Canberra | |
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State | |
Country | Australia |
Capital | |
Population | 426709 |
Postcode | 2601 |
Canberra ( (listen) KAN-bə-rə)
is the capital city of Australia. Founded after 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 town 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. On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies of Australia has been attained. Section 125 of the new Australian Constitution provided that property, situated in New South Wales and at least 100 miles (160 km) from Sydney, would be ceded to the new national government. Following discussion and exploration of various areas within New South Wales, the Seat of Government Act 1908 was passed in 1908 that given a capital in the Yass-Canberra area. The land has been transferred to the Commonwealth by New South Wales in 1911, producing the Australian Capital Territory, two years prior to the capital city being founded and formally named as Canberra in 1913. It is unusual among Australian cities, being an entirely planned city beyond any state, like Washington, D.C. in america or Brasília in Brazil. Following an international contest for the city's layout, a blueprint by American architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin was selected and building began in 1913. The Griffins' plan featured geometric themes such as circles, hexagons and triangles, and has been centred on axes aligned with significant topographical landmarks in the Australian Capital Territory. The town's design was influenced by the garden city movement and incorporates significant areas of natural vegetation. Since the chair of the government of Australia, Canberra is home to many important institutions of the national government, national monuments and museums. This includes Parliament House, the official residence of the monarch's representative that the Governor-General, the High Court and numerous government departments and agencies.Perth | |
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State | |
Country | |
Capital | |
Population | 0 |
Perth ( (listen); Nyungar: Boorloo) is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia (WA). It is Australia's fourth-most populous city, with a population of 2.14 million living in Greater Perth. Perth is part of the South West Land Division of Western Australia, with most of the metropolitan area on the Swan Coastal Plain between the Indian Ocean and the Darling Scarp. The city has expanded outward from the original settlements on the Swan River, upon which the city's central business district and port of Fremantle are situated.
Captain James Stirling founded Perth in 1829 as the administrative centre of the Swan River Colony. It was named after the town of Perth, Scotland, due to the influence of Stirling's patron Sir George Murray, who had connections with the area. It gained city status in 1856, although the Perth City Council currently governs only a small area around the central business district. The city's population increased substantially as a result of the Western Australian gold rushes in the late 19th century. It has grown steadily since World War II due to a high net migration rate. Post-war immigrants were predominantly from Britain and Southern Europe, while more recent arrivals have led to a large population of Asian descent. Several mining booms in other parts of Western Australia in the late 20th and early 21st centuries saw Perth become the regional headquarters for large mining operations.