Australian Capitol Territory Wappen

Australian Capitol Territory - ACT

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), meaning as much as Australian government territory, is an enclave in the national territory of New South Wales.

Both Melbourne and Sydney desired to be capital city, and since no agreement was reached, the capital was meant to be established in a neutral area.

Initially the ACT was called Federal Capital Territory (FCT). In the year 1909 New South Wales transferred the area to the Australian Commonwealth.
Urban planning was tendered as competition in 1911, which Walter Burley Griffin won. The name of Canberra was given to the capital at the official building start on March 12, 1913.

The Federal Capital Territory was formally renamed to Australian Capital Territory in 1938. On May 9, 1927 the seat of government changed from the previous capital Melbourne to Canberra and moved to the provisional parliament.

Today the old parliament building "Old Parliament House" as well as the new parliament house's captivating modern architecture are worth seeing in the Australian Capital Territory.