List of Australian capital cities

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There are eight capital cities in Australia , each of which functions as the seat of government for the state or territory in which it is located. One of these, Canberra, is also the national capital. (The national capital was initially Melbourne, following the 1901 Federation of Australia. In 1927, the seat of national government was moved to the newly created city of Canberra.)

Australia Country in Oceania

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 25 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

States and territories of Australia first-level subdivision of Australia

The states and territories are the first-level administrative divisions of the Commonwealth of Australia. They are the second level of government in Australia, located between the federal and local government tiers.

Canberra capital city of Australia

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory; 280 km (170 mi) south-west of Sydney and 660 km (410 mi) north-east of Melbourne.

Contents

Each capital city hosts the judicial, administrative and legislative functions for its jurisdiction. In each state and internal territory, the capital is also the jurisdiction's most populous city.

The Australian external territory of Norfolk Island has its official capital at Kingston, although this acts merely as the administrative centre of government; its de facto capital is Burnt Pine. [1]

Norfolk Island external territory of Australia in the South Pacific Ocean, consisting of the island of the same name plus neighbouring islands

Norfolk Island is an island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia, 1,412 kilometres (877 mi) directly east of mainland Australia's Evans Head, and about 900 kilometres (560 mi) from Lord Howe Island. Together with the two neighbouring islands Phillip Island and Nepean Island it forms one of the Commonwealth of Australia's external territories. At the 2016 Australian census, it had 1748 inhabitants living on a total area of about 35 km2 (14 sq mi). Its capital is Kingston.

Kingston, Norfolk Island Town in Norfolk Island, Australia

Kingston is the capital of the Australian South Pacific Territory of Norfolk Island. The vice-regal, legislative, administrative and judicial offices are all located in Kingston. The town is the second-oldest in Australia, and is of great historical and cultural significance to all Norfolk Islanders and other Australians.

In law and government, de facto describes practices that exist in reality, even if not officially recognized by laws. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with de jure, which refers to things that happen according to law. Unofficial customs that are widely accepted are sometimes called de facto standards.

State and Territory Capitals of Australia
JurisdictionCapitalCity Population [2] State/Territory Population [3] Percentage of State/Territory population in capital cityEstablishedDate of statehoodCapital sinceImage
Australia and
Australian Capital Territory 		Canberra 403,468403,468100.00%1913Must remain a territory as per s.125 of the Australian Constitution [N 1] 1913
View of Civic from Mount Ainslie, with Telstra Tower in the background Civic from Mt Ainsle.JPG
View of Civic from Mount Ainslie, with Telstra Tower in the background
New South Wales Sydney 5,029,7687,759,27464.82%178817881788
Skyline of the Sydney central business district Sydney Skyline from the Manly Ferry.jpg
Skyline of the Sydney central business district
Victoria Melbourne 4,725,3166,179,24976.47%183518511851
Part of the Melbourne skyline Southbank and the Bolte Bridge at night (11866185983).jpg
Part of the Melbourne skyline
Queensland Brisbane 2,360,2414,848,87748.68%182518591860
Brisbane's CBD. AUS brisb.jpg
Brisbane's CBD.
Western Australia Perth 2,022,0442,558,95179.02%182918291829
View of Perth CBD skyline Perth skyline 2.jpg
View of Perth CBD skyline
South Australia Adelaide 1,324,2791,713,05477.31%183618361836
View of Adelaide Skyline AdelaideSkyline.jpg
View of Adelaide Skyline
.
Tasmania Hobart 224,462517,58843.37%180418251826
View of the Hobart downtown district and Mount Wellington from Constitution Dock Hobart Marina MTWellington.jpg
View of the Hobart downtown district and Mount Wellington from Constitution Dock
Northern Territory Darwin 145,916245,74059.38%1869Has not attained Statehood [N 2] 1911
View of Darwin CBD Darwin CBD-2005.jpg
View of Darwin CBD

Notes

  1. ↑ Although the ACT has its own government, it remains a territory ultimately under Commonwealth rule.
  2. ↑ in 1911, South Australia transferred responsibility for governing the Northern Territory to the Commonwealth Government of Australia. It was granted self-governance in 1978, however the Northern Territory is still considered a territory under Commonwealth rule, not a state.

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References

  1. ↑ Norfolk Island - Kingston http://www.pitcairners.org/vt_kingston.html Norfolk Island's Home on the Web
  2. ↑ Statistics, c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=Australian Bureau of. "Main Features - Main Features". www.abs.gov.au.
  3. ↑ Statistics, c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=Australian Bureau of. "Details - Main Features". www.abs.gov.au.
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