Sighting land at Botany Bay in 1770, Captain
Cook took possession of this newly discovered coast for Great Britain,
naming it New South Wales, from its resemblance to the landscape of Glamorganshire.
In 1788 Captain Arthur Phillips established the first white settlement
and christened it Sydney, after Thomas Townsend, Viscount Sydney, the
Secretary of State. To commemorate the 150th anniversary, extensive celebrations
at Sydney, from January 26th to April 25th were organized, including naval
and military reviews an Air Force pageant, a Venetian Carnival, the British
Empire Games and the Mitchell Library Exhibition of Australian , documents
and
original books.
On January 29th 1938, the UN published the
‘Australia’s 150th Anniversary’ number
(appendix List No. 119)
which looks forward to all these events. A series of contemporary drawings
shows the gradual growth of Sydney and the inland colony of Parramatta.
The cover is the ordinary advertising wrapper with reference to the special
nature of the issue written in the top third. This issue is number 5154,
vol. 192, pages 153-196, measuring 37 x 26 cm and priced at one shilling.