working week was implemented by 1947. The post-war economic boom brought near-full employment and rising living standards, and the government engaged in large spending programs on housing, dams, electricity generation and other infrastructure. In 1954 the government announced a plan for the construction of an opera house on [[Bennelong Point]]. The design competition was won by [[Jørn Utzon]]. Controversy over the cost of the [[Sydney Opera House]] and construction delays became a political issue and was a factor in the eventual defeat of Labor in 1965 by the conservative [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal Party]] and [[National Party of Australia|Country Party]] coalition led by [[Robert Askin]].<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 156, 162, 168–75, 184–86</ref>

The Askin government promoted private development, law and order issues and greater state support for non-government schools. However, Askin, a former bookmaker, became increasingly associated with illegal bookmaking, gambling and police corruption.<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 188, 193, 196–98</ref>

In the late 1960s, a [[New England New State Movement|secessionist movement]] in the [[New England (Australia)|New England]] region of the state led to a 1967 referendum on the issue which was narrowly defeated. The new state would have consisted of much of northern NSW including [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rhodes|first=Campbell|date=27 October 2017|title=Breaking up is hard to do: secession in Australia|url=https://www.moadoph.gov.au/blog/breaking-up-is-hard-to-do-secession-in-australia/|access-date=8 June 2021|website=Museum of Australian Democracy|archive-date=8 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608035427/https://www.moadoph.gov.au/blog/breaking-up-is-hard-to-do-secession-in-australia/|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Sydney_Opera_House_-_Dec_2008.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Sydney Opera House]] was completed in 1973 and has become a World Heritage Site.]]
Askin's resignation in 1975 was followed by a number of short-lived premierships by Liberal Party leaders. When a general election came in 1976, the ALP under [[Neville Wran]] came to power.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Parliament of New South Wales, Legislative Assembly election: Election of 1 May 1976|url=https://elections.uwa.edu.au/elecdetail.lasso?keyvalue=758|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804190053/https://elections.uwa.edu.au/elecdetail.lasso?keyvalue=758|archive-date=4 August 2020|access-date=15 May 2020|website=Australian Politics and Elections Archive 1856–2018|publisher=University of Western Australia}}</ref> Wran was able to transform this narrow one seat victory into landslide wins (known as Wranslides) in 1978 and 1981.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Wran era|date=2006|publisher=Federation Press|last=Bramston|first=Troy|isbn=1-86287-600-2|location=Leichhardt, N.S.W.|pages=31|oclc=225332582}}</ref>

After winning a comfortable though reduced majority in 1984, Wran resigned as premier and left parliament. His replacement [[Barrie Unsworth]] struggled to emerge from Wran's shadow and lost a 1988 election against a resurgent Liberal Party led by [[Nick Greiner]]. The Greiner government embarked on an efficiency program involving public sector cost-cutting, the corporatisation of government agencies and the privatisation of some government services. An [[Independent Commission Against Corruption (New South Wales)|Independent Commission Against Corruption]] (ICAC) was created.<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 231–34</ref> Greiner called a snap election in 1991 which the Liberals were expected to win. However, the ALP polled extremely well and the Liberals lost their majority and needed the support of independents to retain power.

In 1992, Greiner was investigated by ICAC for possible corruption over the offer of a public service position to a former Liberal MP. Greiner resigned but was later cleared of corruption. His replacement as Liberal leader and Premier was [[John Fahey (politician)|John Fahey]], whose government narrowly lost the 1995 election to the ALP under [[Bob Carr]], who was to become the longest serving premier of the state.<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 234–238</ref>

The Carr government (1995–2005) largely continued its predecessors' focus on the efficient delivery of government services such as health, education, transport and electricity. There was an increasing emphasis on public-private partnerships to deliver infrastructure such as freeways, tunnels and rail links. The Carr government gained popularity for its successful organisation of international events, especially the 2000 Sydney Olympics, but Carr himself was critical of the federal government over its high immigration intake, arguing that a disproportionate number of new migrants were settling in Sydney, putting undue pressure on state infrastructure.<ref>Kingston, Beverley (2006). pp. 238, 241–46</ref>

Carr unexpectedly resigned from office in 2005 and was replaced by [[Morris Iemma]], who remained premier after being re-elected in the [[2007 New South Wales state election|March 2007 state election]], until he was replaced by [[Nathan Rees]] in September 2008.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Benson|first1=Simon|last2=Hildebrand|first2=Joe|date=5 September 2008|title=Nathan Rees new NSW premier after Morris Iemma quits|work=[[The Courier-Mail|Courier Mail]]|url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24298162-952,00.html|url-status=live|access-date=13 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914081625/http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24298162-952,00.html|archive-date=14 September 2008}}</ref> Rees was subsequently replaced by [[Kristina Keneally]] in December 2009, who became the first female premier of New South Wales.<ref name="Herald Sun">{{cite news|date=4 December 2009|title=Keneally sworn in as state's first female premier|work=Herald Sun|location=Australia|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/keneally-sworn-in-as-states-first-female-premier/story-e6frf7jx-1225806991122|url-status=live|access-date=4 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725114509/https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/keneally-sworn-in-as-states-first-female-premier/story-e6frf7jx-1225806991122?nk=f1a92a0100e75e86eb81a6a8fa0ca23b-1595677509|archive-date=25 July 2020}}</ref> Keneally's government was defeated at the [[2011 New South Wales state election|2011 state election]] and [[Barry O'Farrell]] became Premier on 28 March. On 17 April 2014 O'Farrell stood down as Premier after misleading an ICAC investigation concerning a gift of a bottle of wine.<ref>{{Cite web|date=17 April 2014|title=NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell to resign over 'massive memory fail' at ICAC|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-16/nsw-premier-barry-ofarrell-to-resign-over-icac-grange-wine/5393478|website=ABC news|access-date=8 June 2021|archive-date=14 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814093848/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-16/nsw-premier-barry-ofarrell-to-resign-over-icac-grange-wine/5393478|url-status=live}}</ref> The Liberal Party then elected Treasurer [[Mike Baird]] as party leader and Premier. Baird resigned as Premier on 23 January 2017, and was replaced by [[Gladys Berejiklian]].<ref>Croucher, John S. (2020).p. 130</ref>

On 23 March 2019, Berejiklian led the Coalition to a third term in office. She maintained high personal approval ratings for her management of a bushfire crisis and the [[COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales|COVID-19 pandemic]]. However, Berejiklian resigned as premier on 5 October 2021, following the opening of an ICAC investigation into her actions between 2012 and 2018. She was replaced by [[Dominic Perrottet]].<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Gerathy|first1=Sarah|last2=Kennedy|first2=Jean|date=2 October 2021|title=Gladys Berejiklian seemed invincible as Premier — now Superwoman is on ICAC's political scrap heap|work=ABC News|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-01/nsw-premier-gladys-berejiklian-political-career-ends-/100507130|access-date=6 October 2021|archive-date=6 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006022559/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-01/nsw-premier-gladys-berejiklian-political-career-ends-/100507130|url-status=live}}</ref>