List of Australian capital cities - wikipedia 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. Melbourne was the initial capital following the 1901 Federation of Australia. In 1927, the seat of national government was moved to the newly created city of Canberra, which continues to serve as the national capital. 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. WESTERN AUSTRALIA NORTHERN TERRITORY SOUTH AUSTRALIA QUEENSLAND NEW SOUTH WALES VICTORIA TASMANIA Perth Adelaide Melbourne Canberra ( ACT ) Sydney Brisbane Hobart Darwin State and Territory Capitals of Australia Jurisdiction Capital City Population State / Territory Population Percentage of State / Territory population in capital city Date of statehood Capital since Image Australia and Australian Capital Territory Canberra 403,468 403,468 100.00 % Must remain a territory as per s. 125 of the Australian Constitution 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 Skyline of the Sydney central business district Victoria Melbourne 4,725,316 6,179,249 76.47 % 1851 1851 The Melbourne skyline on the Yarra River Queensland Brisbane 2,360,241 4,848,877 48.68 % 1859 1860 Brisbane 's CBD, with the Story Bridge in the foreground Western Australia Perth 2,022,044 2,558,951 79.02 % 1829 1829 View of Perth CBD skyline South Australia Adelaide 1,324,279 1,713,054 77.31 % 1836 1836 View of Adelaide Skyline. Tasmania Hobart 224,462 517,588 43.37 % 1825 1826 View of the Hobart downtown district and Mount Wellington from Constitution Dock Northern Territory Darwin 145,916 245,740 59.38 % Has not attained Statehood 1911 View of Darwin CBD Notes Jump up ^ Although the ACT has its own government, it remains a territory ultimately under Commonwealth rule. Jump up ^ 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 Jump up ^ Norfolk Island - Kingston http://www.pitcairners.org/vt_kingston.html Norfolk Island 's Home on the Web Jump up ^ http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/3218.0Main+Features12016?OpenDocument Jump up ^ http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3218.02016?OpenDocument External links Capital cities of Australia National and ACT Canberra NSW Sydney NT Darwin QLD Brisbane SA Adelaide TAS Hobart VIC Melbourne WA Perth List of cities in Australia Australia articles History Timeline Bibliography Prehistory Archaeology European Exploration Territorial evolution 1788 -- 1850 1851 -- 1900 1901 -- 1945 Since 1945 By topic Constitutional Diplomatic Economic Federation Immigration Indigenous Military Monarchy Railway Geography Climate Continent Deserts Environment issues Earthquakes Flora Fauna Forests Geology Islands Mountains Regions Protected areas Rivers Subdivisions States and Territories Capitals Cities Politics Constitution Courts Elections Donations Electoral system Parties Federal budget Foreign relations Government Governor - General Human rights Intersex LGBT Transgender Intelligence and security Law Constitution Judiciary Enforcement Military Monarchy National debt Parliament Public Service Women Government leaders Government ministers Economy Agriculture Dollar ( currency ) Energy Gross state product Home ownership Public housing Household income Manufacturing Media Mining Poverty Reserve Bank Stock Exchange Superannuation Taxation Telecommunications Tourism Transportation Welfare system Society Crime Demographics Education Ethnic groups Health care Homelessness Immigration Languages Religion Women Culture Architecture Art Arts Australian English Cinema Cuisine Dance Literature Music Public holidays Radio Sport Symbols Television Theatre Outline Index Book Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Australian_capital_cities&oldid=836673277 '' Categories : Australian capital cities Demographics of Australia Lists of capitals of country subdivisions Lists of cities in Australia Talk About Wikipedia Languages Bahasa Indonesia ქართული Македонски Bahasa Melayu Norsk Português Русский தமிழ் اردو 3 more Edit links This page was last edited on 16 April 2018, at 05 : 07. 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Question: what was the first capital city of australia
Answer: Melbourne; Sydney; New South Wales; Melbourne; Melbourne