The Seat of Government Act 1908 was enacted by the Australian Government on 14 December 1908. The act selected the Yass

Yass, New South Wales

Yass is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Yass Valley Shire. The name appears to have been derived from an Aboriginal word, "Yarrh" , said to mean 'running water'....

-Queanbeyan

Queanbeyan, New South Wales

Queanbeyan is a regional centre in the Southern Tablelands in south-eastern New South Wales adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory. The city's mixed economy is based on light construction, high technology, manufacturing, service, retail and agriculture. It is the council seat of the...

 region as the site for Canberra

Canberra

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

, the new capital city of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

The act repealed the earlier Seat of Government Act 1904

Seat of Government Act 1904

The Seat of Government Act 1904 was an Australian Commonwealth Government Act selecting the Area around Dalgety, New South Wales as the site for the Federal Capital Territory ....

which had previously selected a site at Dalgety

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 Mountains High Country dating from the 1840s.- History...

 for the new capital. The actual creation of the Federal Capital Territory (now Australian Capital Territory

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...

) did not occur until after Charles Robert Scrivener

Charles Scrivener

Charles Robert Scrivener was an Australian surveyor, and the person who surveyed numerous sites in New South Wales for the selection of a site for the Australian Capital Territory and Australia's capital city, Canberra....

 had surveyed the area and defined a potential border. The Seat of Government Acceptance Act 1909

Seat of Government Acceptance Act 1909

The Seat of Government Acceptance Act 1909 is an Australian Commonwealth Government act, that in conjunction with the Seat of Government Surrender Act 1909 transferred land from the state of New South Wales to the Commonwealth for the creation of the Federal Capital Territory .The act was signed on...

and Seat of Government Surrender Act 1909

Seat of Government Surrender Act 1909

The Seat of Government Surrender Act 1909 was an Act of the New South Wales Parliament which completed the transfer of land from New South Wales to establish the Federal Capital Territory as the seat of Commonwealth government...

transferred the land from the state of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 to the Commonwealth to create the territory. The new territory's laws were created through the Seat of Government (Administration) Act 1910

Seat of Government (Administration) Act 1910

The Seat of Government Act 1910 is an Australian Commonwealth Government act. The act established the Federal Capital Territory's laws based on the laws of New South Wales up until 1911. From 1911 onwards the laws of the territory would be created by the Commonwealth and Governor-General...

.