Oceania and Pacific Capitals Quiz
The two capitals everyone can name in this region are both compromises, and the twenty five that follow are the reason Oceania decides so many quiz rounds.
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Two capitals invented to settle an argument
Australia's capital exists because Sydney and Melbourne could not agree which of them should have it. The constitutional compromise of 1901 required a capital in New South Wales but at least 100 miles from Sydney, a site was selected in 1908, and Canberra formally became the seat of government in 1927. It was designed from scratch by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, who won an international competition for the plan.
New Zealand did the same thing sixty years earlier and for the same reason. The capital moved from Auckland to Wellington in 1865, largely because the South Island was threatening to go its own way and Wellington was much closer to the country's centre of gravity. Wellington is now the southernmost national capital in the world, and Auckland is still the largest city by a wide margin, which is why Auckland is the most common wrong answer here.
Nauru has no official capital. It is one of very few countries in the world with none. Yaren is the district where parliament and the government offices sit, so it is universally listed as the de facto capital and is the answer here, but no law designates it.
The small capitals that are genuinely obscure
| Country | Capital | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Palau | Ngerulmud | Replaced Koror in 2006; among the least populated capitals on Earth |
| Micronesia | Palikir | Not Kolonia, the larger and older town nearby |
| Kiribati | South Tarawa | A chain of linked islets rather than a single town |
| Nauru | Yaren | De facto only; the country designates no capital |
| Tuvalu | Funafuti | An atoll; the country is one of the smallest in the world |
| Marshall Islands | Majuro | Also an atoll, and the seat of government |
Ngerulmud is the one to remember. Palau moved its capital there from Koror in 2006, to a purpose built site on the island of Babeldaob, and the resident population of the capital itself is in the hundreds. If a quiz wants a question that almost nobody can answer, this is where it goes looking.
The three cultural regions
Oceania is conventionally divided into Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia, and that division is the most efficient way to learn the set. Melanesia gives you Port Moresby, Honiara, Port Vila and Suva, four capitals in the large islands of the south west Pacific. Micronesia gives Palikir, Majuro, Ngerulmud, Yaren and South Tarawa, the small northern atolls. Polynesia gives Apia, Nuku'alofa, Funafuti, Avarua, Alofi, Papeete, Pago Pago and Hanga Roa, spread across an enormous triangle of ocean.
Hanga Roa is the odd one in that list. Easter Island is Chilean territory, so politically it belongs with South America, but it is geographically and culturally Polynesian, which is why it sits in this set. The same reasoning puts Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa here despite their being United States territories, and Noumea, Papeete and Mata-Utu here despite being French.
Why this set is worth the effort
There are only twenty seven questions here, fewer than any continent except South America, and most players start out able to answer two of them. That makes it the highest return topic in the whole game: an hour of practice moves you from two out of ten to nine or ten out of ten, and those answers then keep appearing in the daily challenge, where the questions are drawn from all 250 countries and territories at once. Nobody expects you to know Ngerulmud. That is exactly why knowing it is worth something.
Frequently asked questions
What is the capital of Australia?
Canberra. It was purpose built as a compromise after Sydney and Melbourne both claimed the role, and became the seat of government in 1927. Neither Sydney nor Melbourne has ever been the capital of the federated country.
Which country has no official capital?
Nauru. No law designates one. Yaren is the district containing parliament and the government offices, so it is listed everywhere as the de facto capital and is the answer used here.
What is the least populated capital city in the world?
Ngerulmud in Palau is usually given that title, with a resident population in the hundreds. It replaced Koror as the capital in 2006.
Why is Easter Island in the Oceania set?
Easter Island is Chilean territory but is geographically and culturally part of Polynesia, so it is grouped here. Its main settlement, Hanga Roa, is the answer.
More Guess the Capital sets
- African capitals59 countries and territories, including the ones whose capital is not the biggest city.
- European capitals60 entries including the microstates, the four UK nations and the awkward cases.
- Asian capitals49 entries, including the purpose-built capitals and the ones that changed name recently.
- North America and the Caribbean43 entries, most of them islands, and the ones with two capitals on one island.
- South American capitalsAll 12 countries plus the territories, and the one country with two capitals.
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