List of Australian capital cities

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.)

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]

State and Territory Capitals of Australia
Jurisdiction	Capital	City Population^[2]	State/Territory Population^[3]	Percentage of State/Territory population in capital city	Established	Date of statehood	Capital since	Image
Australia and Australian Capital Territory	Canberra	403,468	403,468	100.00%	1913	Must 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
New South Wales	Sydney	5,029,768	7,759,274	64.82%	1788	1788	1788	Skyline of the Sydney central business district
Victoria	Melbourne	4,725,316	6,179,249	76.47%	1835	1851	1851	Part of the Melbourne skyline
Queensland	Brisbane	2,360,241	4,848,877	48.68%	1825	1859	1860	Brisbane's CBD.
Western Australia	Perth	2,022,044	2,558,951	79.02%	1829	1829	1829	View of Perth CBD skyline
South Australia	Adelaide	1,324,279	1,713,054	77.31%	1836	1836	1836	View of Adelaide Skyline .
Tasmania	Hobart	224,462	517,588	43.37%	1804	1825	1826	View of the Hobart downtown district and Mount Wellington from Constitution Dock
Northern Territory	Darwin	145,916	245,740	59.38%	1869	Has not attained Statehood^{[N 2]}	1911	View of Darwin CBD

Notes

^ Although the ACT has its own government, it remains a territory ultimately under Commonwealth rule.
^ 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.

References

^ Norfolk Island - Kingston http://www.pitcairners.org/vt_kingston.html Norfolk Island's Home on the Web
^ Statistics, c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=Australian Bureau of. "Main Features - Main Features". www.abs.gov.au.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Statistics, c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=Australian Bureau of. "Details - Main Features". www.abs.gov.au.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links

[ACT-4] Although the ACT has its own government, it remains a territory ultimately under Commonwealth rule.

[NT-5] 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.

[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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[3] Statistics, c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=Australian Bureau of. "Details - Main Features". www.abs.gov.au.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

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