The Seat of Government Act 1904 was an Act of the

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...

which provided that the "seat of government of the Commonwealth" (i.e., the national capital) should be within of

Dalgety, New South Wales Dalgety is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, on the banks of the Snowy River between Melbourne and Sydney. The town is located at what was once an important river crossing along the Travelling Stock route from Gippsland to the Snowy M ...

. The site turned out to be unacceptable to the Government of New South Wales, due partly to its distance from Sydney and proximity to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. The Act was repealed in 1908 by the

Seat of Government Act 1908 The Seat of Government Act 1908 was enacted by the Australian Government on 14 December 1908. The act selected the Yass-Queanbeyan region as the site for Canberra, the new capital city of Australia. The act repealed the earlier '' Seat of Gover ...

which selected Canberra as the new site for the territory.

References

''Seat of Government Act 1904'' (Cth)
*State Records of New South Wale

{{Australia-gov-stub History of the Australian Capital Territory 1904 in Australian law Repealed Acts of the Parliament of Australia