New South Wales Events

After riotous New Year's Eve celebrations that feature spectacular pyrotechnics displays in Sydney, the first big celebration of the year is Australia Day, commemorating the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney Cove. Aboriginal people celebrate an alternative occasion, Survival Day, or Invasion Day, on the same day, with a festival of music, dance and arts.

In January, Tamworth's Country Music Festival sends a loud 'yee-ha' out of the state's west and has the whole city bootscooting, while Sydney's Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras concludes with the glitzy glam of the parade down Oxford St in March. Also in March/April, Newcastle's Surfest is Australia's longest-running professional surf carnival; Byron Bay gets down and dirty in April with the East Coast Blues and Roots Festival.

Motor-racing enthusiasts get their motors running at the Bathurst 1000 touring car race in October. After Christmas celebrations, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race sets sail, with much pomp and fanfare, from the state capital and traces its way down the southern coast.