What is the capital of Australia?
Short answer
Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. It is not Sydney and not Melbourne — it was purpose-built as a compromise after both cities claimed the title at federation. The site was chosen in 1908, the city was named in 1913, and Parliament moved there in 1927.
Verified · 4 cited sources
When the six colonies federated in 1901, Sydney and Melbourne both expected to become the national capital and neither would accept the other. Section 125 of the Constitution resolved it by requiring the capital to be in New South Wales but at least 100 miles from Sydney, with Melbourne serving as the seat of government in the meantime.
The site was selected in 1908 and land was transferred from New South Wales to form the Australian Capital Territory. An international design competition was won by the American architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, whose plan shaped the city's geometric layout of circles, axes and the artificial Lake Burley Griffin.
The city was officially named Canberra on 12 March 1913. Parliament sat in Melbourne until 1927, when it moved to the Provisional Parliament House — now Old Parliament House. The current Parliament House opened in 1988.
Canberra is Australia's eighth-largest city with roughly 475,000 residents, and it is the largest inland city. It has the highest median income and the highest share of degree-holders of any Australian jurisdiction, both consequences of a public-service economy.
It is also home to the High Court, the National Gallery, the National Library, the Australian War Memorial and every foreign embassy in Australia.
- Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory
- Chosen as a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne
- Site selected 1908, named 1913, Parliament moved 1927
- Designed by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin
- About 475,000 people — Australia's largest inland city
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Sources & provenance
Facts verified
- 1.Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act — section 125 LegislationParliament of AustraliaUsed for: Requirement that the capital be in NSW at least 100 miles from Sydney
- 2.Naming of Canberra OfficialNational Museum of AustraliaUsed for: Site selection, the Griffin design and the 1913 naming
- 3.History of Parliament House OfficialParliament of AustraliaUsed for: Move from Melbourne in 1927 and the 1988 building
- 4.National, state and territory population StatisticsAustralian Bureau of StatisticsUsed for: ACT population
Constitutional requirement, site selection, design competition, naming date and population all come from the Parliament of Australia, National Museum of Australia and ABS sources cited. Population figures are rounded and are updated quarterly by the ABS.
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