Canberra is the capital city of Australia, while Sydney and Melbourne are larger and better-known cities.
Canberra was selected as a compromise location between Sydney and Melbourne, which competed to become the national capital after Australia’s colonies federated in 1901. The city is in the Australian Capital Territory, roughly between the two major southeastern cities. Its planned design incorporated broad avenues, open spaces, and a geometric layout influenced by the winning plan of American architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin.
The federal Parliament moved from Melbourne to the new Parliament House in Canberra in 1988. Canberra is not Australia’s largest city by population, and Sydney is not the national capital, despite its international prominence and status as the country’s oldest European-founded city. Canberra’s name is commonly linked to an Indigenous word associated with a meeting place, although the exact linguistic history is discussed by historians and language researchers.