That's a very common misconception! The actual capital of Australia is **Canberra**.

It's an easy mistake to make because Sydney is Australia's largest and most famous city.

The choice of Canberra was a compromise. In the early 20th century, the two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, were rivals for the title. As a solution, a new capital city was built from scratch between them. Melbourne served as the temporary capital from 1901 to 1927 while Canberra was under construction.

So, to sum it up:
*   **Canberra** is the political and administrative capital.
*   **Sydney** is the largest city and economic hub.
