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Capitals of Oceania

Oceania's capitals are scattered across a huge area of the Pacific Ocean. Outside Australia and New Zealand most are on small islands or coral atolls, such as Funafuti and Majuro, so a small miss can land you in open sea. Several sit close to the equator or to the 180° line.

Every capital · 14 capitals

Easy to mix up

Canberra, not Sydney or Melbourne

Australia's capital is Canberra, a planned inland city chosen as a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne. It lies south-west of Sydney, about 150 km from the east coast.

Wellington, not Auckland

New Zealand's capital is Wellington, not Auckland. Auckland is the most populous city and is on the same North Island, but much further north.

Samoa or Tonga?

Apia (Samoa) and Nuku'alofa (Tonga) both lie east of Fiji. Apia, on the north coast of Upolu, is the northern one; Nuku'alofa, on Tongatapu, is further south.

Ngerulmud, not Koror

Palau moved its capital in 2006 from Koror, its largest town, to Ngerulmud on Babeldaob, the country's biggest island, about 20 km to the north-east.

Nauru has no official capital

Nauru has no official capital city. The game uses Yaren, the district on the island's south coast where the government offices and the parliament are.

Finding them on the globe

  • Port Moresby is on the south coast of New Guinea, the large island just north of Australia, on the shore of the Coral Sea.
  • From Port Moresby, the other Melanesian capitals run east and then south-east: Honiara, then Port Vila, then Suva, close to the 180° line.
  • Ngerulmud, Palikir, Majuro and South Tarawa all lie north of the equator, while Yaren on Nauru is just south of it.
  • Wellington is the southernmost capital of any sovereign state: aim for Cook Strait, the gap between New Zealand's North and South Islands.