Southern Australia Southern Australia The term Southern Australia is generally considered to include the states and territories of Australia of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia. The part of Western Australia south of latitude 26° south – a definition widely used in law and state government policy – is also usually included. Although it comprises about half of the total area of Australia, Southern Australia includes about three-quarters of the Australian population, the two largest cities (Sydney and Melbourne), the political capital (Canberra), the main food growing areas and the main industrial centres. The area is
Capital city meaning "head". In several English-speaking states, the terms county town and county seat are also used in lower subdivisions. In some unitary states, subnational capitals may be known as "administrative centres". The capital is often the largest city of its constituent, though not always. Historically, the major economic centre of a state or region often becomes the focal point of political power, and becomes a capital through conquest or federation. (The modern capital city has, however, not always existed: in medieval Western Europe, an itinerant (wandering) government was common.) Examples are Ancient Babylon, Abbasid Baghdad, Ancient Athens, Rome, Constantinople, Chang'an,