100 Years of Tourism New South Wales

Key Themes

• Tourism Change
• Transport
• Accommodation
• Events
• Attractions

Transport

At the beginning of the 20th century people travelled by horse drawn carriage, rail, ferry or steamer. Sydney's Central Railway opened with 15 platforms and by the 1920s electric trains were travelling underground from Central to St James station. The 1920s saw the arrival of luxury ocean liners, the first Qantas flight, Kingsford-Smith's historic flight from the US to Australia, while wealthier Australians began to buy cars.

Ansett Airlines was founded in 1935 and although it ceased operation 66 years later it was a key stalwart of the aviation sector. The coming of the 707 and the 747 led to mass air travel allowing Sydney Airport to become the gateway to Australia. Cruising companies like Captain Cook Cruises began capitalising on the tourism numbers in the 1970s, by conducting the first ever coffee cruises on Sydney Harbour, while P&O dominated the big ship cruising scene in the 1970s and 1980s with a vast range of on board entertainment successfully transforming their fleet into the floating holiday resorts they are today. More recently we have seen a surge in regional and low-cost airlines such as Jetstar, REX and Virgin Blue impacting upon travel patterns.