History of Sydney
With the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901, Sydney ceased to be a colonial capital and became the capital of the Australian state of New South Wales. With industrialisation, Sydney expanded rapidly, and by the early 20th century it had a population well in excess of one million.
Capital of New Zealand
Okiato or Old Russell is a small holiday spot in the Bay of Islands, south of present-day Russell, which was then known as Kororareka. Okiato was New Zealand's first national capital, for a short time from 1840 to 1841, before the seat of government was moved to Auckland. William Hobson arrived in New Zealand on 29 January 1840, the date now celebrated as the Auckland Anniversary Day. On the following day, as Lieutenant-Governor he proclaimed British Sovereignty in New Zealand. 30 January 1840 was the day that the Union Jack was flown on the masthead of the "Herald", the ship that brought Hobson to the Bay of islands, and that the flag was saluted by guns.
A capital city needed to be decided on, and immediately after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on 6 February 1840, Hobson sought advice from those who had been living in New Zealand for some time. The missionary Henry Williams recommended the area around the Waitematā Harbour. William Cornwallis Symonds agreed with that assessment. A week after the signing of the treaty, seven Māori chiefs from Orakei on the Waitematā Harbour came to see Hobson and invited him to stay amongst them. They wanted protection from a rival iwi, the Ngāpuhi, and offered him land in return for living there. On 21 February, a small party including Hobson, Williams, Symonds, Captain Joseph Nias, and Felton Mathew left on the "Herald" to explore the Waitematā; they arrived there two days later. They visited various places, but on 1 March, Hobson suffered a stroke which paralysed half of his body and affected his speech. Rather than delegate the decision making to his officers, the party returned to the Bay of Islands with the task incomplete.