The Sydney area was the ancestral home of the Iora tribe, whose territory extended from Botany Bay to Pittwater. There are some 2000 Aboriginal rock engraving sites in the Sydney area, and many of Sydney's suburbs have Aboriginal names. The city of Sydney began life as a penal colony in 1788, and for the next 60 years received the unwanted, persecuted and criminal elements of British society. Despite its brutal beginnings, the city's mixture of pragmatic egalitarianism and plain indifference has transformed it into a thriving multicultural society. Sydney now attracts the majority of Australia's immigrants and the city's predominantly Anglo-Irish heritage has been revitalised by large influxes of Italian, Lebanese, Turkish, Greek, Chinese and Vietnamese. The city has a large and vocal gay community centred on Oxford St. Kings Cross is the city's budget accommodation centre and has a well developed travellers' grapevine. The less stressful alternatives are Glebe, Bondi Beach and Manly. The international hotels are concentrated in the city and the Rocks. There are heaps of good restaurants in Darlinghurst, Kings Cross, Paddington and Glebe, and a few around Circular Quay. For cafés, try Oxford and Victoria Sts in Darlinghurst, Stanley St in East Sydney, King St in Newtown or Norton St in Leichhardt. Sydney's theatres are scattered around the edge of the CBD, the Opera House is on the edge of Circular Quay, the mainstream cinema complexes are on the ugly neon strip of George St. The best nightlife is centred on Oxford St and Kings Cross. Louts in the city centre on Friday and Saturday night can make it a less than enjoyable experience. The Rocks can be fun, but the area is overtly aimed at tourists.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA (JUN 1996)

Just click to see Brisbane map

Brisbane was established when Sydney and the colony of New South Wales needed a better place to store its more recalcitrant 'cons'. The tropical country further north seemed a good place to put them and in 1824 a penal settlement was established at Redcliffe Point on Moreton Bay. This location was soon abandoned in favour of the riverside site to the south where Brisbane's business district now stands. The penal settlement was abandoned in 1839 and the area was thrown open to free settlers in 1842. As Queensland's huge agricultural and mineral resources were developed, Brisbane grew into a prosperous city. Brisbane's more recent history is dominated by the right-wing Bjelke-Peterson regime which lasted from the early 1970s to the late 1980s. Queensland (and Brisbane in particular) suffered a government which was at odds with the rest of the country in matters such as human rights, rainforest conservation, Aboriginal land rights and even the availability of condoms. Corruption was rife and since the defeat of the National Party in 1990, it seems everyone from the former Commissioner of Police to Joh himself has appeared in court on charges relating to some sort of shady deal. Brisbane's population (1.4 million) has ballooned as economic recession in the southern states has forced many to migrate north in search of work.