answers.input_text: short
answers.span_text: Melbourne
questions: what was the first capital city of australia
name: List of Australian capital cities
contexts: 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 .