The history of New South Wales refers to the history of the Australian State of New South Wales and its preceding Indigenous and British colonial societies. The Mungo Lake remains indicate occupation of New South Wales by Aboriginal Australians for at least 40,000 years. The English navigator James Cook became the first European to map the coast in 1770 and a First Fleet of British convicts followed to establish a penal colony at Sydney in 1788. The colony established an autonomous Parliamentary democracy from the 1840s and became a state of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901 following a vote to Federate with the other British colonies of Australia. Through the 20th century, the state was a major destination for an increasingly diverse collection of migrants from many nations. In the 21st century, the state is the most populous in Australia, and its capital, Sydney is a major financial capital and host to international cultural and economic events.
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